One last request...(pic)

Okay, this is me now:



You can't really tell in the picture, but I've got a lot of gold in my hair. This is the dye I've bought:



Well, not that exact dye, I bought Ultress, not realizing that Clairol no longer makes the exact shade I bought. Live and learn, I guess. Anyway, the actual one I got was "Lightest Auburn."

I'm trying it out in a couple of hours... just let me know if I'm making a horrible, horrible mistake in the mean time. :)

Question: Does anyone know a reasonable cost for hair coloring? I live in the midwest. The stylist who I really like insists that I have to have an overall color ($75) then highlights (another $75). Any thoughts on reasonable price? I don't understand the need for overall color.

Edited by Campbell

Campbell:

Most colourists' prices vary due to the length of your hair. So if your hair's really long, it'll definitely go into the $40 -$60 range. If it's short it'll probably be considerably less. The colourist I used to go to would add an extra $5 for every inch past the shoulders, with $30 as the base price for any length up to the shoulders (which, for northern Virginia, was a really great deal).

Otherwise, regarding the colouring she recommended, what she's probably talking about is first evening out your colour (with a solid) then giving it depth and structure with highlighting. If you have only a solid colour, then it does nothing for the style of your hair; it just kind of sits there. Highlights accentuate the style and add depth to the colour. On the other hand, if you do only highlights, they might "take" more in certain areas and less in others, resulting in a "splotchy" highlight job. Since highlights are harder to repair than a solid colour, most colourists will recommend a full colour wash before highlighting. But, like Dulcie said, it's your hair, you should feel free to take or leave her advice.

Hope that helps!

Good Luck in your quest for a fair price.

Mmm difficult to say really, It could have been a bad batch I guess. Did you already have a colour or peroxide on your hair prior to using this?

Karen - thanks for the advice. I just figured I'd wait till I need to do a root touch-up since I'll be dying it, anyway. I found a really great colour at Sally's that I'll be trying - it's a lot brighter, but still natural-looking, with a lot of copper colour. At this point I'm really just having fun with it and experimenting with the results. I might cut it after I colour it, back to the style that it is in that picture (it's down to my elbows now). So we'll see :)