My hair. Oy! It's making me crazy again. Years ago, I had a stylist I loved. Loved. She's a terrific person and I usually like my hair when she does it about as well as I ever like my hair.
My hair is above the shoulder and curly. Not curly-curly and beautiful like Rebekah's, just curly enough to give it some texture and a mind of it's own. It's a horrifyingly high percentage gray, which really gives me the heaby-jeebies, and I hate that. Keeping the gray at bay is a constant struggle. I will not have gray hair.
Okay, back to the stylist. I do not love the place where she works. So, a few years ago *somehting* happened and I had enough of their attitude and switched. I refer to that time period in my life as the lost years. I traveled from salon to salon and never managed to find anyone that I loved my hair with. I always looked back fondly on the stylist I had seen for so much of my life. However, aside from hating where she worked, I also knew her schedule was severely limited, and it would be difficult to work around. After enough bad colors, bad haircuts and generally bad moods about my hair, I had had enough and swallowed my pride and went back to her, having grown a little and learned enough about myself to know that having my hair look nice is really at the top of my list and all those other concerns were quite secondary.
So I've been back about a year now. The salon is better. The bad taste that is there prevents it from ever being my favorite place in the world, but it's to the point where I can tolerate it and it's definitely worth it to be back with my stylist. So, what's the problem? Well...
...a couple of things. One, I got a very generous, very large gift certificate for Christmas to a previous salon, and my budget is saying that it may not be the smartest move to blow it on a pedicure, manicure and facial like I planned and that it would be much smarter to spend it on a cut/color instead. But, it's taken over a year of haircuts to get to where we are now, and almost as long in coloring. Is it really worth it to go to a different stylist for a one-time cut/color. (If your hair is the kind that looks great no matter who does it and it really doesn't matter and what am I even talking about, then congratulations. Trust me when I say that is not the case with mine. Also, I hate you? J/K. Not really) Okay, back to my reality...I got my haircut two weeks ago and in truth, it's just not working this time. I don't like the way it looks. Normally, not a big deal, at my next cut I'd explain that to my stylist and we'd go from there, but there is a little teeny voice whispering that maybe it's not such a bad time to try a different stylist with the gift certificate and see what she can do. Also, although a week or 10 days after I get my hair colored I love my color, the first week is rocky. It looks very unnatural, to me, and that drives me crazy. Again, not a big deal, I can work with my stylist about that, or just wait it out and love it most of the time, but again the voice whispers that maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal to have someone else color it once.
But...but to go back to the gift certificate salon, do I go back to the previous stylist that I left because I really didn't like the way my hair was looking? (Yes, I do see a pattern here, and yes, it does trouble me.) Do I see a different stylist, and if so, how do I have any idea if they're any better? Plus, the whole thing just screams AWKWARD, doesn't it?
All right. I've taken up precious minutes of your life that you will never get again. (Sorry.)
What do you think?
Do I
- Go back to the previous salon for a one-time cut/color with my previous stylist there and ignore the awkwardness with the stylist.
- Go back to the previous salon for a one-time cut/color with the owner and ignore the awkwardness (and secretly hope that I love it so much I'll have a new dilemma about whether or not to keep going there?)
- Use the ultra-generous gift certificate for frivolous fun (think waxing, pedicure, manicure, facial) and keep going to the stylist I've spent a year rebuilding a relationship with?
- I don't care!!! Why are you bugging me with this petty problem? Don't you know there are real problems in the world?
- Here's your perfect solution dummy. Why didn't you think of it? (Fill in blank here) ________________________________________________________________.
Edited, the two salons cost about the same. My current one's probably a tad more expensive.
8 comments:
OK ... I totally understand and empathize with you. It sound like our hair is very similar in texture... and thus i know what its like to find a style that works. (which is actually why I decided to get the Brazilian blowout done - so I didn't have to deal with doing my hair anymore ...)
So here's what I'd do ... go to a new stylist. You haven't liked what you got the previous few times, so there's no harm / no foul now. BUT - before I'd let anyone touch your hair, I'd go through every single hair magazine to find a style that you like that could work on your hair. Don't pick a style that just looks pretty in a picture or on a runway model who has someone DOING their hair for them. But pick a style that you could see yourself copying weeks after you leave.
Ask your new person for advice. Tell her how much realistic time you have to do your hair in the mornings. Tell her how you'd do your hair if you DIDN'T have time in the day. ONLY get a cut that you can manage on your own, and that you enjoy looking at ... otherwise, it's money (certificate) you just crapped away.
And again ... I'm all over the Brazilian Blowout right now. It's semi-permanent ... only stays for about 12-16 weeks ... and has made a total difference in my day. It takes minimal time to dry, I only have to wash it every 3 days or so, and it looks relatively OK no matter how I style it. I'm sure I'll let it wash out / grow it out one of these days, but for summer ... heck NO!
I had to look up Brazilian Blowout after reading Jill's comment...that's some scary stuff! Here's my question: Is it a possibility that you would continue to go to the certificate stylist after your initial visit, or do you think it's just going to be a one time thing because of the cost? I absolutely love my stylist, but every now and then I wonder what she did after she cut my hair. I keep going back to her, though, because I hate the thought of going to somebody new who doesn't know my hair!
Mary has a great point. It would be a bummer to fall in love with an awesomely expensive stylist!
But...everyone understands these days about money being tight, and if you have a freebie, you take a freebie. Your stylist will (should) understand it. And then you know...maybe your hair is just at one of those points where it's hard to work with, and your stylist is doing as well as anyone can without a Paris Hilton budget...or it turns out great and you can take some ideas back to the current stylist...or try to stay on there.
I'd say go for it. You sound like you want to.
But the way my toes look right now--the pedi is my top priority!
If you did not like the way your hair was looking with your previous stylist don't go back to her. You could go to the salon and pick a different stylist. You never know, you could hit the jackpot.
Then again pampering yourself does sound super fun too. Decision, decisions!
Sorry, I wasn't much help. :)
And I do know what you are talking about. I struggled for so long to find someone that knew what they were doing and that would also LISTEN to what I wanted. It took forever. But now that I found her I will wait for two months to get in to see her if I have to. :)
I was totally leaning towards using the gift cert. for the nails and just pamper yourself for once-- but if you have a little voice saying "go somewhere else" for the next color and cut, FOLLOW IT. I trust that voice. Whenever I don't, it's always bad.
Share your gift certificate with your daughters or a friend. Have you hair colored by the one that you like best. That will make two or more of you happy.
Not sure if you solved this yet or not, but I'd do what timeinabottle said, or use part of it for a pedicure and save the rest to use at Christmas time to purchase gift cards for others. But that's just me. :)
Sorry I fell behind on your blog: I've been a little crazed as you know! I'm trying to catch up and stay there! :)
I'm late, but I have been extra busty at work . go to your new stylist. Be honest and explain your concerns with the other one. Like someone said, treat yourself to some pampering, maybe call it an early Mother's day gift or something. Definately don't let it go to waste!
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