Atlanta Highlights and Extensions: My Journey To My Dream Hair!
When I was a little girl I always looked at the Pantene and Herbal Essences commercials as my hair inspo - something I would see and dream that my hair would look like that when I "grew up." Throughout college and the rest of my 20s, my hair was shiny, but fairly boring with no highlights and mostly just long long layers except for the couple times I did a donation to the wigs for kids organization. Growing it out after those foot long donations was always excruciatingly slow, and I had accepted the fact that, while I had healthy hair, for the most part, it was very straight, flat, and thin. See below:
For my second Mothers Day gift, Sawyer and Cody had gifted me highlights and I absolutely loved them! My hair finally had some dimension and a little more texture, and my dark locks looked a little less Wednesday Adams-ish. I kept up with that as best as I could, and loved that they were subtle enough that it wasn't obvious if I needed to pay a visit to my stylist.
Then in March, I was a guest at Salon 124 just outside of Atlanta. I got the whole treatment with my rockstar stylist Ashton! She did it all - foilayage highlights, a much needed trim, and even showed me a few different ways to style it down and up in a cute braid or with a super trendy scarf! She has been studying hair for so long and has trained internationally on the best methods for color. She.was.amazing. See the foilayage color below:
While I was there she talked to me about the extensions they do and I put it in the back of my mind for a few weeks. My hair looked good, but why not make it look its BEST? Why not finally get the Pantene/Herbal Essences hair of my childhood dreams? Why NOT get the instagram-worthy locks of some of my favorite accounts like Emily Gemma, Hollie Woodward, or Thalita of Hello Thalita?
Photos courtesy of Emily Gemma, Hollie Woodward, and Habit Hair Salon.
Photo courtesy of Thalita Ferraz
Some of my friends even asked me why I did it - I already had super long hair, why did I need extensions? My hair, being already super fine, was made even finer after babies. Pregnancy hair is great - its thick and full and barely ever falls out, and then for a few months after your baby you think that YOU are the exception - you won't be experiencing postpartum hair loss like the horror stories you've read on all the mommy groups on facebook. Not you! And then with both of my boys...BAM. 3 months postpartum, like clockwork, my thick full hair deflated to a thin flat little mop with bald spots near my temples and nape of my neck. Extensions could give me back all that I lost and mooooore. And when you're a mom, you will not feel the way you did before kids, but any effort you can make at feeling like your old self is worth it!
I made the move to live my best hair life and called Chris Sulimay at Salon 124. He has been trained in the hand-tied beaded weft method, and he was SO great to work with! He knows all the tips and tricks to get the fullness where it needs to be! Most methods will just put rows along the back of your head, but Chris worked some crazy magic, measured, remeasured, and wove these wefts in like I was a Kardashian getting ready for a red carpet event! Even during my appointment, his assistant commiserated with me about postpartum hair loss, and she was equally wowed at how much fuller it was not only overall, but WHERE it needed to be fuller! I cannot say enough good things about the work he did and how much the end result was better than I could have dreamed of!
It has been a little over a month and I wanted to have them for long enough to give an honest review, but in short - I LOVE THEM! Pros: I used to have to wash my hair nearly daily, but the extensions absorb oil differently so I am only needing to wash it twice a week. Dry shampoo and cute summer hats are also helping, but the style stays much better too! I can not believe how much better my hair holds its curl! Some of the cons: washing it did take a few times to get used to because you still need to be gentle where the extension are, but I have figured out what works best for me. Drying also takes a little longer, but when I am only needing to do it once or twice a week - I will gladly take the longer drying time. In all I am very happy with the color, the cut, the length, and mostly the fullness! Seriously look at all that hair!!
If you are looking for a cut, color, extensions, or the overall hair makeover, Salon 124 is your best bet. Chris Sulimay is THE MAN, and good news - he doesn't work just in Atlanta, but he also returns to his homeland up in Pennsylvania and New Jersey several times throughout the year and opens appointments up there as well. You can check out Salon 124 and all of their Atlanta locations here. Follow Chris and his amazing work here, and check out the highlight queen Ashton here too!
What are your hair goals? Who is your hair inspo? I guarantee the people at Salon 124 can get you on your way to your dream hair!
Much love,
Kristin