Mane Street - an ode to my hair

This, dear readers, is a bit of a girly post, about my hair. If you follow me on Twitter or know me in real life, you'll know that my hair is really really important to me. It kinda defines me. perhaps my most distinguishable feature even. (or not). But anyway i love my curly hair. From an early age I've had long hair. Except that time in primary 6 for god knows whatever wild reason i decided to let the hairdresser who came to our house shave it off. When i say shave, i don't mean a buzz cut like Demi Moore in GI Jane, but rather a short cropped do. So short mum used to buy me 99p green jelly gel from the chemist so i could spike it. Yes, it was that short!

Anyway, through primary 6 and primary 7 i began to grow it out again for starting high school. I managed to do just that (with the aid of lots of kirby grips and clasps and various bobbles and scrunchies. I had so much i used to keep them in a tall sweetie jar.

Fast forward to today and i sit here typing with dark roots and blonde ends. Two weeks ago i decided it was time for my bi-annual visit to the hairdresser. So fussy am i, I've been searching for the perfect hairdresser for years. I did find one, in London town, Jones and Payne but unfortunately i can't just jump on a plane to get my hair done so i have to make do with some up here.

This time last year i went to (what i thought was) a pretty decent salon in Edinburgh. I don't mind paying more for my haircuts and colour because i generally only get it done twice a year these days. Anyway long story short, that hairdresser did not do what i wanted and I was left with hair the colour of Cheryl Cole's circa her XFactor appearances a few years ago. I kinda wrote about it here. It was dark. It was erring on the side of mahogany. I wanted my natural hair colour. I didn't get it. So I let that grow out. Until February this year.

Then i decided to stick to my local area and went to the Rainbow Rooms in Stirling. I was pleased with the colour. So pleased with it. It was almost perfect. I'd have preferred the very ends to be a bit lighter but hey we can't have everything. What i wasn't so pleased about was that after a pretty thorough consultation where the salon director even came across to make sure the stylist was doing the right colours and method of colouring, she must've been running late for her next appointment and got another junior member of staff to do the right hand side of my hair (without even going over method and colour to put on where). I didn't really like this. I could see that the girl wasn't doing what the stylist had done on my left side. Turns out you couldn't really tell after i was done but still, i knew what had happened. This kinda made me look elsewhere when the time came around.

Which took me to a salon in Glasgow, in the Merchant City area. I'd researched for while and this salon used the products that i use on my hair. On their website they promise much. I can tell you that's not what was delivered. Not to me anyway.

I asked for basically the same colours i already had but a tidy up. Brightening the ends. I go for the ombre look incase you didn't know. Anyway, when she brought the colours out i mentioned that the brown seemed a bit dark. Oh no it won't come out that dark on you, she said. I trusted her. Who am i to question. First warning bell was she started to colour the roots with the brown dye first. This is normally always the last bit they do. Next she was doing some balayage method with the blonde colours, there were two colours here. That was fine, I've had this done before. This took about 35 minutes. Now when she'd finished that the brown had been on that long. Then she left me to 'develop' for another good 45 minutes, meaning the brown had been on for way longer than normal. Ding ding ding. Eventually she got a junior to wash my hair. There appeared to be some concern about my hair at this point. They were scrubbing at my scalp and then seemed more interested in wiping the sink before anyone saw. I can only imagine the colour was dark it was staining the sink. I was trying not to panic. The salon was pretty darkly furnished with some down lights above each station. When i went back to the seat i thought it looked pretty dark on my head and tried to convince myself that when it was dry it'd lighten down a bit. Anyway, she cut my hair and then asked how I'd like it styled. I'm so over straightening of my hair. In fact i haven't done that for over a year. I told her i usually just add products then diffuse it dry. So she did that. Except i had to lean back on a chair myself and nearly get a crick in my neck because of it. I had to tell her and sit up straight it was so sore. She as nearly done anyway. I didn't like the style. I've found that most hairdressers cannot style curly hair. FACT.

Anyway, she asked what i thought. I said i thought it was a good cut but the colour was a bit dark. She said oh no it's just the lighting in here. Wow. Anyway, i got out of there as fast as i could. Luckily as i was a new customer it was half price. I paid £55 and i'm glad i didn't pay more. Needless to say i didn't say anything when i was there. Does anyone ever complain to hairdressers? I'd be really interested to know.

All the way home I couldn't help but think about it. I avoided catching sight of myself in shop mirrors. When i got home i fully inspected it. Urgh. Devastated. The colour on top is way too dark for my natural hair colour and the ends. OMG. It really doesn't blend well and looks like really grown out roots. Argh. That night i Googled hair colour corrections all night. But decided to sit it out and wait. I should've gone back to Rainbow Rooms who got the perfect colour, but it's quite expensive. I suppose you only get what you pay for, or do you? I'm torn. Since i only go to a hairdresser twice per year then surely it's worth spending a few extra pennies to get hair that I'm happy with. I will go back there but I'll get the salon director this time i think.

Anyway, two weeks on the colour has calmed down. It's still darker than I'd like on top but the back isn't so bad and the cut, well the cut is great. My curls sit nicely in a v shape down my back in that beachy style i love. That's a huge relief. I've already pencilled in a date in my calendar to book another hair appointment though. I just don't want to do it too soon and damage my hair further.

Whilst browsing for colour correction methods, I came across my new favourite website. Box No 216. It's a hair blog/site by Johnny Ramirez and i have been pinning away pictures like nobody's business on Pinterest. I adore the colours used. It's my dream colour. And apparently my dream colourist. It's a pity he's in USA and appears to do celebs so would probably cost a small fortune. But me oh my, the hair he creates sure is pretty. You can see some of my favourites here on my Pinterest Hair I Like board. I think this would be my ideal hair colour. Drool.

Source: boxno216.com via Angela on Pinterest

What I've learnt is the grass isn't always greener on the other side. I'll stick to what i know. And my hair means more to me than i ever thought. It gives me confidence when i love my hairstyle. I don't want any more hair disasters, please.

Angela x

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