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Let me start off with this: I love my hair. I have (almost) always loved my hair. It’s been long and blonde and short and black. I’ve had pink tips and red roots. I’ve had side bangs and layers. I love getting my hair done. There’s nothing better than relaxing in a chair while a stylist works their magic.
For the past few years I’ve had a major issue when it comes to my hair—I get bored. Every few months I’ve had the urge to cut it all off or dye it yet again. After one too many box dyes gone wrong, I found my saviour—Chloe Litchy, a hair stylist at Sage Salon and Spa near my home town in Windsor, Ontario. I’ve known Chloe for a few years, but was always too cheap or too broke to make an appointment.
For the past year or so, I would shoot Chloe a message with an idea of what I wanted, usually more blonde added, and then I would leave the rest up to her. I always came out looking great, don’t get me wrong, but a few months later I’d be bored again. Normal hair bores me—sure, it makes me look more adult, more professional, but it’s boring. I was thinking about how I didn’t have much time left before joining the workforce (where fun hair is still frowned upon in many career paths) when I got the idea. So, I messaged her:
Messages I sent to Chloe Litchy.
When I asked Chloe what she originally thought, she said “I was very excited at the opportunity, to work with Her Campus [Western], and to have complete creative freedom. I also loved the feeling of being trusted completely!” She knew from the beginning that this was an experience I would have to write about.
So, I booked my appointment and waited. I almost chickened out a hundred times. I almost messaged her with rules and instructions—but I didn’t. I waited. I stressed. I got excited and I got anxious. I fashioned a pair of blacked out sunglasses I could wear without interfering with whatever she had planned.
My hair following my previous appointment, photo taken by Chloe Litchy.
After what felt like forever it was finally the morning of my appointment. At first, she didn’t have me put the glasses on, just carefully pulling my hair towards the back of my head so I couldn’t see what was going on, but that didn’t last long.
I tried my best to guess what was happening. I thought I smelled bleach—which was disappointing, because I had hoped she would do something fun with my hair, not just lighten my already blonde locks. Then, while my hair was “cooking,” I was turned from the mirror and allowed to take my glasses off to use my phone while I waited—as long as I didn’t open my camera! Fully invested in this experience, I readily agreed. But when I accidentally touched my hair and a spot of dark dye stained my hand, I was disappointed again. I really thought Chloe would take advantage of the opportunity of a blonde head and go crazy. Meanwhile, my head looked like this:
Photo taken by Chloe Litchy
And then, like this:
Photo taken by Chloe Litchy.
While Chloe worked, we chatted. Everyone wanted to know why her client had glasses on—was it laser eye surgery? Or was she just crazy? When I asked her about it after, Chloe told me that all her coworkers “thought it was a very cool concept.” It was something she had never seen during her career, or even heard about happening in “real life.”
After two and a half hours in the chair, it was finally time for the big reveal. I honestly don’t know who was more nervous, Chloe or me!
Myself in the homemade “blindfold.” Photo taken by Chloe Litchy.
My initial reaction was pure shock. Gone was my blonde hair, replaced with natural looking roots and shades of purple and peach. It took me a minute, I’m not going to lie. But the longer I looked in the mirror the more I loved it. It looked nothing like anything I had pictured in my head the past few weeks, but it was so much better! I was speechless, turning my head this way and that, touching my fingers to the multi-coloured strands. I went through a stint in high school where I had hot pink tips—but that was box dye. This was something else altogether.
The multitude of colours used to create my custom look. Photo taken by Chloe Litchy.
Excitedly, Chloe told me about all the work that had gone into this custom made colour just for me—a colour she liked so much that she plans on replicating it for herself! The new lavender tones in my hair would fade to an ashy grey-blonde and the peach would fade to a pinky-blonde. The key to this experience was having a stylist that knows you well. Chloe knows all about my boredom issues, so she chose colours that would fade into a new look, colours that could easily be dyed over, or brightened.
While I couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out, I still had to ask how Chloe had come up with such a creative style for me: “I did a lot of research on Instagram and Pinterest to find some inspiration, as well as checked out some pages for other stylists I know to see what they are realistically doing with their brave[r] clients. I loved the look of lavender with peach, it’s pretty, not too over the top, and something you don’t see every day. Originally, I was thinking just lavender, but I wanted that extra pop from the peach.” She also consulted her coworkers on what products would be best over all, every step of the way.
Photo taken by Chloe Litchy
The thought, time and effort Chloe puts into her art is something that I deeply appreciate not only as her client, but as her friend. While I was nervous, I never had any doubts about the fact that I would leave the salon with a smile on my face. Would I do this again? In a heartbeat.
As an added bonus, bitmoji now has a purple ombre look!
Book an appointment with Chloe at Sage Salon: 519-735-4884
Contact Chloe through Facebook: here!
Check our other work’s done by Chloe on her Instagram: here! See if you can spot my head!
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- We Tried It: Colab’s Dry Shampoo
- So, I Didn’t Wash My Hair for a Month
- Learning to Love My Curly Hair
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