We’re all in this together. The lockdown hair struggle is real. Do we succumb to home trims, bleaching and colouring? Or simply buy a few pretty hair bands and braid our way through this crisis? Like most of the nation, I have been living with a grown out hair style and colour for most of 2020. Through the few selfies and photos I’ve felt up to taking and sharing during the pandemic, I’ve documented this era of make do beauty.
With the uncertainty of the pandemic, lockdown restrictions mean I’m having to change my hair colour plans. I love going to Aesthetics Hair once every six or eight weeks for a change of colour. 2020 put a dampener on this routine so after suffering through several months of awful faded colour, I knew it was time to be sensible. I needed to opt for more natural looking locks for lockdown. Something healthy looking to freshen up my look and be as little maintenance as possible. I can’t be the only person who felt down this year.
So here is my out grown hairstyle and colour. I desperately need some shape and colour added to my hair to be more groomed and presentable. We all now know how unflattering we can appear on a video meeting. I’ve been cautious about cutting my fringe as I don’t want to mess it up! So it’s a bit of a mess. Not sure which is worse to be honest.
Despite being bleached and colour-treated, my hair isn’t in terrible condition. I guess the lack of colouring and heat styling during the covid-19 pandemic has given my hair a rest. Also, I’ve had more time to treat my hair with nourishing hair masks and oils. It seems to have paid off as my hair condition is more than acceptable even if it’s not greatly presentable.
My balayage itself isn’t looking too bad but the growth is obvious. I’m not alone in this and know that a more subtle, natural looking balayage would have survived this neglect much better. Also, my hair usually benefits from regular use of toners to neutralise any warm tones. It’s a common issue when bleaching darkest brown/black hair that red tones need to be managed. I am not immune.
The covid-19 safety procedures in place at Aesthetics Hair are to keep both staff and customers as safe as possible. This might alter the salon experience a little but it’s worth it for people’s safety. To read them in full, click on this link to their website. Here’s a quick overview of what I observed from my appointment.
- Clients must wear face coverings from entering to leaving the salon. Staff wear face shields throughout the day (with some opting to wear masks as well).
- On arrival, I sanitised my hands and had my temperature checked. To reduce common touch points, magazines and refreshments are not provided at the moment but this doesn’t bother me.
- There are gaps between stations and clear screens where gaps weren’t possible (such as at the wash basins) to allow for social distancing. The salon lay outs allow this quite easily but to provide as many appointments as possible, Aesthetics Hair have staggered appointment times and extended salon hours.
- The salon are using single-use, disposable towels and capes. They also deep clean gowns on a one-use basis.
With all the covid-safe procedures in place at Aesthetics Hair, I did feel safe during my appointment. Everyone was taking the pandemic seriously and doing their best to provide their usual service despite things being not close to normal. It was lovely to see the salon with clients and have an actual beauty appointment. This pandemic has me realising just how much I took for granted when it came to my reliance on professional beauticians and therapists. I cherish the joy they bring me. My beauty routine and treatments are definitely a huge part of my self care.
So goodbye lockdown hair! I now have shape and layers back in my hairstyle. Plus the colour is a lovely natural looking brunette balayage with a subtle ash finish. I love how shiny and healthy my hair looks. It’s also really soft after all dead ends have been cut away. What a difference a few hours makes!
It’s felt great to get something as simple as a hair cut and colour. This is a tiny sense of normality (despite all the covid procedures) and something that has revitalised my sense of self. I feel more presentable but also more confident and myself again. This one appointment at Aesthetics Hair has done something incredible for my mental health. And I’m glad to have opted for a hair colour that will be more lockdown friendly as we continue to stay safe at home.
To book your own covid-safe hair appointment at Aesthetics Hair, 347 Warwick Rd, Solihull, West Midlands, B91 1BQ. Tel: 0121 707 8866
DISCLAIMER
This post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you purchase after clicking on one, that I may be sent a small commission for the referral. The amount is small and has no impact on the price that you pay; this is simply a thank you from the company to me, for sending a customer their way. I can find an affiliate link for pretty much any product or site online so there is no favouritism towards any sites throughout my blog. I usually pick the cheapest or most convenient store to link to based on the product availability. If you decide not to use my links then this is not a problem and I still appreciate you coming to my blog today.
Where I am paid to produce content for a brand, this will be plainly declared with ‘ad’, ‘advertorial’ or ‘sponsored’. I only work with brands that I truly want to and do not post pre-written content on thetingthing.com for any company. All content is created by me unless it is a guest post, which is also plainly declared as such.
From time to time I may be sent to events or provided with press samples for review. I am under no obligation to produce content on such occasions and I do not hand over editorial control of my content if and when I choose to write a post about these. All such events or samples will be declared with an asterisk ‘*’. And as always, all views and words remain honest and my own.
