Rain Salon - #yeg Edmonton Review

On a complete whim, and in total desperation for someone to fix my hair, I betrayed my usual salon in order to get a hair cut. Now, I’ve totally learned my lesson. When you find a good stylist/colourist .. stay with him or her. Seriously. Or else you’ll end up like me and be totally unhappy with your hair.

I decided Rain Salon in the West Edmonton Mall (#yeg) looked like a good spot to get my hair done. 

I guess I’m the most at fault here because I went to a salon I wasn’t familiar with, and I don’t like to complain to anyone when I know they didn’t do a good job. Even when food is crappy at a restaurant, I don’t dare complain just because I genuinely feel bad about it. But now, since it’s 2012 and I’m growing a new pair of lady balls (hehe!), I can tell you that I will never go back to this salon again.  Although it’s a trendy and upscale salon (with a really cool waterfall fountain in the entranceway), the stylists in there really don’t know what they are doing. One colourist kept asking advice from my hairdresser of what she could do to this girl’s hair. She really didn’t seem like she had a clue what she was doing, and that made me nervous. I never did get to see how that girls hair turned out, but I hope for her sake, it was better than mine.

I have to give the stylist some credit; she did a good job of my colour. My hair was a complete mess, with huge roots after neglecting to dye my hair after it was done in the ombre for summer. She had three different colors to tackle and dye over. Although my hair isn’t perfect (there’s still a halo of dark hair that I still will need to fix) she was good at making my hair look natural with a little touch of platinum blonde on the bottom.

The haircut on the other hand, was HORRIBLE. It’s been about a month since, and I’m still trying to figure out where she went wrong. The layers don’t match up at all. They are off by about an inch. Essentially, one side of my hair is way longer than the other and it doesn’t look cute. I thought maybe she parted my hair wrong when she cut it, but I’ve been trying to part my hair in all different combinations and it still doesn’t add up. So frustrating, especially when I paid $60 on a hair service that made me want to cry.

Side Note: Since I wear glasses all the time, going to the salon and taking my glasses off means I cannot see. I have eyes like Mr. Magoo, therefore have to trust that my stylist can do a good job of my hair without having to worry too much about it.

I won’t disclose the name of the stylist who BUTCHERED my hair at Rain, just because I don’t want it to seem like an attack, but fellow readers, I wouldn’t recommend this salon to any of my friends. I should have learned my lesson when my friend Carli got her hair chopped into an unfortunate mullet there a couple years back.

In total, I spent $265.00 (not including tip) on a haircut, hair color, highlights, and deep-conditioning treatment.

OH WELL, lesson learned. And luckily, hair grows back. Until then, a hat is always chic and optional way to hide a bad haircut!

And to my regular stylist, don’t hate me too much when I book an appointment in the New Year and explain my horrible experience to you. I’m sorry for cheating on you!

Give me a shout on twitter and tell me if you’ve ever had a haircut nightmare.. or even recommend your favorite salon!(@peachplumpears)

Hair Product Heaven

Welcome to my first ever blog post on Great North Beauty. I decided to make this beauty blog based on my own experiences as a 23 year old beauty junkie, and as a consumer living in Northern Alberta, where sometimes we have the perception that the products available to us are limited. I hope that in this blog, I can show readers products that are readily available to them in their community, or through simple online shopping (because let's face it.. who doesn't online shop these days?!).

This blog will focus on everything beauty, from makeup, hair products, salons, spas, makeup artistry, you name it.. i'll blog about it! I'm also going to be expanding into the viral world of youtube or making a podcast about beauty products.. so stick around for that very soon.

All products listed in any of my blogs are there because I believe in them, have used them for a long period of time, and would repurchase them again. None of the products listed are sponsored. I have spent all of my own money on these products and my opinions are both my own and honest.

Now, with all those formalities out of the way.. let's get on with it!

A little about my hair: 

- It's super thick.

- Naturally it has a stupid half wave/curl thing going on. Usually it is either straightened, curled, or up in a bun. 

