A Major Change for 2013 - I give up visits to the salon...

In an attempt to shore up money for things that are feeling more important (like travel abroad, retirement savings etc) I've made the choice to quit going to the salon, handing over that precious $70 every seven weeks and go back to doing my 'colorant' at home.  Hells bells, I would never have  thought it,
after experiencing too many red, redder, reddest hair colors when aiming for a nice buttery brown...BUT, I saw a blurb about E Salon in More Magazine (the magazine for the 'Mature' woman...!) a figured, if More gave it the thumbs up, it must be ok. So I went to the website, filled out the questionnaire that asked about hair color, past treatments, type of hair and even gave an opportunity to post a photo, and ended up with a recommended color of golden brown.  Within 4 days I receive my little box of supplies, the color, the activator, some real gloves that actually allow you to hold the tools, a brush for applying the color, stain remover and stain guard for around your hairline.  My hubby was thrilled to be pressed into service in our tiny bathroom, and began the process of glazing my head. 
Excellent instructions, and videos on the website with more tips made the process fairly straight forward.  They included some nice conditioner, but not nearly enough like the boxes of clairol do (that nice big tube that lasts you at least a month).  When it was all said and done, the color came out a lovely medium brown with golden tints and subtle highlights.  I loved it! No red! No red! I was a bit darker than I would have expected, but not scarily so, and it did look good! I am so excited.  Buying the basic kit w/ tax only costs around $24, so I'm saving $344 a year!  With that money I'm sliding a little extra money into my travel savings and donating a bit more to my church.  It really feels good to find something that works and benefits all around!  My only heartbreak is I miss my colorist, I miss reading the beatup copies of USWeekly & People that she'd snag for me, and I miss our chats about our families, other customers and what not.  I do miss the culture of hanging out at the salon with other ladies under the dryers.  But for what I'm gaining I think it's worth it, plus during winter driving there after work was a major drag!