Oh the vanity of it all!

I guess it's not a good thing when the lady waiting on me at a local hair shop asks me if I use a good, deep conditioner when I was simply purchasing new shampoo?

Ok, it wasn't as ghastly as I make that out. It's not as though she took one look at me and said, "Honey, you need help!" (She may have thought it though). I was going in to replenish my low shampoo and found a few combo sets on special. One set had 1 litre shampoo and 1 liter conditioner while the other option had 1 litre shampoo but only a small sized conditioner. I asked for color-treated and she looked rather forlorn when she told me she only had the set with the smaller conditioner in a color-treated mix. I told her not to worry - that I always have leftover conditioner - always use more shampoo. Then she looked at me, very concerned, asking how I styled my hair. When she found out it was with a flat iron she looked even more forlorn and asked if I routinely use anything to repair it.

With my 'new' style I've been using a flat iron daily, and in a nutshell, I'm pretty much frying my hair. I didn't need someone working in a salon to tell me that. I'm starting to look a little haggard, truth be told, and I had been meaning to pick up a tube of Alberto V05 for a while now. Anyway, $50-some later (oy vey!) I left the salon with a litre of shampoo, conditioner on the side, and a tube of heavy-duty hair repair formula with firm instructions to use it once a week. My next appointment for a cut and color isn't til May 13...so let's hope this magic potion lives up to what it's supposed to do, and keeps me looking presentable until then. I'm not holding my breath on the presentable - on account of the fact that my gosh darn roots are beyond obvious, not to mention the gray hairs accompanying them. I've tried this Tween Time stick thing that boasts being an easy way to cover the grays inbetween colors. I'm very 'fortunate' to be turning gray right on my part line so my hairdresser actually recommended this product to me to work as an interim solution (Read: to ensure I don't stray to a new hairdresser who's easier to get an appointment with. Read: to ensure I don't start to box-job it instead of spending $100 on my hair every other month). I suppose, in a pinch, it's an ok product, and I've not used anything else on the market to compare it with, but I truly don't love it. I don't think I've mastered the art of covering up said grays to make it effective, and, I truly despise the gunky feel it leaves behind.

Needless to say I'm anxiously awaiting for May 13th to get here, and I can't guarantee I won't try out a box job until then. Here's hoping for a more silky, less straw-like texture at least.

Gray hair is a blessing - ask any bald man. ~ Author unknown