Up until 2009, I probably averaged two medical appointments a year, including my annual physical. But this year? Some days I have three medical appointments. It’s crazy. Right now I’m doing about 10 appointments a week. Five radiation, three back wound dressing changes, and two miscellaneous, like oncology follow-ups, tests, pain med reviews, stuff like that. It takes up a lot of my time, and it keeps me feeling like a patient.
Yesterday was a special treat, because I had a rare appointment that was not medical in nature. I had an appointment with Meghan Dailey, hairstylist to the blogosphere!
She was a lot of fun, which was good because I spent almost three hours with her, getting all kinds of stuff done, starting with a consult in which we (she) brainstormed ideas that would work with my hair and meet my needs (I want to grow it, I want to transition back to my natural colour but in a way that minimizes the old patchy highlights, and it has to be really easy to care for because I’m styling-tool-challenged).
Here’s what we decided:
1) foil lowlights to cover the old highlights and to blend the colours;
2) a good cut with thinning (“so you won’t have triangle hair,” said Meghan);
3) a little streak of peekaboo purple nestled in amongst my curls (I haven’t had purple since my son dyed his hair purple as a teenager and convinced me to let him do a purple streak in mine. His was a gorgeous, vibrant shade of purple, but mine, for some reason, turned out greenish – it looked like a pigeon shit on my head.)
After she was done, Meghan taught me how to ‘do’ my hair on days I want more than wash-and-wear. Just put a bit of this curling oil on my hair and fingers, then twist bits of hair around my finger into curls. That’s it. I’m very happy with my new hair. It looks good, it feels lighter and healthier, and it’s easy.
Finally, we talked about basic hair care. Here are some rules that you probably already know, but which I mostly didn’t:
1. Comb or brush your hair before you wash it, not after.
2. Use just a bit of shampoo – the object is to wash your scalp, not your hair.
3. Leave the conditioner on long enough to shave your legs. (I missed one bit of info here – how much conditioner to use. I’m not sure if she said to condition all the hair or just the tips.)
4. Blot the water out of your hair with a towel – don’t rub it.
5. There’s nothing wrong with air-drying your hair, but keep your fingers out of it while it’s drying.
6. Give all your drugstore shampoo and conditioning products to your boyfriend, because they’re not good enough for your hair. Buy quality stuff from the salons.
7. If you use a blow dryer, use the diffuser. Just tilt your head, point the blow dryer upwards, sit your locks on top of the diffuser, and blow, one section at a time. You don’t need to move the hair dryer around.
I liked a lot of things about Meghan, including her creativity and her down-to-earth approach to hair. She doesn’t believe in fighting your hair type, or in stylists giving you styles that you can’t or won’t maintain. I like that she calls grey hair “sparklers.” I also liked that she didn’t hurt me. My last stylist used to routinely burn my scalp and ears, and repeatedly comb my ears. I found this odd, because I don’t have huge ears that stick out at funny angles or anything. But she used to comb and burn them, and she wouldn’t stop even when I said “ouch.” She said pain was something you had to endure for beauty. Meghan’s philosophy of beauty is much more humane.
Here are her coordinates, if you want to give her a try:
Meghan Dailey
Le Spa
429 McLaren St.
(613) 234-5113
What? No pics?
ditto
I’m so glad you had a great time with Meghan. There’s a reason why she’s the hairstylist to the blogosphere! She is excellent.
Now we need to see a photo of the new hair!
You’re absolutely right. Pictures are in order. I don’t know what I was thinking. (Maybe a thousand words would make up for a picture? I dunno.) Anyway, I’ll get right on that. Probably tomorrow, after I wash it and dry it. Stay tuned…
Ditto the ditto
Conditioner: You use a small blob about the size of a nickle, rub it thoroughly in your hands and apply only to the ends of the hair — general rule of thumb is about 3 inches from the scalp down. I’m very excited to see your new hair, too!!
Thanks for all the advice for those of us who are hairstyle device-challenged and passed it on.
Trust me… she looks hot!
You have no idea how much I love Meghan. Beyond being just a fabulous human, she’s done wonders with my curls. Love her to bits…
xup is right. about a hazelnut-size blob of conditioner. the conditioner you got can be put right to the roots, though. it’s just that your midshafts and ends need more of it. when it goes on your roots you get to give yourself the head massage then
i had such a good time with you yesterday. thankyou so much for letting me play in your hair!!
I’m pretty boring when it comes to my hair. I go every three weeks to Magicuts. Yup. Pretty boring I am.
Ditto the ditto the ditto and please, please show us the fun purple . . . it sounds smashing.
Thanks for all the hair tips. Meghan sounds like a keeper.
Sounds great! It is rare to find a hair cutter/dresser who understands the hair itself and looks at how it grows on your (individual) head. I wonder how much it costs for just a hair cut? I may let mine get a little longer so I can have bangs.
Oooh, I went to Le Spa when I lived in Ottawa!
photo!
Can’t wait to see the pictures!
In general salon brand shampoos and drug store brands have the same ingredients – many of which are potentially problematic – ie: carcinogenic
Shampoo Cleansing Ingredients To Avoid:
Extremely common ingredients
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate
Ammonium Laureth Sulfate
Ammonium Xylene Sulfonate
TEA Lauryl Sulfate
Sulfur (in dandruff shampoos)
Selenium Sulfide (in dandruff shampoos)
Less common ingredients
Magnesium Sulfate
Sodium Thiosulfate
Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Alkyl Sodium Sulfate
Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate
TEA-Dodecylbenzene
Sodium C12-15 Alkyl Sulfate
Sodium Dodecyl Sulfonate
So read the ingredients before buying, whereever you buy them.
I get my shampoo and conditioner at the health food store because it is unscented too. The kids use a PC brand baby shampoo/bodywash
Pictures are forthcoming!
Um, I didn’t know about most of the hair care “tips” you listed. (Most likely why my hair style resembles a frizzy mop!) Thank you. p.s. Meghan sounds wonderful.