Bye-bye baby blonde...

After being platinum for as long as I can remember (and practically colorless for three years) I decided it was time for a change. My usual routine of four hours in the chair accompanied with scalp burning and a hefty price tag had worn out it's welcome. Plus, since my hair was getting longer I was veering away from Kate Lamphear territory and more into Christina Aguilara. Yikes.

I went to my favorite colorist at my favorite salon - kind of a second home for me as it's the only thing thats stayed consistent in my four years in the city. Armed with images of my color concept, I settled in for a long day.

First, she put in an all- over color, concetrating on the top of my head. She only did a few minutes on my ends, to give it that natural ombre coloring. After the wash, she told me "not to freak out". Never comforting.



TOTALLY darker than I wanted, but I have a long history with my colorist and I trusted that she wouldn't dissapoint me.

I was right. She then started to lightly tease my hair, applying highlights to only the strands that remained in her fingers. This is by far the most effective, subtle and natural looking highlights I have ever seen. (Also, the most painful, and time consuming). She added lighter pieces around my forehead and then sent me to the sink, again.

This time she applied a toner to bring out the honey and neutralize some of the darker notes. After an amazing blowdry by her assistant, I came out looking like this:

Right?!?

As a testament to how good she is, almost NO one has noticed a difference. While it is a huge change for me, everyone says it looks so natural. I knew I was in the right hands.

(Unfortch, those hands cost me SIX hours in the chair and a bit more to the wallet) Going forward, however, I'm back in the land of half-highlights. Hello, savings!

*scorpio*