Hair Update! Dyeing My Hair at Mint Hair Salon

I have never dyed my hair before, but I really wanted to change it up a bit, so I finally decided to go for it and get it done at a cute little hair salon called Mint!

Just to give you an idea, I have extremely thick hair that seems to scare hair dressers all around New York! It’s a little difficult to manage since it’s so dark and thick. I have wanted to dye my hair a for a while now, but I was afraid of the damage and the maintenance. After doing some research, I found that Mint had some pretty good reviews online, so I decided to give it a go!

Here are some pictures of my hair before. I just have solid straight black hair about midway down my back.

I wanted an ashy grayish brown hair color with a balayage ombré, so I made an appointment and told them what I wanted. They told me that the balayage process starts at $250 and can change depending on the hair type and length, so this is definitely not a cheap purchase. I literally had to empty all of my savings to get this done!

The hair salon itself is adorable! The interior and exterior are both designed beautifully and kind of remind me of a cafe. 

When you first arrive, they take your bags and jackets, place them in a locker, and hand you the key. Depending on how many people are there, you then either wait or head straight into the salon to consult with a hair dresser.

I showed my hair dresser pictures of what I wanted and she was extremely helpful in offering me advice on how it would look best for me. She told me that the hair dyeing would cost $300 and also offered an oil treatment to prevent damage for an additional $30. Like I mentioned before, my hair is extremely thick and I just have A LOT of it, so the hair dresser trimmed it and thinned it out for free. I usually get cheap $8 haircuts at shady places in Flushing, so I never experienced having someone advise me on the best hairstyle and cut for me personally. I loved the attention that I received!

They all give you complementary drinks, such as lemonade, iced coffee, and green tea, all served in cute little mason jars!  I chose hot green tea.

After the haircut, my hair had never felt so light and weightless before! She then moved on to begin the bleaching process. She divided my hair up into small sections,  applied the bleach onto each, and wrapped it up in foil. With my hair all wrapped up, I kind of actually looked like a lion! I could see the other people laughing at me because of how much hair I have, but it was pretty funny.

After about 30 minutes, my hair dresser then started brushing in more bleach on certain areas to achieve that ombré look. I’m not exactly sure how the hair dyeing process works,  but this is what I think happened. After waiting some more, I was walked over to the sink to wash out the bleach. Next, the oil treatment was applied and I had to wait some more. One thing I definitely learned from this, is that hair salons can be so boring and take FOREVER! I was so tired that I was half asleep as I waited. After the oil treatment was done, the final step was to get the toner in. This helps preserve the color of the your hair dye to keep it looking bright.  Finally, the hair dresser styled my hair with a curling iron and I was done! Unfortunately, my hair color didn’t come out like the ashy gray color that I wanted. Instead, it ended up being more orangey-brown because of the dark pigmentation of Asian hair, but I am still pretty happy with the result.

Including tip, the entire process cost me about $400. I am satisfied with the result, but I can’t say whether or not it was worth it. I do like the hair color, but I’m literally broke right now!

Here are some pictures of the final result immediately after.

And here is what my hair looked like the following day.

Thankfully, my hair was not damaged much by the bleach and actually still feels quite healthy. I think that ombré hair looks a lot better when your hair is curled or wavy, but sadly mine is straight 😦 I really don’t want to apply heat on it to curl it since it can cause damage.

So what do you guys think of my new hair color? Have you guys ever dyed your hair? I’m also looking for products to maintain the health of dyed hair, so please let me know if you know of any! I also really really want purple shampoo, so I can achieve a more ashy color, so please tell me in the comments!