Up until a month ago, it had been a long time since I’d gotten my hair done in a salon, let alone touched it. To be exact, I hadn’t visited a salon in a year and three months – the last time being when I spent about $200 on a toning session that lasted me all of 2 weeks. I’ve spent quite a bit of dough on my hair over the years, to the point where I haven’t even been able to bring myself to cut it for three years now. My mentality is if I’m spending hundreds of dollars on my hair, there’s no way I’ll be cutting it off. Hair is money after all.

Well I figured my balayage had grown out quite enough over the past year and since COVID has me feeling like a whole new person altogether, I decided to get it redone. I chose to go to Lisa Dinh Hair Studio in Toronto, which is known for their professional stylists specializing in hair colouring. I initially made a hair appointment with them pre-lockdown but when things shut down indefinitely, so did my dreams of getting my hair recoloured – until now. Read on to hear about my first time going back to a salon during COVID!

 

The senior stylist I had my heart set on actually left before I got a chance to come in but this ended up working in my favour cost-wise. FYI for anyone who wants to book with Lisa Dinh, the pricing varies upon experience. Therefore, senior stylists would charge more than junior stylists and new talent. When I got quoted by one of the senior stylists for the treatment I wanted, I almost had a heart attack. It would’ve started at $500+ before taxes and tip for a global bleaching treatment. Good thing she could practically see me panicking so I was suggested to book with a junior stylist instead.

After looking through their work, I decided to book with Paulo Mendonca who is also the only male stylist at the salon. This was surprising for me because I always make a point to book with a female stylist after a male one butchered my hair once upon a time. Well I ended up loving his work and the pricing was within my budget so I decided to go for it. As pictured above, my hair was looking quite brassy even with all the purple shampoo I regularly wash with. It was indeed time for a tune-up.

 

I met Paulo on a bright and sunny September day around 12pm. As soon as I met him and we started our hair consultation, I could tell I was going to be in good hands. He explained thoroughly the different treatments I could possibly get. I was thinking I wanted a balayage ombré but turns out the photos I had saved were all examples of global bleaching. I had no idea the difference and even after he explained it to me, I’m still unsure which one’s which. However, global bleaching was $130 higher so I stuck with the balayage ombré, which looks very similar in my eyes anyway.

Both treatments would’ve taken the same amount of time. It’s just that balayage ombré doesn’t have the whole head coloured and grows out more naturally. The colour blends into your roots more gradually, which is what I’ve had for the past three years. I’ll save the global bleaching until next time. I was already expecting to spend over $500 for the entire salon session so I didn’t want to go overboard. After we agreed on what I wanted, we began our long day together. Pictured above is the mountain of foils on my head at the halfway mark – apparently this is what they mean when they say beauty is pain.

 

The salon was very modern-looking and stylish with its all-black leather salon chairs and dark wood flooring. I booked my appointment for a Monday, which ended up being perfect because there was barely anyone other than me there. I still had to wear my mask the entire time as did everyone else, which got a bit stuffy at times. However, the fumes from the bleach were so strong this time – more than what I remember previously – that I was kind of grateful to be wearing a mask. It was a challenge though, having about ten pounds of foils on top of my head, all the while trying to breathe through the mask but not trying to inhale too deeply to avoid the fumes.

Before beginning the treatment, I was asked to sign a mandatory consent form confirming COVID guidelines in the salon. I didn’t have many fears of having my hair done during COVID times because cases had settled down around that time. Lisa Dinh Hair Studio had reopened a couple months prior to me coming in so I knew they’d been practicing safe COVID procedures. I’d also gotten my hair done in salons for entire days before so I knew what I was signing up for. This one, however, was slightly different only because wearing a mask for long hours does get tiring. I was dying to get out of it near the end, so do keep that in mind if you’re considering to get your hair re-coloured during this time.

 

The entire visit took about nine hours long, which included consultation time, foiling, bleaching, toning, washing and styling. It was a long process but most of those hours went to waiting. After taking off the foils, which unveiled a very bleached blonde me (took my mask off temporarily for the photo above), we applied the silver grey toner with a hint of lavender. I can’t tell you the exact time but I must’ve laid by the washing station for at least two hours straight waiting for my hair to process. I was beginning to think I’d never be upright again. There was also no time to munch on anything so make sure to be well-fed before your visit! As for me, my hunger subsided for the most part after the 6th or 7th hour.

What made the time pass a bit faster though was having Paulo to chat with as he worked away. I loved his easy-going nature and appreciated how he communicated to me what was going on the entire process. There’s nothing more awkward than sitting through a 9-hour salon visit with a stylist who you have nothing to talk about with. Well good thing this wasn’t the case – Paulo was not only down to earth but super talented and hardworking as well. His attention to detail was very apparent early on as he would keep re-foiling my hair to get me lighter – something no one ever has done. Then when he let me know what “banding” was and the several tries he attempted to try and get rid of it. This guy really cared about achieving my hair colour goals and I was all for it.

 

I did eventually get out of that chair and the results were better than I could’ve imagined. After getting my hair blow-dried and styled, I felt like a completely new woman. In fact, I could barely believe the person that was staring back at me in the mirror – was this really my hair? As Paulo was drying and curling my hair, I kept telling him in disbelief that I couldn’t believe he’d been able to get me that light. The silver grey balayage ombré revealed was everything I’d dream of since beginning on my hair colouring journey three years ago. No stylist had ever been able to get me to the colour I initially requested. They always told me it would take a few sessions but Paulo got me there in just one. I was beyond impressed.

 

I sat through a whole day’s session with ten-pound foils weighing down my head, didn’t eat, barely drank for nine hours straight but the results were worth it. The entire treatment with cost breakdown includes the balayage at $320, extra product for $50-70 and Olaplex for $40. After taxes and tip, I paid just about $550 for the entire day. For those that know how much work and product goes into colouring your hair, you’ll know that price is pretty decent for someone with as much hair as I do. I always need extra product for that reason as well. As for the Olaplex – which is a very strong bond building product for damaged hair – it’s required to strengthen your hair after colour treatment. That’s the main reason how my hair turned out so smooth and shiny after all the chemicals that it was put through.

 

After taking a million selfies and some shots with the studio ring light, I was happy to finally go home and eat. After so much suffering, I was excited to unveil my “new look” to everyone. My first time going back to a salon during COVID was long and gruelling but I got the results I came in for and then some. The silver grey colour doesn’t last very long though so I’ve refrained from washing my hair as much as possible. I even pushed my hair washing schedule to once a week for the first few weeks, which I didn’t think was possible. However, if you’re going to spend that much on your hair, you might as well take care of it.

It’s been a month with my new locks and they’re still looking surprisingly hydrated. I bought my own bottle of Olaplex, which I apply prior to shampooing, and stocked up on plenty of dry shampoo to help between washes. The colour is slowly fading out to a pretty ashy blonde, which is looking very pretty for this time of the year. They say there’s nothing that brings out a woman’s confidence more than getting her hair done. In this case, I’m feeling very confident all thanks to my very hardworking stylist: Paulo of Lisa Dinh Hair Studio. I’ll definitely be back to re-tone at the salon if they don’t shut down again amidst phase 2 closings.

 

 

 

 

 

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Lisa Dinh Hair Studio

www.lisadinhhairstudio.com
IG: @lisadinhhairstudio
Paulo’s IG: @paulmendohair