A Salon Experience

Here's a little known fact about me...I don't like getting my hair cut!  It became a task I don't enjoy when I moved away from home - before that, I had gone to the same lady for as long as I could remember.; I was familiar with her, and she was familiar with me - or, more specifically, the weird things I was particular about when it came to my hair.  Once I moved, that familiarity was gone and so was the enjoyment from the salon experience!

Over the last seven years, while I've been living in Belleville, I've only ever gone to two people on a regular basis - for awhile, my mother-in-law cut my hair (she used to be a hairdresser, and would do it at her house) and then I started going to Curt's cousin when she was working at a salon in Belleville (but, she went on maternity leave and then decided to change professions).  Other than that, I've just gone to 'whoever'.  I've really only had one BAD experience - I went to a spot in the mall and ended up with VERY UNEVEN ends - but I've never really had a GREAT experience either.
 
Anyway, I haven't had my haircut in months - partly because I wanted to grow it out, partly because I just didn't want to bother going through the hassle of having it done.  But, I felt like it was time for a trim, it just needed cleaned up.  So, I called and booked an appointment at the salon Curt's cousin used to work at - you get the salon experience and a hairdresser I feel I can trust, but it's not the most expensive salon in town.

I booked last week and the appointment was for Wednesday after work; then on Monday, I got a phone call from the salon owner asking if I would be willing to be a 'model' for them during a session with a Redken educator - I wasn't sold until I heard the words 'FREE CUT and COLOUR'!  I told the lady that I wasn't very brave when it came to my hair, so I wasn't sure they wanted me....but, she reassured me that it didn't have to be drastic, they just wanted to be able to try new products on someone - so I said sure and made arrangements to get off work early for the appointment.

It ended up being a great experience!  The Redken educator was awesome, and I was really glad to have her giving me advice on a suitable hair colour.  I was also glad that she was there giving advice to the two salon employees - they were both young, and seemed pretty new, so it was good to have someone with a lot of experience and knowledge.  Going into the appointment, I was thinking about going lighter - although I've never coloured my hair, I have had blonde highlights - but, the educator suggested going darker, and I'm so glad I went with it!

Now, I usually think it's kind of silly when people post pictures that they take of themselves in a mirror...but, the morning of my appointment, after Curt left for work, I thought about getting a picture for my blog - so, here it is....

A self take of my hair before...

And, a self take of my hair after (the next morning)...

Unfortunately, the lighting is a little different in the two pictures...and, I don't think either picture really shows the colour all that well...but, that's all I could do.  You can see that the length didn't change too much, but that was my choice...I just wanted a trim and for the layers to be cleaned up.

Curt didn't think the cut or the colour was all that noticeable, which is kind of what I was going for...but, my friends at work noticed that it was darker :)

Anyway, it was a great experience!  And, I may just have to do it again - it may not be as exciting next time though, because I'll have to pay for it :)