I should have been a hair dresser...

Ok so last night I decided I wanted dark hair. So I went to the Broulim's (that's right, THE Broulim's) and bought myself a box of dye. I splurged on the pricy (12.99) box...the new Clairol Perfect10. You only need to leave it on your hair for 10 minutes...versus the normal 40 minutes. I must say that I'm a fan. However, as with almost all dye jobs, my hair didn't turn out how I planned. It's almost black. Borderline Gothic. But still saucy. So then I lied (lay? laid? lain? English majors??) awake last night thinking about the pros and cons of dying your hair yourself versus going to the hair dresser. Here's what I came up with.

The great thing about dying your hair at home is the spontenaity. One minute I'm thinking I want dark hair and the next I am giving myself dark hair....rather than making an appointment for a week later and changing my mind in between the thought and the action.

If you're wanting to dye your hair all one color, doing it at home is much cheaper than going to a salon. My "stylist" has a salon in her garage, and she charges me $50 (cheap yes, but not 12.99 cheap) for a cut and color.

One thing you don't get at home is the professional touch and relaxation time. If you're in a hurry or trying to be frugal with the dye, sometimes at-home jobs end up with missed spots or an uneven weave. A professional would obviously take the time to do a good job....it's what she does. My favorite part of getting my hair done is when the dye comes out. Having someone else wash my hair and massage my scalp is a great stress releiver.

Here's something to keep in mind when changing your hair style or color:

What you look like in your head is very rarely how you actually look. I don't know about you, but when I picture myself, I picture myself about 50 lbs. thinner, three shades tanner, and my hair is twice as long and half as coarse. So you may be imagining a hair cut on your perfect form, that may or may not look great on your actual form. Even if you take a picture of Jennifer Aniston to the stylist and say "do that", it's not going to look like the picture. Here's why: you are NOT Jennifer Aniston. Your face is not shaped like Jennifer Aniston's. Your skin tones are not the same as Jennifer Aniston's. Your hair is not the same texture as Jennifer Aniston's. You will not look like Jennifer Aniston. Which is a shame because I think she is gorgeous and the world would be a better place if we all looked like Jennifer Aniston.

Something else to remember is that the stylist probably knows better than you do what will make you look good. Ultimately I like to go to the hairdresser and say: Do whatever you want. And she magically makes me beautiful....but you'll have to find someone that you know and trust and who actually cares about you and wouldn't make you look ridiculous. Good luck with that!