First Real Trip to Beauty Shop

[chrismy]

50 weeks of growing hair from 1/4" long, .... needed split ends gone and the "Mens - Just For Gray" was heading south fast... Jennifer was so into it she wasnt taking more than a 1/2" on the split ends. I was very impressed with her. She matched a (mix it yourself) womens hair dye! (sorry for the exclamation point, i just couldnt help myself, girls). Anyway, back to the story... she was very meticulous applying the dye, took quite a while ... I was loving it. She said lets wait about 20 minutes then we'll check. So I sat around looking at Hair Style mags... wow ... loving it. She came and checked and said lets wait a bit longer. Ok ... no problem here with that. I can handle this sweet action all day long. I almost forgot to tell the part where she used the hair dryer and nothing but her fingers to lift it and fluff it and dry it..... i am shivering as I type this.... No one has noticed (been round lots of family) that my hair was dyed. I told them I had it trimmed. That was yesterday morning and no one has asked. Wondering if anyone at work will notice next week. Would be great if no one did. Never heard a word when I started the "Just For Gray" stuff couple of months ago and that really has me wondering now. My hair was getting gray before but I spend time outdoors so maybe they think it is due to the sun?? I listened to the cracks about the hair getting longer for months but never anything about the dye. Don't know and probably overthinking it. Jennifer asked was it feathered when you started and that is when I told her it had been 1/4" buzz cut. She kept playing with it saying how amazing it grew in feathered like that. Wow again .. did that feel great or what?? .. oh, and i enjoyed the compliment part too,, hahaha. Then she said the color looked so natural and it made my blue eyes really pop. It really sent a shiver down my spine ... wow yet again. She had recorded the formula mix and entered it on my record. Yes... I now have a record of reckless hair dying of a 54yr old. First offense so I hope it goes easy on me. Jennifer gave me tons of great info how to take care of hair like I now have. I cant wait to see what style i can try next! Did I mention I was in drab the whole time? no? ...lol.. I cannot even imagine how utterly incredible this morning would have been dressed like I wished .... AND a real session with a professional hair style that I could wear out of there????? Cant think of it anymore today ...hahaha. Talk to yall later. Love to all .... Chris

[Eryn]

Sounds like you had a great time. Thank you so much for sharing your story!

[Cynthia Anne]

Oh what fun it is! Next time let the real fun begin by not going in drab! Hugs!

[Starr]

Sound good girl, i have been doing the just for men thing for about 5 years but recently moved to the womens hair dye now. Like you i have also been growing my hair not been cut in almost three years now and i wear it up inn a ponytail. Looking forward to getting it cut and styled in the near future and yes the split ends are bad but havin't been able to come to terms with what style i want. I have a long forhead so need something to hide that but not sure about bangs and a ponytail that would be really girly in boy mode.. i hope to find a hairstyles as good as yours who will help me decide what works with my face.. since i am doing the womens hair dye... thinking about going blond.. not sure how that will work out if i let it go it will be white not grey.. but then i love red too... will see..maybe one then the other

[Nicole Erin]

When you find a stylist you like, stick with her. Also keep in mind that stylists move around different salons a lot so make real sure and get her contact info outside the salon so when she goes to a different one,you can stick with her.
You see, in real salons (as in, NOT Great Clips) the stylists are trying to build a clientele. Just let her know that you would like for her to do your hair regardless of what salon she works in. The salon itself will try to keep you there but you need to stick with Jennifer. Might I say also it would be a good idea to tip well. I am not sure what a "Good" tip would be exactly but yesterday I went to see my stylist now that I have an income, my bill was $27, I gave the receptionist $40 and with the $13 change, I gave it to my stylist. Of course I went to beauty school with her and she is an old friend.

Also yeah with getting your hair colored, it really is best to let a professional stylist handle that. Those home products really suck and the ones at a salon are quality. That and a pro knows what they are doing for mixing proper color and how long to leave on etc... (using the proper formulation gets even messier when one is dealing with gray hair)

It is good you found a good stylist. Just stop by the shop today or soon and let her know you would like to be one of her clients regardless of where she works. Like I said - stylists move around a lot. Talk to her soon. Thing is if she leaves and you ask the salon how to find her, they won't tell you but will say, "We have plenty of people here who would love to take care of your hair..."
What are my sources? Well, I have plenty of acquaintances and friends who are stylists. And oh yeah. I have worked in a salon myself. And yes I hold a stylist license

[Stephenie S]

$13 on a $27 job is a bit high. That's almost 50%. But who cares? Tip what you want.

I don't tip my hairstylist anything because he owns the salon. Owners don't get tips. They get everything else. I tip $5 for my manicure, $5 for a pedicure, and $5 for a wax job. Otherwise, I try to tip from 15% to 20%. I used to be strictly 15% but life is getting hard for everyone lately.

Nicole's advice about following your hairstylist is good. I once followed a hairstylist through 5 different moves.

S

[Sarasometimes]

Nicole's advice about following your hairstylist is good. I once followed a hairstylist through 5 different moves.

Back in the late 70's/early80's the lovely men's perm era, I followed a stylist to over a dozen salons! This was before I acknowlegded my dressing but I loved salons even then. She gave me such a grand tour from your wash & set type to the avante garde and many in between. One place, my fave took about 4 hours for a perm! There were 2 conditioning steps, one of those was under a dryer along with the perming step. The fact that few guys went there added to my pleasure. A welcoming salon can be such a thrill! I still look back fondly at those times and how I loved the fresh perm smell on my pillow in the morning.
Glad you had a nice appointment. if the place isn't too close to home maybe go dressed next time!

[Diane Smith]

Chrismy, I could almost have written your message after my first salon visit about ten years ago, when I first started coloring my hair. The only difference is that I called the salon in advance, told them I was TG, and asked them to suggest a stylist who would be open to styling my hair as a female. They matched me up with Stacy, who was absolutely fantastic whenever I saw her. I always went dressed, which adds a great deal to the experience, in my opinion. Sadly for me, Stacy left the business after she got married and learned she was pregnant with twins. Imagine that -- she had a real life outside the salon (sob)!

After bouncing around a couple of other stylists, I eventually settled on one and have now followed her to four locations. There is a lot of turnover and moving around in this business. She does a fine job with my hair (and is totally OK with my situation), but I still miss Stacy, who was a lot of fun to talk to and could be refreshingly "experimental" when it came to my hair color and style.

- Diane

[chrismy]

this sharing stories .. such fun. life is different for me today ... thanks to all. ;) update from the hair day holiday i just created for myself, which will be observed annually (or until the next totally cool thing that happens).... wife did not notice the dye job.. she knew i had it trimmed and said she kept looking at it and couldnt figure out what was different.... {that was cool}.. then she said- thats so natural, its what it used to be. got to work today and within 5 minutes of sitting down, a GG coworker said - you got your hair cut. (it was in a wet ponytail.. crazy) i said the split ends were trimmed, 1/2 inch. she said you are not supposed to do that until the moon is full. of course i pointed out, i was not aware of that but would try to adhere in the future. i just knew that the "you dyed your hair too!" was coming next but never heard a word the rest of the day even after it dried. so i guess it looks pretty natural somehow. baffles me. cheers to all!