Sometimes men question the value of a haircut. They don’t understand how important hair can be to women. Fortunately I’ve had a good streak over the last couple of years. Way back in New York my hair was falling out. In chunks. The best my (super cool) stylist could manage were periodic trims to keep everything looking neat.
If you’re familiar with New York City you’re familiar with this thing called “humidity”. Short hair can look ridiculous. I was often asked “Are you ok?” When in fact it was just my hair freaking out.
At the time the strategy was to spread things out with soft layers. When there are bald spots this is good. Layers are welcome. Just not in August. When there is humidity.
One of the first things I noticed in Phoenix was my hair. I said to my New Jersey friend, “I’ve got great hair! It stays where I put it after a blowout.” This fat girl was super pleased that her hair was behaving. Buying sized 22W* shorts with elastic was humiliating but my hair was nice. I felt great.
I’ve experimented with styles. Long layers, highlights, bra length, longer than bra length, shoulder length and so on. But always with a pony tail. Having hair was important to me. I reserved the right to go short the day I was trim. For the life of me I couldn’t picture chipmunk cheeks (a polite way of saying fat girl face) with short hair.
It was going to be my reward. Short hair.
Getting close to the “Demi Moore look” with a severe part in the middle, pitch black hair, got boring. In for a trim, a slight part to the side and a Brazilian thermal treatment…
Thanks Sarah of Capelli Society Salon!
That necklace hails all the way from Singapore. Thanks brother for the nice gift. You’re an excellent shopper!
I tried a long side bang. Unfortunately the person who cut that style was still training and created the part too far to one side of my head. Not the end of the world – but – I still had long hair. I returned to Moment’s Salon where things were fixed. (Thank you Susan Kennedy. Always there for me.)
These are side bangs I started wearing as regular bangs.
Fringe Bangs!
One fine day an offer came up to experiment with ombré hair. Gosh was this exciting! My friend Reese treated me like a queen and I left floating on clouds.
Oooo! Waves too!
And so I bring you to this post. Very sad things have transpired. I Yelped. I am sad.
This space offers a number of beauty services. My introduction was wonderful. I rave and rave (and rave!) about the brazilian waxes offered by Le Studio De L’Adjege’s owner, Nadjege. Her aesthetician skills are remarkable. Not a single in-grown hair. The process is as painless as it can be with incredibly affordable pricing. Both women and men can visit and feel comfortable in her care. The space is being ramped up with art continually being brought in. The walls have been painted with murals and framed art is on the walls.
Recently the space has expanded to offer nail and hair services. (Please note that each business is independently owned and operated.) Two sisters, Elizabeth and Maria, are offering manicures and pedis. Additionally they will spoil you with express facials. These differ from the luxury treatments Nadjege provides. If you need to get in/out quickly an express facial is one way to go.
Haircuts, color and brazilian treatments are available with Samuel at Scottsdale Hair Personality. (and on Facebook) Samuel hails from Toni & Guy. I’m not the best person to provide feedback on haircuts and color. My results were … surprising. While visiting Nadjege Samuel introduced himself and sold me on his services. My bangs were freshly trimmed, however my roots needed to be filled in and I could not do this at home. (I had some ombre action going on. Past tense as my hair is gone. Samuel tried to fix the parts he fried with more cutting. That failed. I asked for my money back…and that still hasn’t happened.)
This is what I looked like going in.
Edgy, right?
[Editorial Note]: Susan Kennedy, Moments Salon, had trimmed those bangs only days before. Five minutes and I was out the door!
My experience was unfortunate. Although we discussed introducing some “movement” into my hairstyle I was not prepared for the sharp layers that were chopped. When told my hair looked “orange” I shrugged, nodded and asked if we could make the tips lighter. Samuel explained there was some risk with “bleaching color out”. Unfortunately the severity of risk was not outlined.
If Samuel didn’t think he could go lighter he should have said so. The epic disaster that is my hair had me sucking chocolate this week. I look like a mid-western Mom that stuck her finger in an electric socket. It’s not a cute look.
Just wait. Wait for the photos.
A timer was not set while my color was bleached out. A timer was not set while my roots were done. (My roots are currently brown, with grey showing.) Samuel left during the first process to purchase a bleaching shampoo. “It was less damaging.” No. Apparently, no.
Having no expertise in the area of hair care – I did not go to beauty school – I relaxed into my chair. I put a brave face on as my hair was blown out and flat ironed. I had places to be. For some inexplicable reason my bangs were touched. They did not need to be touched. Again, they had recently been trimmed. Samuel made some unflattering comments about the previous stylist. (Why do that?) My bangs had been cut to respect a cowlick. Longer on one side. I looked like a grammar school kid.
At home I was unable to comb the bottom of my hair.
That was bad.
What happened to my bangs? Seriously? And this is after being flat ironed to death.
Before moving past this photo pay attention to the layer by my chin. It is below my chin. Got it?
I returned asking for the bottom to be cut off. We clearly discussed using fingers to show how much was coming off. I got nervous as more cutting was happening. I asked what “style” he was doing. Samuel said he was keeping it long as he knew “I liked it that way”.
Well yeah. That’s why my hair was long.
When the cutting was over I just sat there. I left. I sat in my car. It was really bad.
I’m a grown woman. I called Mom.
Memory test time…
Remember that layer I pointed out earlier? Below my chin?
Where do you see that layer now? The layer is above my lips.
Even with drastic cutting (or “texturizing” as it was described) the bottom part left is “orange” and fried. In full disclosure the photo on the right has been highly edited. I put it on Instagram. Fifteen filters. Chin up!
The owner of the space tried to negotiate something to fix.
(To have another color technician help. To have Samuel put a bob in.)But honestly, there is so little hair left. The margin for error is small. I don’t like to write these kind of reviews. I wasn’t going to. But here’s the thing. The money has not cleared yet. This “thing” has sucked up time. Going/coming/sitting there. Calling my bank numerous times. And I feel stupidly ugly walking around this. This has been traumatic.
Don’t forget – I still need to pay someone else to fix it.
So here’s something funny. While trying to take selfies of my pony tail (bathroom lighting is harsh in the morning) I found some arm muscles!
Grrr! Of course I blurred my face. It was early!
[Editorial Note]: My new muscles are care of Arizona Training Lab. I’ve been asked a few times now how that magically happened. Bootcamp kids! Bootcamp. And no, there’s no yelling involved 🙂
That night I went out. This was the best blowout I could achieve. Using a baseball hat allowed me to squish my bangs down slightly.
Purple!
Seemed ok. Then I caught a look in the bathroom mirror.
Oh no.
But really, I was thinking ….
Don’t go outside like that!
So three year old pigtails happened. Mature, right?
Perfect for professional networking.
Thank god for writing. It keeps me sane.
P.S.
* I lied. The shorts were a size 24W.
(I needed some modestly while writing. Just a wee bit 🙂
** Someone I trust is going to shorten my hair and color it.
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