Haircolor and the Accidental Stay at Home Mom

Let me just say right off the bat, that I haven't seen my natural hair color since I was pregnant with my son in 1998. I like my hair blond, not brown. No offense to anyone, but blondes really do have more fun :) As a working Mom, I would get my hair cut and colored in the salon about every 2 months or so.  This process could sometimes take up to 2 hours, and wasn't something I could work in during the week.  So usually I would schedule my appointments way in advance for a Saturday when my husband could watch the kids.  This would set me back anywhere from $100 -$200 depending on where I was living at the time.  After baby #3 (unexpectedly) arrived I decided I would try my hand at the home hair color kit, since diapers and a nanny were now a priority.  That attempt was a disaster, and I went back to the salon where I paid around $300 for the 3 hours of work it took to fix my mistake.  Some time went by and I forgot about this trauma; what can I say, I was sleep deprived and stressed out.  I saw a new product called root touch up.  Just what I needed!  I used it and it worked great.  I could delay my salon visits by at least a month. 

darker than I like

After that I got bold and decided to try all over color myself.  My hair is very thick, so it hides small errors that I may make in application.  My husband said it looked as good as the salon.  I believed him, since he wasn't one to give me a hard time over my hair appointments.  My blond friends can't believe that I do this myself successfully.  I have tried Miss Clairol, Preference (because I'm worth it!), John Frieda, and Nutreisse.  My favorite is Preference, but I will use coupons if I can get one free or cheap.  A few weeks ago I got a coupon in the mail from CVS to try the new John Freida foam.  3 days before my husband and I were leaving for London, I decided to try it.  My light shinny blond went to a dark mousy brown. Not pretty.  I went back to CVS and got another box of Preference the next day and tried again.  My hair was so dark, that my normal shade of Preference didn't deliver results.  Yesterday, after a week in London, I tried again with a lighter shade.  My kids and husband didn't notice a change, although I thought it was a bit lighter.  Sigh.  I guess I will have to wait a few weeks or risk totally frying my hair.  I am hoping for some out of town interviews in a few weeks.  Maybe that will give me a good excuse to go back to the salon.