What's up with hairstylists?

Just after Christmas, my longtime hairstylist moved from Ontario to New Brunswick. A bit far to travel. I really hate looking for a new hairstylist.

There's a salon not too far from me called Allure. So I made an appointment and went in. The stylist, Jenn, had bleached blonde hair, with very dark roots. Not very inspiring. I thought I'd take the chance though, and try a new look. So I asked her, if you could do anything to my hair, what would you do? I was thinking perhaps a shorter, sassier look, perhaps some highlights, whatever... I was game.

Well, she had no ideas other than "match my hair colour to my eyebrows". That meant going darker, back to my natural colour of chestnut brown. It looked really good, they gave me a scalp treatment and she styled my hair using a straightener. It looked fabulous! And for all this, I was charged $32, after taxes. Wow! I was onto something good here!

As my hair grew (which it has a tendency to do very quickly) the fact that my hair is almost completely white was very obvious with the contrast between the white and dark (now I remember why I went lighter). So, a month later, back I went. I asked for a bit of a trim this time. Okay, so the trim took off a couple of inches - no worries, it will grow back (and quickly). The charge this time was over $60. I can live with that, after all, she did cut it.

Fast forward to today - those darn roots were back, so back to Allure I went. Jenn had done her own roots, so she looked much more professional. No trim this time, just touch up the roots. I had her pull the colour through as well, since that tends to brighten up the colour. Well, she left the colour on for 45 minutes while she did others' hair (is it good for the hair for the colour to be on that long?). Then she washed it out and blow dried it. The charge? $61. Huh? What would it have been with a trim? $80? $90?

Don't salons usually follow a price schedule? Did I get a really good deal the first time? Was that a mistake? Hmmmm.

It looks fabulous - even though my bangs keep falling in my face. I was thinking of trying one of those root touch-up kits to stretch the time between visits, but I'm worried about ruining my hair. How dangerous can that be though, if the salon leaves the colour on for sooo long?

I think I'll call my previous stylist in New Brunswick and get her opinion. Meanwhile, I should grab a headshot of me while I'm still looking good. Linked In, Facebook, and even this even this blog would probably look good with a photo of me.

My cheapness aside, Allure is a nice salon, and Jenn is a very good stylist. I really do look good!