Here is what my hair looked like before going in, and next to it is a picture I showed of what I wanted my hair to look like:
My hair has a lot of roots, but still looks great. My goal was to have my hair lightened even more for an ice-y, close to platinum look, but with the dark roots so I could go a long time in-between appointments. The picture of my hair was taken in natural lighting, and doesn't necessarily show the hint of brassiness my hair had.
When I had my appointment I showed her this picture she acknowledged she knew exactly what I was looking for and began mixing up the product. Instead of bleaching, which is what I was expecting, she consulted with her colleague and she told her she was thinking of using "T-18". Now, if you're someone who watches a ton of Youtube videos on people who tone their hair at home, you know that it is a light ash blonde product that you mix with developer. I was a little confused on why she was using this product instead of bleaching with foils, but I'm not a professional.
As she was roughly brushing the product on, she told me that achieving that level of brightness was nearly impossible, and photos like that off of pinterest aren't necessarily realistic. She also told me that where the roots/brown in my hair met the blonde was at the perfect spot, so she wasn't going to touch it. So, essentially, she was just going to tone my blonde.
It took her literally 3 minutes to apply the product, and then she took a phone call and went to the back of the salon for over 30 minutes. This gave me a lot of time to think about what just happened. I was under the impression she could complete what was in the picture, and it was only when she was in the middle of applying the product I found out that it was "impossible."
When she checked my hair and was rinsing the product out, she told me the amazing lift my hair had achieved, and "what a difference it made" with the brassiness. I was excited!
Here is the "After" photo:
Now I know what you're thinking, Grace, you attached the wrong pictures. Nope. I admit, in the salon when she did the reveal, my hair looked lighter in that lighting, so I wasn't annoyed at that point. She gave my hair a trim, which I legitimately love, so I'll give her that. But when I went to my car and looked at my hair, it looked dimmer that before. A duller blonde, and not at all what I wanted. It looks nothing like the picture.
After being pissed off for a solid day, I was able to get ahold of my original stylist, and have an appointment set for tomorrow. I will post a picture of my hair after she has her hands on it, and show it again in comparison to the same picture I'll show her.
To answer a question some of you probably have, no, I'm not going to ask for a refund from the other stylist. It didn't cost too much money, and I did get a nice haircut/treatment on my hair and it feels healthier than ever. This whole experience though taught me a lesson on patience. I regret not being more patient for my stylist to respond, I legitimately have an issue where when I want something done, it is ALL I can think about, and I was determined to get my hair done.
My hair doesn't look bad, it just doesn't. But it isn't what I wanted, and I didn't feel comfortable with the second stylist as I do with MY stylist. Oh well. STAY TUNED FOR A FOLLOW UP POST.
