Brooke Moinet

Ah, how I love to experiment. If you had a moment with my mother, she would tell you all about my little science experiments when I was younger, and the messes I would make. As I got older I turned these experiments onto my hair, coloring it myself in the sixth grade. Yes, it was a disaster but, then like now, when I had an idea of what I wanted to do I wanted it now, and I could not wait for an appointment.
So, if I am out of town and want a change of style I do a quick Google and find the closest most reputable salon.
This time it ended up being Prive at Shore Club in South Beach. My intention was to go lighter and try to keep my length. Yet, upon meeting my colorist I got nervous and ended up going darker in fear that I would end up with fried locks instead of a healthy blonde halo.
She seemed confident but I could tell from her own hair that going lighter may not be the wisest choice due to her pixy cut and poorly toned blonde cut on top her head.
I also should have known this would make it much harder for myself to go lighter in the future , but I needed a change so I dove in and went for a rich #3, darkest brown…

Turns out the girl coloring my hair was in fact an armature (I knew it) despite her rave reviews online. It also doesn’t help that I consider myself an expert in hair color (on others hair) and I am super anal about making sure the hair is saturated when doing an all over color. (I noticed several strands that still had light spots once my cutting stylist blow dried my hair at the end of the service.) To be fair the poor girl didn’t really stand a chance doing my color. When I was an “assistant” to a “top” colorist at the last salon I worked at, I wanted to pull my hair out every time I had to endure the sight of  her doing a color.  Bleeds with high-lights, sloppy coloring techniques, same toner for almost every client, I said “WTF in my head on a daily basis… So this girl at Prive, who probably only has two years out of beauty school (at the most),  didn’t stand a chance once I stepped into her chair.
Thank heaven the stylist who cut my hair was a real expert, who even helped launch Toni and Guy salons, the makers of TIGI and BED HEAD in Europe. Nice work Franck!
So, in the end I was happy for the change but I was left unsatisfied and wanted more.  More Blonde!

 Damn my need for change…

Is coloring your hair at home a good idea? Sure it’s cheap, the economy is going bust, and finding a good time to get into your stylist can be impossible. But, before you say screw it and head to the supermarket for that box color with Eva Longoria on the cover, let me give you some advice.

1. If you want to go lighter, know that “color” does NOT lift color. So if your hair has been previously dyed don’t even attempt this application. If your hair is natural, at home color usually only lifts about two levels or shades.
2. By all means please lease do not try to highlight your own hair, believe me it will look hideous. There is a reason stylist go to beauty school and continue their education throughout the years, it’s all about technique.
3. If wanting go red, please know that RED is the hardest to remove from the hair…
4. Know your tones. All hair color comes in a level or shade plus the tone of the shade. Meaning brown/gold, brown/violet, brown/ash. etc. So, learn your tones and remember which one you use on your hair in-case of a mishap and you need your stylist to correct it.
5. at home hair color is notorious for containing metallic dyes. Metallic dyes make it very difficult to change or correct a color. And layering these dyes create build up and usually end up looking “muddy” or “flat” over time.

Hopefully this helps you in your decision over whether or not to color your hair yourself.