I never thought I'd see the day when I would actually use one of those home dye jobs that my mother and aunts used to fuss over. But these days, with the economy as it is, and the cost of a cup of coffee is greater than a share of citi, I trim where I can.
I opted to grow my hair longer to avoid the monthly $75 hair cut, but those pesky gray hairs don't seem to know the meaning of recession. They keep growing and multiplying, which is more that I can say for my 401k. Sure I can spare the expense of getting it professionally colored (once every couple of months won't break the bank) but I feel incredibly guilty about it. I've been putting it off all summer, thinking that I can hide under a hat or up in a ponytail, until this morning...
My partner lives in Montclair, NJ, and while he thinks it is less expensive than CT, I heartily disagree. There are no less than 6 hair salons within a 2 block radius of his condo and they all charge upwards of $100 for color. I don't know what came over me (perhaps the fact that the dow was down over a 100 points this morning), but I walked over to CVS and picked up a box of Natural Instincts (new from Clairol? supposed to be the more natural of the line, no ammonia, has antioxidants, etc etc etc) for $9.99 + tax. Fully aware that this gamble would be expensive to fix.
Lo and behold, an hour later (color, wash and all), no more grays! And my hair does not feel coarse nor smell like I've been hanging out a chemical plant. Woo-hoo!!!
Now, men, I know this may not seem big, but for women who have to maintain their hair color, this is a major coup. I figured I saved at least $90 + tip multiplied by 6 colors per year....
Thank you MOM!
color in a bottle
October 1st, 2009 at 05:45 pm
October 1st, 2009 at 05:54 pm 1254419659
October 1st, 2009 at 06:14 pm 1254420887
Good point Joan of Arch.
October 1st, 2009 at 06:23 pm 1254421429
But dang - maybe it would be a good idea to try.
You have braved into a whole new universe. I salute you.
October 1st, 2009 at 07:15 pm 1254424517
October 1st, 2009 at 07:53 pm 1254426807
October 1st, 2009 at 08:00 pm 1254427249
I think they're raking you over the coals when you have someone color your hair. Even doing my own, i was sucked in by those L'Oreal commercials ("Because you're worth it") and spent about $8 per box for years before i figured out that hair dye is hair dye is hair dye. I switched to Clairol (no ammonia) at $2.99 a box. I can deal with that, and really, the end results are the same.
I also prefer to do my own becus at the salon they really slather on that dye so much that it soaks into your scalp. That can't be good for a person. I'm more careful to coat my hair, not my skin, when i apply the stuff.
But my hair grows so fast i absolutely can't go beyond 4 weeks between dyes. In the interim, when my gray/white roots show, i found a great product from Color Mark, a temporary liquid hair color you apply with a mascara-like wand. It really works well to hide my roots until i can do a full coloring and costa bout $20 for a small bottle that's lasted me 6+ months.
October 1st, 2009 at 08:19 pm 1254428379
October 2nd, 2009 at 08:50 pm 1254516657
Jerry
October 6th, 2009 at 01:35 am 1254792937
I've never bought it for $1 a box though, here we don't have coupons like you guys do, so a 'good' price on hair dye is under $15 a box