My Balayage Experience

Hello friends! So I finally got my hair done and I thought I’d share my experience with you!

For a while now, I’ve wanted to colour my hair, specifically to ombre/balayage it. I had a faint idea of what I wanted which was to colour the ends of my hair an ashy blonde or light brown. As it was my first time dying my hair I didn’t know what to expect or what I needed to ask for in detail. So it definitely helped that the hairstylist I had was patient with all my questions and took the time to explain everything for a first timer like me.

The appointment started at around 12:30pm and lasted 2.5hours (which is what you would expect from a colouring appointment such as this). I showed my hairdresser photos of what style and colour I was after and she immediately went to mix the right colours for me to get my dark brown hair ‘lifted’ for an easier colouring application.

The first thing they will do is bleach your hair. My hairdresser asked me whether I wanted to bleach the entirety of my hair ends or to mix it with my natural hair, to which I asked for them to mix it with my natural hair as I didn’t want to do anything too drastic my first time. I also kept the top part of my hair with its natural colour so I didn’t damage it too much with a full head bleaching. It should be noted that each stylist will balayage differently so don’t worry if the YouTube tutorials you’ve been watching don’t follow the same method as the stylist you get. What my stylist did was separate my hair into sections and bleached smaller parts and folded it with foil. This was kept in my hair for about 20 minutes.

Next, the bleach was washed out to reveal a bright yellow colour (note that this is what should happen according to my hairstylist). After washing the bleach out, a toner is added which is what will give your bleached hair the colour you want. I did ask how this was different from normal hair dyes you may buy at the supermarket and the difference is that hair dyes can change your natural hair colour while toners will only change your bleached hair colour. However, like hair dyes, toners will fade over time, at which you may want to re-tone your hair or go for a completely different style. At this point, I was asked if I wanted a really blonde colour (like in the photo I showed her) or a darker blonde colour. I wanted a blonder colour but my hairdresser assured me that having a darker colour would mean that after a few washes it would become lighter and that it was more worth it starting off with a darker colour.  So that is what I went with.

After the toning, my hair was shampooed with a nutrient-rich shampoo that was specific for coloured/damaged hair. I can say that with this shampoo, my hair has felt silky smooth for the past few days without any feeling of damage from the bleach.

My hair was then cut (which for me meant a little trim to get rid of split ends) and then blow-dried. My hairstylist then styled my hair into curls before revealing the final product after 2.5hrs of work. I have to say I am quite pleased with the result, but I wish the colour was a bit more noticeable in photos haha. But I guess that also depends on lighting.

Right now I’m just waiting for my coloured hair to lighten up a bit. But it’s still at a very natural and subtle stage which I don’t mind. Next time, I may re-tone my hair a brighter blonde or a lighter brown so it is more noticeable. Or if I’m feeling confident, I may even bleach my own hair and save a bit of money haha.

So that’s my update. Let me know if you’ve recently had your hair done (if it was self-done or at a salon), was it what you were expecting or if there is anything you would change?

you can see the different coloured strands at the top of my head

looks more brown than blonde in this light hmm

Newtown Jammin’

A chilled and relaxed environment, colourful street art in the background, guitar in hand and a voice full of soul. Where am I?

Last week, a few friends and I took a trip to Newtown, a quaint suburb in Sydney known for its ‘hipster’ feel and an atmosphere that is completely inviting and comfortable to be in. Yes to positive vibes! Many of the buildings reign from the late Victorian and Federation period of Australia and still maintains its classic style. But of course, if you were to walk along the street today you won’t just encounter old buildings, instead you’ll come across skillfully drawn works of art on walls, some hidden in alleyways that are an explorer’s dream.

We had lunch in one of the cafe’s tucked away into the corner of one of these alleyways then headed off to find a ‘quiet’ place for us to bring out the guitar, rock out some solid harmonies and just jam. Of course, ‘quiet’ wasn’t quite what the place was, what with cars passing by every five minutes. But nevertheless we persevered, and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon singing amongst ourselves with little care in the world.

And it was great! The people passing by didn’t give us any disapproving looks as if to say ‘what are these delinquent children doing sitting on the side of the road?’ but it was as if they were enthralled and enjoyed what we were playing for them. It was as if they were used to this, and that it happened everyday. We ended our jam session with brownies, coffees and hot chocoloate. The perfect way to end a perfect day.

Suffice to say, I’m loving Newtown and for sure I will be returning for more!

Multi-purpose outfit for this adventure of a day included a blue chambray shirt under a grey cable knit turtle neck, black skinny jeans and of course my favourite white converse for a laid back, relaxed look to fit the hipster vibes ✌

“If you’re ever in one of those moods, where you feel like you need to get away, just think back to the good times, when there was laughter and smiles. Find your happy place and you’ll be good again.”