Hair change! | New cut and color

Outdoors

Indoors

I've been wanting to change my hairstyle for a while now. My ends were dried out from the ombre I had (read my post on DIY ombre here), and being that I naturally have thick hair and lots of it, sometimes it can be hard to manage. For my haircut and color, I was inspired by the Korean trend, where the women's hairstyles are simple, yet sophisticated. 

Let me explain how the haircut happened. It was quite spontaneous. I mean I've been wanting to get a haircut since June, but I never thought I would be getting one over the weekend when I was visiting the city. My mom and I were walking on the streets of Chinatown, and there was a hair salon on almost every corner. The prices for a basic haircut were between $5-12. From living in the suburbs and paying $20 and more for a haircut, this was such a deal! It never occurred to me to get my hair cut in Chinatown, but when the hairdresser saw me standing outside her hair salon eyeing the prices, we made eye contact and the next thing I knew I was led inside...and seated for a haircut. In all of my 21 years, I have never walked out of a hair salon happy and satisfied with the cut. I've learned to just work with it. And this was no exception. I don't know if the problem is me and that I need some time to feel out the new hair, but it just never comes out the way I envisioned it to be. I think all the times of looking at pictures of celebrity hair has set my standards pretty high. Anyway, I thought the hairdressser had cut my hair too short and gave me very few layers. Layers are essential for someone like me, who has thick hair. The hairstyle requires styling for it to look presentable, and that's the real deal breaker for me. I'm the kind of person who would choose to sleep in five more minutes over getting up early to put makeup on, so I'm not a huge fan when it comes to spending a lot of time in the mornings to get ready. My friends also commented on the new cut and pointed out how the ends looked choppy and frizzy. I don't really know what to think about my haircut. One minute I feel the cut looks cute and fresh, and the next I think my friends are right and that I aged five years with the shorter 'do. What do you think?

As for the coloring, I decided to try the Asian hair dye brand, Liese, in the color Marshmallow Brown. The applicator is a bottle that has a foam dispenser as the cap. All you have to do is mix the solution in it, and squeeze the center of the bottle to dispense the foam and lather into hair. Super easy and mess-free! Like all hair dyes, the smell wasn't great, but it wasn't overwhelming like the Western brands I've used (Garner, L'Oreal, etc). I liked that the formula made my hair smooth after the wash. Overall, the hair color kit was easy to understand and use. On my naturally dark brown hair, the color came out a subtle warm brown, just a slight shade lighter than my natural hair color under normal lighting. Because I washed my hair the day before and used conditioner, I washed my hair again with bar soap on the day that I dyed my hair, mother says it helps the color show more, as the bar soap strips the conditioning residue away. Not sure how well it worked, but I figured that mothers know best. I'd also like to point out that the color appears lightest around my hairline, so it's slightly uneven from up close. A tip for future users is to spend more time applying the dye on the ends of your hair. Since the scalp gives off the most heat, making the hair around it easiest to color versus the ends of the hair. All in all, it was a solid product, and I would consider this brand or even try another Asian brand again the next time I decide to dye my hair.

The good...
:: easy to use :: drip-free formula :: non-drying :: smell wasn't overpowering :: decent coverage - no patches of color ::

& the bad 
:: conditioner scent ::

Liese in Marshmallow Brown

Colored hair under different lightings indoors:

before & after

Have you used Asian hair dyes before? What was your experience like?