I have removed the pictures from photo-bucket. I got too many emails asking me way too many technical questions and inquiries from professionals who asked if they could use my designs. Also quite a few asked if they could buy some of the structures and have them sipped to America(Imagine the cost of having a 90 pounds arches shipped!!! Then I saw that some even used my pictures on their websites! Then someone complained that I was "Advertizing my products here on GW ... So I decided to take them down. I don´t mind ordinary rose-people getting inspiration about how they can create affordable metal structures, which was my intentions. But I did not like the accusations of soliciting products ... And Hey I live in Europe. Today I have a blacksmith do my designs, since I am busy making garden design plans for my clients. (ooops I did it again! ...soliciting my services and products. I bet I soon gets banned from GW.

Just jumped on the computer for a quick moment and haven't read all of the responses in great detail. So, please forgive me if my response is repetitive to those posted above. If it were my daughter (or my own hair), I would definitely call the salon owner and request a full refund plus the cost of repairing the situation. I wouldn't go back to the colorist who damaged your DD's hair. Apparently, she isn't competent, or she, for some crazy reason, allowed your DD's color to over process. No excuse given would satisfy me at this juncture. The only way to fix the "stripes" would be to foil in a reverse color (the natural color) of your DD hair. Also, I would ask the colorist to include differing shades of your DD's natural color - multi colors used to get a more natural and not a "stripe" effect. When I have my color done, I use 2 highlight colors, a mid light and a low light at every color appt. It is doable, don't let anyone tell you that they can't use more than one or two colors, because they can ~ it's done by many women to achieve a more natural highlight affect. Unfortunately, I have no idea how damaged your DD's hair is at this point due to over processing. The reverse color would be a way to "fix" the problem, but it really depends on how badly damaged your DD's hair is at this point. and that's where an objective opinion comes in. An objective opinion cannot be obtained by the colorist who damaged your DD's hair, at least not in my mind. If the hair isn't damaged to the point where reverse color would cause further damage, that's the best option. IMO, the first thing I would do regardless of what is done to correct the color, would be to purchase upon the recommendation of the salon, conditioning shampoo, conditioner for every wash, as well as a conditioner that your DD could apply to wet hair before bed and sleep with it on her hair and just rinse out in the a.m. Any good/reputable product line for a reparative shampoo & conditioner, ex: Redken Extreme Conditioning, or Clear Moisture or similar product for your DD to use when washing her now in an effort to prevent further damage or breakage. Also, if possible, don't shampoo every day. The last thing overprocessed hair needs is to be washed too often. This is going to be costly, but at this point, you're not going to get the quality you need from a grocery or big box store IMHO. Also, any hot irons or the like would be off limits so as to not further damage DD's hair. In a perfect world, not using a blow dryer would be a good idea. Every little thing in the heat department that you can eliminate in that regard will help repair and prevent more damage. Any chance of cutting your DD's hair shorter? Just throwing it out there. That's what I would do to start to cut off as much of the damaged hair. Also, very frequent hair cuts until this situation is really under control. It may take months for all of this damage to be cut out. I know personally how hard that would be for her if her hair is at a length she is happy with. However, cutting it would really make a difference in the appearance. If your DD's hair is long, I imagine that it is too damaged to do much else. Hair, at least my hair, grows very quickly, so if it were cut, at least it would be taking a step forward toward returning to healthy looking hair. Many years ago, I had a perm that was over processed. My hair lierally looked like a brillo pad, and I wanted to stay in bed until the whole thing resolved (obviously not an option at that time). I slept with Intense Climatress conditioner on my head every night for months. I have no idea if that product is still available, but if it is, it really does work in a damaged hair situation. Used it every night covered by a shower cap to protect my pillow, as well as help keep my hair damp with the conditioner. In the a.m., I just rinsed, only used shampoo every few days. This outcome is not acceptable in this day and age. There are so many great products formulated to avoid this very situation. Hair color products have come a long way since I started highlighting my own hair. Also, great colorists with alot of experience, and who continually attend the workshops given by product companies, etc.. Perhaps you have a friend or collegue whose colored hair you like? Just thinking perhaps a recommendation of another salon by someone with great color would be the best direction to go for an honest evaluation of what your DD's hair would tolerate WITHOUT further damage. Geez, this is such a darn shame for your poor DD. As if going to school with female peers isn't already difficult enough. I may be alone on this, but when my hair isn't looking okay to good, it definitely affects how I feel about my appearance. When I had the bad AND LAST perm, I was working full time, but felt like carp when I looked in the mirror before going out in public. I hope that you're able to find a great colorist to guide you & your DD going forward with this.

Beg to differ. My mom's waxed barn board table has regularly rebuffed hot pots, boiling water, even fallen candles. Why? The damaging element melts a couple layers of WAX, not a volatile finish. Know the phrase "That'll buff right out"? Uh, actually true, in this case. Poly (I don't want it in my house), waterlox etc, no. You could theoretically spot sand, TRY to match (if the whole table didn't scorch or make a white spot, or shrivel) but good luck matching the depth, the stain, the level, and not raising the grain. (And I have, in the past, refinished furniture with poly. I'm making up for past sins.) You'd really have to be a professional. Anyone can do wax. And it feels good and looks really lustrous. Now, as to will wax encapsulate lead paint, I can't give you an answer on that, because I don't think anyone has done the science. Your state or county health department's lead abatement program might have answers, but they will undoubtedly take the most conservative course, which will be, "are you crazy? You can buy a nice plastic kids table at walmart for 99 cents! why would you do that?". The lead issue is not one to be attacked from a single object in a home. You need to look at the whole picture. Say the word lead and everyone freaks out. That makes it very hard to get real answers. The safest course? This may not be the best use for those particular boards. But someone else might do it, let their kids use it for 10 years and have no detectable lead levels, if the boards and the rest of the house are clean. (Lead is not considered to pose the same kind of health hazard for adults, so making a table for adults might be better.) Sorry, no easy answers. Do your own research and make your own decision.

My experience in health care is anecdotal since our situation changed after Obamacare passed, but I found much more transparency in pricing for all services, as well as more detailed bills, access to records, and so on, after Obamacare. Of course, some of this was simply due to health records going online. We don't qualify for any subsidies so we were more diligent in learning what the costs were and how best to use the piddly coverage we have. Transparency is there--the consumer just has to look for it. I don't believe government regulation in healthcare is any more dangerous than a system driven by pharmaceutical and insurance profits. We're still trying to get a handle on the opiate addiction that's rampant because dangerously addictive drugs were over-prescribed to a population that didn't understand their impact by a less-than-transparent pharmaceutical industry. Wanna talk about transparency? There's your severe lack of it. There has been very, very little accountability for this, and the burden has fallen on communities and the taxpayers. Yet we all benefit to some degree from competition in healthcare (and especially after patents wear off... ). I think there's often better research taking place in Europe whose results are often ignored here because there's little profit in them, though. I'm interested in seeing how Obamacare ends up by this new administration. I think the silver lining of my inflated premiums, is that it's going to force the issue to be addressed.