Accidentally Blonde?

Oh by the way, did I tell you I went blonde last month?

I totally didn't mean to. I wanted to go closer to natural again, cause the past couple of times I've dyed my hair lately it's been *much* darker than I wanted it to be. I asked the hairdresser about it and he looked at my damaged hair (I've dyed it at least 6 times in the past year and had a straight-perm and volume-setting done, so it's MEGA damaged at this point) and said "impossible." Impossible because he'd have to bleach it all to dye it light brown, then my damaged hair would be dead as a door nail. I asked what he suggested and he asked if I'd be ok with highlights. They'd be subtle enough to make my dark hair look light brown again, then they'd be easy to maintain as my light brown hair grows out. Sure, why not!

And then the process began.

I like to document life. Johnny and his awesome team work at Hair & Joy, a great salon in Hongdae, Seoul. They're great with foreign clients! I read several reviews online and decided to give them a try and I'm glad I did. It's much easier to find than I expected, though of course I still got lost (I like to make things more complicated than they are, apparently.) 

Also, I had so much foil in my hair I was getting HBO! (Miss Congeniality quote, anyone?) 

After the setting time, it was time for the wash and rinse and tint. I didn't have my camera when my head was in the sink but THAT IS THE BEST PART AMIRIGHT?? I love the scalp massage part of a good salon visit! And the conditioner smelled so good! 

Then I got this funky moisture treatment with a billowing hood, and my hairdresser told me, "Zara! You look like alien! Take a picture!" So, duh, I was all up on that. 

And then the unveil! There were way more highlights than I expected and it was SO MUCH LIGHTER than I thought it would be! Johnny and his team set to work treating me like a princess with no fewer than 4 people working on my hair to dry, fluff, and straighten it to perfection. 

DRUM ROLL  PLEASE...

...

Here's the BEFORE shot for effect... An unfortunate ombre of light brown roots to dark reddish to dark brown... 

BEFORE 

...

TA-DA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AFTER!!! 

I am Princess! It took me a while to get used to, not gonna lie. I know it's not super blonde, it's a nice sandy dark blonde, but it it felt like I was wearing a wig for about a month. I've never been blonde before and didn't expect to go blonde while I live in Korea. As much as I love attention, there are just some times it's nice to duck out and blend in just a little... 

But now that I'm used to it, I really like it :):) Check "going blonde" off my bucket list! Maybe I'll even keep it for a while!