Thursday, February 22, 2007

Hair Raising Results


Last night was the big night. I had an appointment last night to get my hair done. Before I left I made sure to take a photo for a "before" photo. Unfortunately I hadn't really done anything to my hair but I figured that it would still be a decent representation of my natural hair.
I went to my regular stylist, Devin, at Design One
and brought in two photos from the ones that I posted. The two photos that received the most votes were #1 and #3. I showed them to Devin and we discussed that she would do her best but that it probably wouldn't look exactly like the photo.
After hearing about her experience with a perm last year and failed expectations, I decided to still take the plunge. I promised her that if I hated it, I wouldn't blame her and that if everyone else hated it I wouldn't tell them that Devin did it.
Her assistant (I totally forgot her name and feel terrible that I did) took me to the sinks and washed my hair. Then I had to sit there with a stripping agent on my hair for 5 minutes waiting for my hair to become "virgin". Basically it got all the build up and crap out of my hair.
Then I was taken to the color/perm area. There were a couple of other women that were getting their hair colored but I was the only one getting a perm.
One thing that happened that I thought was interesting was that one of the local news anchorwomen (Susan something) came in while I was there to get her highlights done. People always say that TV personalities look better or worse in person. She looked exactly the same.
Devin started to roll my hair into the perm rods. I was looking at a People magazine and talking about random people in the magazine. We discussed which celebrities we thought were beautiful and which ones we thought were train wrecks. I think that this point I told Devin that I had changed my mind and wanted to go with a Britney buzz cut. She laughed and said "I'm not doing it".
Finally the rolling was done and Devin's assitant was kind enough to take photos. I told her that I planned on putting them on my blog and she thought that was pretty cool that I has a blog.
Up to this point, most all of it was fun and games. Now the smelly part began. I had forgotten how foul a perm solution smelled. I had to sit in the noxious fumes for 20 minutes. Poor Devin is 3 months pregnant and kept having to walk away because the fumes didn't sit well with her. I totally empathized with her as I had REALLY strong aversions to some odors (garlic among them) when I was pregnant.
Then came the wet part. Devin's assitant had to rinse my head with the hottest water I could stand for five minutes. I swear I thought I was going to get blisters. I was able to tolerate it though and fortunately came away with no blisters. I did end up getting a slight chemical burn on my forehead so it was slightly red where the cotton had been but it is already gone.
Five more minutes with the setting solution, another 5 minute rinse and it was all done. They took out the rods and then I went to my final chair station and Devin cut my hair, shaped it and diffused it until it was about ½ dry. A bit of hairspray and some curl restore stuff and I was all done.
At first I was worried that it might turn out too curly.
I should never have worried though. Devin has been doing my hair for at least 4 years and knows it almost as well as I do.
I ended up spending $170 including tip for a perm, cut, style, diffuser and 1 product. I think that it was worth every penny.
P.S. You can click on the photos to get a close-up shot to see more detail.

23 comments:

Eric said...

Lookin' good. Definitely not too curly.

Moonbeam said...

I like it, very beautiful Rachel. Gives your hair great body and fullness. Nice curl, you can always make it curlier by using a curling iron if ya want. Also, just wash, air dry, fluff and go makes it easy too. Your hair is very much like my hair.

Hair's to ya. :)

Tara said...

Great new hairstyle! And to have your stylists take photos of the whole process was a great idea too!

Anonymous said...

Rachel it's great! You look fabulous! I was told to try those heated curler things to make my hair curlier. I never took the time to try when my hair was permed. But they said it would give those big curls I was wanting in the first place. Enjoy! It looks great!!

Anonymous said...

Yay! I saw your hair last night!!! Good choice, chica.

FW said...

Hey Rachel, I love the new photos - both before and after the visit to the stylist but your new hairstyle looks really great. Money well spent. Knock 'em dead kid!

Wanderlusting said...

Wow! Sooooo not like the 80's perms of yesterday. More wavy than anything and the best part is, it'll be like that everyday. You'll be having good hair days with no effort from now in! yay!

