Christine the Curmudgeon

It is because of hairdressers such as the ones in this Annie’s Mailbox letter:

Dear Annie: Many of my friends and I color our hair to hide a few gray strands. Our stylists have always told us to never do our own hair with an over-the-counter color kit because “it will turn a strange shade that can’t be fixed” or “it will burn the hair and it will fall out.”

Is there really a difference between the store-bought hair color kit and the solutions used by salons? The monthly visits can get expensive, especially when the touch-up areas are so minimal that it could easily be done at home. Our little group of moms will be anxiously awaiting the final word. — Just a Little Gray

Dear Just a Little: There is a difference between professional hair coloring and over-the-counter varieties. Inappropriately applied or overly harsh chemical solutions can damage hair, but if you are careful, it can be done at home. Use a manufacturer you trust, find the gentlest product available, have a friend come over to make sure you don’t miss the back of your head, and follow the instructions closely.

I have not had a haircut in a salon for I don’t know how many years now.  The last time I had one, the bitchy stylist gave me shit after I admitted that I colored my hair at home.  The way she acted, you would think that I was stealing food out of her children’s mouths, for not letting HER color my hair.

She also did a shitty job with the cut.  Bitch.

Since then, I’ve lopped off my own hair at home.  When the back of it gets long enough to pull into a ponytail, I do just that, and lop off said ponytail.  Then I go and touch it up.  Mirrors are your friends here.  Just about every *do-it-myself* cut has been superior than anything I’ve ever gotten in a salon.  Even a more expensive salon.  To me, it’s all a waste of good money, money that I’d rather spend on something else.

I have never in my life had a color job done at a salon.  I’ve also never done serious damage to my hair by using drugstore hair coloring kits.  Okay, there WAS the time when I thought it would be fun to be a redhead, many moons ago.  I ended up hating it, and went out to the store the next day for another kit, and dyed it back to medium ash blonde.  Nothing bad happened, my hair didn’t all get fried, fall out, or anything.

Yanno, these snobby hairdressers had better watch out.  With the economy being the way it is, they oughta be damned grateful that people even come in for cuts anymore.  Not a good idea to push it by being condescending bitches about coloring.

Oh, and BTW, Christine the Curmudgeon usually donates money that she would have spent on haircuts to various animal charities.  So it’s not about saving money so much, it’s more about not having to deal with nasty, overly made-up and Botoxed bitches.  I’d rather my money go to help homeless animals, than to go towards the next Botox shot.

Sometimes I am jealous of Mr. Curmudgeon.  He gets to just go across the street to The Geezer Barbershop, and he gets a good cut for $14.  no condescending, money-grubbing bullshit there, in fact, he enjoys it.  He gets to sit in the chair and talk to the barber about the Red Sox and other cool stuff.

Too bad they don’t know how to cut my hair the way I like it.  Oh well.

Feed for this entry. Both comments and pings are currently closed.