- Chemical and heat damaged. I have put my hair through hell and back again with bleaching, hair colour, and constant use of hot tools. In the past six months, I have put my hair through the bleaching process twice. Once when I went ombre for the summer, and secondly when I got platinum highlights underneath my bottom layer of hair in November. 

Now, you can imagine my hair was fried for a while, and I think the worst thing that I was doing to it was using cheap, low-end, drugstore hair products. Often enough, hair products like Herbal Essences and Dove have alcohol in their shampoos, conditioners, and hairsprays that leave a film on your hair and dry it out from root to tip. Not pleasant. Next time you're shopping for shampoo and conditioner, look at the back of the label. If it's filled with ethanols, alcohols, and chemicals galore.. it's probably just going to do more damage than good.

So without further ado, let's get to the products.

PRODUCTS THAT SAVED MY HAIR FROM CHEMICAL/HEAT DAMAGE

1. Anything from Moroccan Oil.

Tried and true, these hair products have become something I cannot live without. I am a faithful user of both the shampoo and conditioner, and use the restorative masque in my hair at least once a week for deep conditioning and protecting from the damage i've put my hair through. The styling cream and the oil treatment are DIVINE. For people with thick hair like me, my hair just soaks up the oil and feels nourished. For people with fine or blonde hair, Moroccan Oil has a line of Lite products that you can use to get your hair healthy, without making it greasy. 

All of these products are available at most beauty salons in both #yeg and #ymm. I buy mine from Chatters because then I get points towards future purchases. And since Moroccan Oil products are on the rather pricey side, i'll take anything I can get! Often enough though, Moroccan Oil releases gift boxes/bags during major holidays such as Christmas, Valentines Day, and Mothers Day with great deals.

OVERALL RATING: 4 OUT OF 5

PROS: Smells lovely, works to really moisturize the hair and restore damage. 

CONS: A little on the pricey side, excessive use can make your hair oily.

PRODUCTS I LOVE FOR ANTI-COLOUR FADE

2.  L'Oreal EverPure Sulfate Free Colour Care System

My favourite drugstore shampoo. The smell is a lovely rosemary mint, and the bottles of shampoo and conditioner seem to last a long time for the price. I really noticed that it helped my hair not fade of its colour as opposed to other drugstore products that promise to do the same thing. *cough*panteneprov *cough*.

 And the best part is that its available in almost every drugstore in both #yeg and #ymm!

OVERALL RATING: 4 OUT OF 5

PROS: Smells lovely, relatively cheap (available at drugstores everywhere), and helps retain colour longer.

CONS: Doesn't provide any moisture to my hair. 

PRODUCT I LOVE FOR HEAT PROTECTION

3. Tresemme Heat Tamer Protective Spray

This spray works wonders, and is dirt cheap at the drugstore. Other heat protectors, even salon ones, can't compare to this. Spray this on your hair after a shower, and before use of heat products and styling tools for protection from heat damage and split ends. Ladies, if you don't own this product you need to go out and buy it.. seriously you won't regret it.

All drugstores in #yeg and #ymm carry this product. It's usually on sale too.. for a measly $4.00. 

OVERALL RATING: 5 OUT OF 5

PROS:  Cheap, smells nice, provides good thermal protection.

CONS: None.

PRODUCTS THAT SUCK

1. Bumble and Bumble Creme De Coco

Secretly I like to call this Creme De CRAP, because it really did nothing for my hair. Although it smells like a whole bunch of coconut car air fresheners, I found that the mallow extract that was used in the product seemed to gunk up my hair and make it kind of pasty. I really wish I didn't get suckered into buying this, but I saw this brand everywhere in high end salons, so I thought I would give it a go. Expensive, and totally not worth it. Buyer beware.

OVERALL RATING: 1 OUT OF 5

PROS: Smells like coconuts.

CONS: Overly expensive, cheap quality, and made my hair feel like paste. Will not repurchase.

Stay tuned for my next post, and feel free to follow me on twitter (@peachplumpears)!