David in DC said...

WooHoo, looking good. :)

I also love the picture of you with your hair full of curlers and a big broad smile on your face.

But listening to the voluminous details and the cost, I'm glad I can go to the Hair Cuttery with Monkeyboy and, for under $40 get his hair cut (with the cute li'l tail in the back), my diminishing head of hair thinned out a bit more, and a good beard-trimming. In probably a third of the time.

I've said it before, having to wear ties sucks, but gals have it a lot harder than us cave beasts when it comes to gettin' gussied up.

laughing said...

Well, the important thing is that your hair did not frizz, and the worrying about it is over.

What will really be good is the next time you blog about getting ready to go someplace nice that it did not take two hours to fix your hair and you were not so tired from getting ready that it kept you from having a good time.

And, of course, we'd want a picture to go along with that.

Rachel said...

Eric ~ Thanks!!

Moonbeam ~ Exactly. It isn't too curly or too straight. I <3 it.

Tara ~ I took the photos just for you fine folks. I figured that if I had you all vote that you should get to see the process.

Reformat ~ I have tried hot rollers but my hair is difficult to curl so it always fell out quickly. Now with a perm it will hold different curls better.

Playtah ~ Thanks.

Furtive ~ there are dead bodies littering my front yard already.

Wanderlust~ You have no idea how worried I was that it was going to be super curly. I am so glad that it is more wavy.

David in DC ~ $40 is what I paid just for the cut and style. I think that the perm was around $100. I have paid a lot less a few times and have learned the hard way that 99% of the time you get what you pay for when it comes to hair.

laughingattheslut ~ I promise...you will have stories and photos for that. I am supposed to go out on Friday. Saturday too.

Not so little Woman said...

I love it!! I might have to get your advice on that if I ever decide to take the plunge and get my hair curled.

Congrats! It really does look awesome!

ChickyBabe said...

Nicely done! My hairdresser said perms these days are much softer than those of the 80s. You're the proof! :)

Mrs. Hairy Woman said...

Very nice.. I think I like the curler look the best.. ha ha.. You look amazing.. not too curly.. You are brave... I will not do perms ever again..I purposely keep my hair short so I won't feel the urge to perm.. Devin did a great job...Can she come here to Canada?lol

M said...

you look smashingly great! <3<3

Erica said...

I love it, you look gorgeous! They did a very good job, you look so good! Not too curly, but not flat curls either, love it!

Rachel said...

Not So Little Woman ~ I would suggest curling your hair a few times to decide how you like it. If you love it, then take the plunge.

Chickybabe ~ You have NO idea how nervous I was. It is so much softer. My hair doesn't feel like it came in contact with chemicals at all. Except for the smell. I can't wash it until tomorrow.

Babybull40 ~ I don't stress out very much about my hair. I am pretty laid back. I figured that if I hated it I would just wear it up most of the time. If it fell out, Devin would be buying me a wig. She is always surprised at how lacadaisical I am about my hair.

M ~ Thanks..I <3 the term smashing.

Erica ~ Thanks... Right now it is kinda flat just because I haven't washed it. I have gotten it a bit damp by spritzing water on it but the real test is tomorrow when I can do a thorough washing.

Christina said...

It looks beautiful!

And I love that picture of you in the curlers!

egan said...

Did ChickyBabe say "you're poof"? Damn she's silly.

Looks good so far. Let's see it again next week. Curls are so cool and hip these days.

Sister Mary Lisa said...

Your hair looks great! Lucky you.

laura b. said...

Your hair came out really cute, Rachel. When my hair gets a bit longer again I may even consider a perm since I now see how great they can be!

dmarks said...

So, have you had a good hair weekend so far?

ChickyBabe said...

I hope the smell washed off!

Egan needs his eyes tested! :P

Lydia said...

I guess I missed out on the whole voting for the perm style thing, but just wanted to say I love the new do. You look fantastic, Rachel.