fashionplate cheapskate: Hair "Dos"

Ok ladies, I know we all love our hair stylists. I mean, we search relentlessly to find "the" hair stylist that is "perfect" for us and we never let him or her go, if we can help it. Am I right? I know I certainly fit this description. Even when I moved to Birmingham, I refused to quit driving almost two hours home to use my same stylist. Sounds crazy, I know, but I had been with her for 10 years!

But if the time ever comes for you (like it did for me) when those trips to the salon become too much for your pocketbook to handle, then I have a solution for you: student salons. Here in Birmingham I found out that I had two student salon options to choose from, one of which was Aveda. I couldn't believe it. My old stylist always used Aveda products on my hair and I loved them. There's something about the way they smell that make me immediately think of hair that's "fresh from the salon." Also, I knew that Aveda was well established and I could totally trust anything they did, so I knew my hair would be in good hands, whether those were a student or an instructor's hands.

So I'd say that one hair "do" is "do" try out an Aveda Institute! For my color, a haircut and style last Saturday it was just $45 - you can't beat that price anywhere! Since this was so cheap I could afford to leave a nice tip and also buy some products. And of course, like I said, it's Aveda, so it's totally professional and you walk away looking like a million bucks — just like you would at any other salon. There's always an instructor nearby if the student needs help and an instructor always consults before and after to be sure that the student is on the right track. I have personally never been unhappy with the past 4 times I have visited the Aveda Institute, but something tells me that if I were, they would no doubt fix a problem, should there ever be one.

As with most things that save you money, you tend to pay in other ways, like your time. Because they are students who are learning, it does tend to take them a little bit longer than it would at another salon with a seasoned stylist. To that I say, just bring a magazine! Lucky for me, I got Tiffany last Saturday who was just about to graduate this May and she got me out of there pretty quickly. She did an amazing job of course, but if things work out for her she'll be at the DL Salon soon, so hopefully if you're in the Birmingham area, you'll be able to visit her there this summer after she graduates. She was also very complimentary of and happy to work around another one of my hair "dos" — a feather extension!

After I saw my very cool rockstar friend Bekah with a feather extension in her hair, I just had to have one for myself. Luckily while out in Cali last week, there were two girls at Venice Beach who were putting them in girls' hair like crazy! If you don't know of a stylist who is currently doing feather extensions, Tiffany told me about finefeatheredheads.com last Saturday, so I'm sure you could purchase one from that site and have a friend or your own stylist put it in for you. They are easy to style and you can wash them with your hair as you normally would and they can last anywhere from a month to three months. I definitely love mine and hope that it lasts a long time! Otherwise, I will be on the prowl for a new one online!

Ok, wow, sorry for the long post, but please "do" check out Aveda for a student salon near you (if you don't have an Aveda Institute nearby, I'm sure there are other student salons in your area) and also "do" check out finefeatheredheads.com for your own feather extension!