Does anyone remember this hair (September 2007)? Even on a short list of Leslie's Worst Hair Ever, this takes the cake.

This was less than a week out of the salon. Roots like nobody's business, weird brassy highlights, and a blunt cut that was completely unmanageable.
Does anyone remember the story behind the haircut? The one where, before my hair was even completely dry, I piped up and told the stylist she had totally missed the boat? I was pretty nice about it. After all, I had specifically requested my hair to be kept longer and dark, also, I had been to her three times and I thought we were on the same page. But we weren't, and she seemed really insulted by my complaint. She agreed to fix my hair but wouldn't do it that day, something about not wanting to damage it. My best intentions and plans to return the next week ended abruptly when I overheard this stylist and another talking about me in the back room, the consensus being, "I think it looks FINE!" Well, fine it may look if you just came out of the Dollar Cuts, or maybe even if you did it yourself with lemon juice and kitchen scissors (oh good! It looks fine!) but fine does not cut it when paying into the triple digits. I went home in tears, cancelled the re-schedule, un-sent the friends I had referred, and sobbed my sad story to friends and family.
Six months later, I found a new girl named
Shiva in a little salon in downtown Austin. The most appealing part to me was that she had worked on the runway in New York. She seemed to have some serious hair skills and experience, not to mention the price was way more reasonable. I went for it. I was so glad I chose Shiva because come to find out, she has also been to art school and knows a heck of a lot more about the chemistry of color than a client could ever fathom. One of the first things she said to me was, "Girl, you are orange!" and I just knew we were going to be friends. It fascinated me to hear her talk about the complexity of color being something they just do not teach at hair school. Ultimately, she put her money where her mouth is. In just a couple of hours, she salvaged my hair; the color, the cut, the roots, the damage and in the process managed to salvage my self-esteem. Thank goodness for that. I had started to lose faith in the hair business altogether.

Shiva, you are a superhero.


Back to my roots and couldn't be happier. I'm so glad this tragic tale has a happy ending!