I'm sharing #MyOliaStory as part of a Garnier sponsored series for Socialstars™
Taking your hair color from dark to light is a not something that can be done in a day. Well, at least not when you are doing it on your own at home. You want to be really careful with dyeing your hair so as not to over-process it and cause any damage. When done correctly, you can end up with gorgeous hair at a fraction of the cost at the salon.
You just have to follow directions and need a little patience (enjoy the Guns and Roses earworm.) I have dark brown hair, but I've been wanting to go lighter. Not blonde, but a much lighter brown, because I want to stick with something natural looking that won't contrast with my skin tone in a negative way.
I've made that mistake before. I've dyed my hair red, I've dyed my hair so black that it had hues of blue/purple and I've "frosted" (OMG so 80s) my hair. Red brought out the ruddiness in my skin. Black made me look goth (not my style, but it may be yours) and frosted looked more like I just randomly threw bleach in my hair (i.e. it looked like straw) and made my skin look sallow.
Before You Begin: 
Have Realistic Expectations:
If you have visions of going from brunette to a bombshell blonde in a matter of an hour, think again - at least if you want it to look as natural as possible. Not to mention, sometimes trying to immediately make a major change can sometimes result in less than optimal results. (Like brassiness, looking more orange than blonde, etc.)
Research Shades in Your Hair Color Range:
First know exactly which shade of brunette you are and the tones to your hair (blonde, golden or red?) While you can look on the side of the box to see a side by side comparison of your natural color and your
Garnier Olia result in the store, I recommend going to their
Shade Selector on their website instead. It is a better visual to understand where you are at and where you want your hair color to go.
Know it Will Take Time:
Come to terms from the start that this is a process. You want to step down your hair color so that it looks like it lightened naturally, which may take 1-3 applications (over time), 6 weeks apart each time. This will look even more believable when it is the Spring to Summer transition.
Follow Directions:
How many of us skip the instructions and just want to get down to it? Don't rush and don't do overall coloring each time. The first time you use a permanent hair dye, covering your entire head is fine. But each re-application in the weeks to follow should be done at the roots and/or roots for a period of time, then the rest of your hair.
How to Use Garnier Olia to Lighten Your Hair:
Get Set Up Before Starting:
You'll need something to time it, instruction pamphlet, gloves, applicator, developer, colorant, an old towel and a petroleum-like jelly. Wear old clothes. Even though Olia does not drip, there is still human error and you don't want to mess up your clothing. Apply the jelly along your hair line, and back of your neck, and tops of your ears so that color wipes off easily and doesn't stain.
Apply to Your Roots First:
My first application with Olia covered my whole head, but with this application, in order to step down my color some more, I had to apply to my roots first for 28 minutes. Make sure you are in good lighting so that you can see exactly where your roots end. Eat something chocolate while you wait. (Or is that just me?)
Apply Mid-Length to Ends:
Around 27 minutes I began to apply the rest of the Olia ammonia free hair color from mid-length to my ends while not washing out the dye on my roots. I let this sit until the 30 minute mark. I didn't want too huge of a dramatic difference between my roots and the rest of my hair. The top of your head will always be lighter when naturally lightened by the sun, but you don't want it to be all BOOM
I colored my hair looking.
Rinse and Apply After Color Conditioner:
Make sure you use lukewarm water to rinse. I probably rinse for a good 3-5 minutes to make sure it is all out. Then apply the After Color Conditioner and leave it on for 2 minutes and rinse again.
Style As Usual:
I never wash my hair for the first 24-48 hours after coloring, so I go light on the hair treatments. Since hair dye plumps up your hair, I don't put in a root lifter for the first few days, just some anti-frizz serum and a little hairspray. I typically curl my hair though because it'll give my hair the look of fullness.
I do have many grays and Garnier Olia has 100% gray coverage. Since it is powered by 60% oil, I also have shiny hair as a result. My first application was with Olia Light Brown 6.0 and this application was Olia Lightest Golden Brown 6 1/2.3
What do you think of the color? If you have any questions about coloring your hair, ask away in the comments!
The best part of living in a tourist area (the Poconos), is that there are a lot of little gems waiting to be discovered. For me, this gem has been right in front of my face for 13 years.
I've driven by Utopia Salon & Day Spa countless times, but let me be honest, I never really gave it a second thought based on the outside. I guess you could say, I judged a book by its cover.
Utopia Salon & Day Spa is located on the busy highway of Route 6 in Hawley, it's also right by an intersection for Wallenpaupack school district and Turkey Hill (where all of those tourists going on Lake Wallenpaupack are gassing up their boats.)
When one of my favorite spas was totally booked, I decided to do a quick search of others in the area. Utopia was the first to pop up. I looked at their menu and saw that they were completely affordable and when they said they could get me in next day, I was stoked.
It was when I pulled into the parking lot that I realized there was a lot more to the building than you could see from the road. When I entered the back of the building, I was taken back by how beautiful it was inside with its local flare of wood floors, stone fireplace and wood beam ceilings.
I waited for my pedicurist, also named Shannon, and was greeted and taken down to another room to pick my lacquer. All of the polish was Morgan Taylor, and I chose Well Spent, a purple creme. I was then led to the pedicure room which is a quiet, intimate room of 3 pedicure chairs and a bench to sit on for polish drying. I sat in the chair nearest the window that looked out to some trees. I remarked to Shannon, that sitting there, you would never know that the intersection was just a few feet away.
Utopia's spa pedicure ($47) consists of 55 minutes of calf and foot pampering. Aside from the typical nail clipping, buffing, polish removed and reapplied, your feet and calves are exfoliated with a citrus sugar scrub and then a hydrating green minty masque is applied. Before painting my nails, Shannon gave my feet a nice massage (honestly I probably would've paid more for her to do it longer because it was so relaxing!)
The pedicure chair is a massager and I sat there in pure bliss while it kneaded out my sore back muscles.
Something I particularly loved about Shannon was that she was not an over-talker. We've all experienced those kinds of people at least once or twice while spa-ing where the person giving the treatment just won't stop talking. Shannon spoke when I asked questions, made light conversation, but didn't make silence feel awkward at all. I just felt completely relaxed. When I book my next pedicure, it will definitely be with her.
If you happen to be in the northern tier of Wayne or Pike counties near Lake Wallenpaupack, I recommend stopping by Utopia Salon & Day Spa for some extra pampering.
Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too!
