Balayage

I have been thinking about coloring my hair for a couple years, but didn't have the courage to execute on that thought because I was happy with my virgin hair that hadn't been colored in 10+ years.  Plus, I didn't want to get trapped in the maintenance of having to return to the salon once every few months to touch up my roots since I have only been visiting the salon once a year for my routine cut.  But, with first the hombre trend, then the balayage trend following, my desire to change things up increased a little bit more since both these hair styles would not require a lot of maintenance.  I finally took the plunge today at Bebe Salon in Garden Grove, CA.  With a 4.5 star rating and over 500 reviews, it seemed promising.

This is what I had asked for.  A reddish/brownish undertone with a hint of blonde highlights.

Here is my before.  Good-bye virgin hair!

Here is my after

And this is how I feel about my new hair color - MEH!

While I don't think that she did a bad job, I have to admit that I had to stop myself from crying because it turned out nothing like the photo I showed her.  Where is the red undertone?  Why is it so blonde?  Kelly informed me that because my hair had never been colored before, she had to bleach, then dye, etc... but what upsets me is that I would have appreciated her telling me that the color I wanted would not be achievable the first time around.  But then again, scrolling through the photos on Yelp, it looks like her specialty is this copper/blonde color, so maybe I should have researched a little more before taking the plunge.

Hopefully this color will grow on me and may even be more appropriate during the summertime since it is lighter in shade.  Wish me luck!