My search for a hair stylist led me to Blades Hair Studio in NW Portland yesterday. I found Blades via a google search. Initially, the very out there/edgy photos on the website turned me off, but after the name kept coming up again and again, I decided to check them out. The reviews on City Search were enough to take me back to the website where I found a very cool heart with scissors logo, a hair only salon with employees (not each hair designer owning their own station), a parking lot for clients and a no tipping policy. The website says, "Do you tip your dentist?" 
This is Mabel. She belongs to Blades' owner, David. She's the official greeter along with Janet who makes appointments and runs the business portion of the salon. Making an appointment was super easy. I told Janet my hair problems, and she thought Gina would be a good fit for me. When I arrived I was given a parking pass for the lot and when I returned a cup of peppermint tea. I was impressed by the hospitality and friendliness of everyone at the studio. The day before, I had asked if it was okay to bring my camera so I could blog about my visit. Janet offered to take pictures so a big thank you to her since I couldn't have taken them myself!
Gina and I talked for a long time about my hair. I told her about the bad highlights last year, the subsequent rinses to tone down the blond and my finally giving up and resorting to a ponytail. I explained how I went to a new salon in June because of my hand and walked out with the exact same haircut I've had for years. She told me how the reason I kept getting bobs is because the cut is perfect for the shape of my face. She said the problem was the length. She thought a shorter, layered bob with the front angled would open my face and work well without going to a super short style like hers.
Gina wanted to start with highlights. She brought out samples. They looked more caramel than blond. Her goal was to make them look natural. I was all for that. She also said my normal hair color were good low lights. Yay! No dark chocolate strands anymore! She thought most if not all of the leftover blond streaks would be gone by the time she cut my hair. Huge sigh of relief on my part.
Mabel is not only the official greeter, she's also the official napper! She goes from chair to chair. When I was having my hair washed she came up to my feet. She might look a little intimidating to some at first glance, but she's a total sweetheart.
After the highlights were put in, it was time for the cut. I'm blind without my glasses so all I could really see where chunks of hair dropping onto the cape. My head felt a lot lighter with all the hair coming off. She used a nifty razor cutter to do the front and sides, then had me try on my glasses to make sure the pieces of hair would be in the way.I left my glasses on so I could see how Gina styled the hair. She used a round brush and blow dryer. She also told me how to make it look less bob-like if I wanted.
Here's the final result...
Not all that different, but my family loves it. My daughters squealed with delight when I walked into the house. Even my son commented on it! Hubby is happy.
I really love the color. The cut is still a bob, but it definitely moves better as Gina said it would, and I like the angled pieces along my face. I'm a little nervous about how it'll look when I style it. Fingers crossed!
But it looks as if my search for a hair stylist is finally, thankfully, over!
