Reston Style: jack of all trades

I have a lot of hidden talents. One of which is doing hair. I have no formal training, other than working as a receptionist at a salon when I was 19 and pitching in where I could. Then my bestie, Erin, let me play with her hair colour for years, and it evolved to a point where I was doing about 8 peoples hair a month. I enjoyed it, but it took a lot of time and I always felt guilty when I couldn't make time when my friend wanted their hair done!

Anyway, there isn't anything wrong with doing your own hair - just make sure you follow these simple rules:

get professional haircuts - pros pay hundreds for their scissors and really take care of them. A haircut with dull scissors = split ends/frizzies
when colouring, stay within two shades - I would also say use demi-perminent or semi-permanent colour. It's gentler on the hair.
when highlighting, less is more. You can always go back and add more highlights later, so highlight thin strands and fewer than you think you need.

I would also mention that the less you wash your hair, the better. I get my hair wet and condition it if I think it needs to be refreshed before its time to wash it again, and I swear that is why I can go eleven months between haircuts. (also because I get AWESOME haircuts that grow out really well!)