The Great Hair Highlighting Experiment

You women know what a big deal it is to find a hair stylist you trust and are comfortable with.  Leaving my trusted stylist, Chloe, who’s name was really Ashley, behind in Philaelphia was so hard.  She knew my hair.  Everyone teased me about how I would have to learn to wear my hair big and blond once I moved to Texas.  They weren’t too far off from the truth.

I tried a few stylists in Houston before settling on one who cut my hair well and listened to my pleas to keep my highlights subtle.  The salon she worked at was pricey, so I was thrilled when she moved salons and cut her prices dramatically.  I guess her former salon threatened to sue her for stealing clients, but that never happened.  After almost two years, her husband got a promotion and they moved away to Memphis. 

So I’m left with no stylist again, and I wanted to get my roots highlighted before our trip north.  I asked for suggestions on Facebook but most of the answers came from friends with stick-straight, non-highlighted hair.  And the salons they mentioned were either super expensive or highly sketchy (next to a tattoo parlor?!).  So ever the frugal fashionista, I took to the beauty products store and investigated the options for tackling this task myself. 

Crazy, I know. 

I figured using a cap with teeny little holes made logical sense.  So I selected the Loreal Frost and Design kit for darker brown hair. 

And I asked my Facebook friends to pray for me. 

First I did the strand test.  I discovered that only painting the roots leaves a REALLY weird stripe halfway down. 

The kit gives you two sizes of hooks, with which you are supposed to pull clumps of hair through the world’s smallest holes.  Let me tell ya, it SUCKS.  I could not get the strands hooked onto the hook.  And the larger hook did not fit through the holes. 

And then there’s the matter of not being able to SEE THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD.  Kind of a problem when trying to fish for hair with a tiny hook through tiny holes. 

Eventually I got what seemed like a good amount of hair through the cap in a “face framing” pattern.  Mix bleach, sit around for half an hour, and then rinse, shampoo, and coat with freaky purple toner.  This kit had a LOT of steps.  But the results were not terrible. 
I did get some bolder streaks in the front.
And didn’t get quite enough of my roots covered.
And I had no idea about the chunk of darkness in the back.
So in the end, I will be paying someone to highlight my hair next time!   As you can see, I’m not that great at flat-ironing my curls, and I certainly will not try to cut it myself. 

Author: Sarah

Mom of three. Triathlete.

18 thoughts on “The Great Hair Highlighting Experiment”

  4. You should get Mike to do it. I actually color and highlight Shelly’s hair. Been doing it for years. Awesome results if I do say so myself.

  5. You should get Mike to do it. I actually color and highlight Shelly’s hair. Been doing it for years. Awesome results if I do say so myself.

  6. You should get Mike to do it. I actually color and highlight Shelly’s hair. Been doing it for years. Awesome results if I do say so myself.

  7. Wow, two GUYS commenting on my hair…that’s really interesting, even if both of you are really good friends of mine. Well thanks guys! Kevin, that’s amazing that you do that for her…do you use a kit with a cap? I don’t think Mike would be so willing…maybe if I told him it saves us almost $100 each time. Shelly’s hair IS cute, but admittedly my shorter than mine.

  8. Wow, two GUYS commenting on my hair…that’s really interesting, even if both of you are really good friends of mine. Well thanks guys! Kevin, that’s amazing that you do that for her…do you use a kit with a cap? I don’t think Mike would be so willing…maybe if I told him it saves us almost $100 each time. Shelly’s hair IS cute, but admittedly my shorter than mine.

  9. Wow, two GUYS commenting on my hair…that’s really interesting, even if both of you are really good friends of mine. Well thanks guys! Kevin, that’s amazing that you do that for her…do you use a kit with a cap? I don’t think Mike would be so willing…maybe if I told him it saves us almost $100 each time. Shelly’s hair IS cute, but admittedly my shorter than mine.

  10. It look good, Sarah! I can’t even imagine the result if I tried this! I pay a pretty penny for my hair, but it’s my one splurge. You did a great job!

  11. It look good, Sarah! I can’t even imagine the result if I tried this! I pay a pretty penny for my hair, but it’s my one splurge. You did a great job!

  12. It look good, Sarah! I can’t even imagine the result if I tried this! I pay a pretty penny for my hair, but it’s my one splurge. You did a great job!

  13. for doing highlights at home your first time it looks good. I have had so many at home diasters it is not funny. after the last time i had to pay someone to fix it because it was so bad i have decided that i will not color my hair again for a while, it’s been 7 months and i am starting to see grey hairs. EEEK!

  14. for doing highlights at home your first time it looks good. I have had so many at home diasters it is not funny. after the last time i had to pay someone to fix it because it was so bad i have decided that i will not color my hair again for a while, it’s been 7 months and i am starting to see grey hairs. EEEK!

  15. for doing highlights at home your first time it looks good. I have had so many at home diasters it is not funny. after the last time i had to pay someone to fix it because it was so bad i have decided that i will not color my hair again for a while, it’s been 7 months and i am starting to see grey hairs. EEEK!

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