Yesterday was a bit rough! I went to Miami to have my hair cut / treated —
(MAJOR DIGRESSION: my last Japanese straightening was in January, and it did not go so well. I think my hair was ironed too long/hot and was damaged during the process, and I wasn’t happy with the result. I’ve been going to the same salon since 2013 and never complained before, so they took me seriously and did a free treatment to help fix it. I think there was keratin involved which I don’t love, but my hair does seem a bit better today!)
— ANYWAY. Every single time I have a hair appointment on the calendar, I tell myself “oh, that’s just part of the day, clearly you will have time to get some significant pod/course-type work done too.”
And every single time I drive over an hour each way and sit in a chair for hours, I am incapable of basically anything else. I know that some people are able to work while they are getting hair treatments, but there is just so much up and down and straightening and drying and etc with Japanese straightening that it hasn’t been feasible for me. PLUS I know everyone at the salon (see above note, I’m a very loyal client) and there is always some chatting.
Maybe having laid all of this out on the table, I will remember that next time I should not assign myself anything else. Just — hair! And driving! And that can be the focus of the day. I DID choose a Saturday for my next treatment, which I haven’t done in forever, but our kids are bigger now and it’s not like me leaving is such as hardship, so I think it’s time to stop giving up a full midweek work day every six months.
Side note – I am kind of sick of seeing the Invisalign in all of my pix – but I’m almost done!!! (And very glad I did it. My bottom teeth are so straight now, and it does look better PLUS is way easier to floss. And I actually didn’t mind wearing the trays AT ALL.)
In other news, I did see the dermatologic surgeon prior to discuss my MOHS and he made me feel a bit better about it all. I did learn that I might be there a long time that day depending on what the path shows! He predicts that I may have to have a few baby hairs shaved but not my real hairline unless the cells extend much farther than he suspects. FINGERS CROSSED. (I’m doing this next month.)
In other OTHER news, I am determined to get back to Inbox Zero by Monday. In theory I’m attempting an every Wednesday cleanout, but when days get derailed by things like essential hair straightening procedures it doesn’t always happen.
(I AM at EPIC/EHR Inbox Zero and work/outlook inbox zero though!).
11 Comments
I just got my hair done with Magic Sleek yesterday! It’s supposed to be a less chemical-y and better for your hair type of keratin treatment/Brazilian blowout. I’ll update you in a few days how it turns out, but it was 3-ish hours for my long, very thick hair and I was able to spend most of the time reading, which was awesome.
ooh please keep us updated! I was considering switching to Pro Addiction but until this particular round I have been so happy w the Japanese. My hair is not that curly more wavy + frizzy.
I see what you mean about the damage, but tbh I think the treatment you got helped a ton. Out of curiosity, how often do you wash your hair (not that this is relevant to anything — just curious)? I bet in a year from now your hair will be back to the way it was.
I started dying my hair purple about 6 months ago, and it does take some upkeep… but maybe an hour every month or so in the comfort of my own house. It turns out purple hair dye sticks really well to white hair even if you don’t bleach it, so yay!
I wash it every day – I know that is like probably not optimal BUT it’s habit. My shampoo is pretty gentle though (the Milbon products for Japanese straightened hair). it doesn’t really like, suds . . .
I love that your hair is purple!!
I hope in a year it’s back – I kind of feel like some of it will just have to grow out, but a year is ~6″ hair growth so there will be lots of progress!
Not to get too sidetracked here, but what type of dye do you use? I have a lot of white hair for my age and have wanted to add some purple (my favorite color) for years now, but I really don’t know what I’m doing.
I’ve been using Arctic Fox. I mix Purple AF with Blue Jean Baby (approximately equal parts) and a touch of Transylvania. I have very pale skin and blue eyes, and don’t really tan (I am a “true winter”) and I asked ChatGPT what fashion colors would look best, and even uploaded a picture of myself. It recommended a deep purple / plum, and one of the recommended color combinations. Brad Mondo has some great tutorials, but if you’re already very white you can skip the bleach. Key is to section the hair, have someone check the back for missing spots, use gloves. The roots will fade faster than the rest of the head, so I mix the same combo with conditioner and leave it in about 10 min every time I wash my hair. I end up redoing the whole head about once per month. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, and I get lots of compliments!
I don’t know much/ anything about Japanese straightening, but your hair looks fantastic! Fabulous.
The whole salon rigamarole is why I started colouring my own hair (I know this doesn’t apply to Japanese straightening, which sounds like a very complicated process, just…commiserating). I just could NOT give up the time anymore, and I think the colour-at-home gave me pretty similar results, so…here I am.
Everyone should do to their hair whatever makes them feel their best 🙂 I have a very feminist take on hair personally. I think of my male coworkers and how much time they spend on their hair (which is, wash and brush), and then I do the same. No dye, no blowing/straightening. I don’t see why I should spend time on my hair when my male counterparts are doing more interesting things (or getting more sleep!). I can’t imagine most males spending 2 PTO days on their hair. I personally get a cut every 6m or so. We actually figured out that my husband spends more on his hair than I do, since while his cuts are cheaper, he gets them done much more often due to having shorter hair where mine is just below my shoulders.
my feminist take is that my hair straightening does not come out of my ‘personal allowance’ since there it just doesn’t seem like there is a fair equivalent 🙂
Ha, true! Related but not, does personal travel (fall trip with friends, acapella group reunion) come out of household or allowance? We’ve struggled each year on how much my allowance vs household should pay for BPLA Live , so answer carefully 😉
household for both of us as long as we keep it within reason. (and admittedly I try to use points/miles for lots of that type of thing too — williamstown and nova scotia flights all points, no $ — but I did pay for hotels). Right now I seem to take more of these than Josh but he’s got some and I keep encouraging him to do more.