u/CreativeWriterNSpace

Like many people, I don't know what to do and am stressing.

Currently on PAYE because I had grad loans coming due and needed to put them in something (which put my previously REPAYE/SAVE loans into PAYE too.

I got married last year, and sold a house I inherited- resulting in a higher income from joining my husband *and* capital gains income. $145k W2 income, ended up with an AGI of $199k.

But that extra ~$53k I got last year isn't happening this year, and yet... my payment is being based on something that was a one-off. That money went towards other necessities (including the $10k in taxes it came with) and is gone. I was just out of work, unpaid, for 7 weeks.

I knew the payment would go up... but not this much. I make $3k/month. My husband makes a little more, yes, but he pays the mortgage and his own private loans and stuff.

What do I do? Just let it go? Ask for forbearance?

Edit: Realized the math puts the payment at 10% of the $145k W2 income, not AGI.

I know this is long, but I figure my "back story" of what has been done to my hair might be a good idea to share.

TL;DR: Dark "pink" banding, assumably from permanent dye, after ColorOops and "Root" Bleaching. What should I do to make it a light enough to dye over with pink/purple?

So first, I am a natural 4/5 level brown hair. Lower density, average/fine. My hair length is between my shoulder blades.

I have been dying my hair since 2005. I started with box auburn then box black/blue black then transitioned to bleach + vivids in 2007. 95% DIY.

I only fully redo/bleach my roots every ~6 months or so. I use an in-shower color masque to keep the vivids vivid, and tint my roots. I have frizzy, curly hair. I don't use heat tools- I don't even own them (tho I admit, doing my roots might be easier if I straightened my hair first). When it's brushed out and dry... Those tiny slivers that are necessary for nice root bleaching? Not happening with my hair. The longer it's grown out, the easier it usually is- to a point anyway.

Over the past year and a half, I have:
- bleached/used Matrix Color Remover to lighten to a level ~8+ (older, colored stuff is more platinum/stained + hot roots)

- Vivid colored using ion brights, adore and strawberry leopard pink, purple and blue shades

- Used Got2Be (previously Schwarzkopf) box permanent Metallics Ruby Red + Ion Red Hot color masque + ColorLux Red Color Depositing Cleansing Conditioner (back in ~October '25). No color remover/bleach, just those over the faded pink/purple/blue I had.

Sunday 5/10 (at like 11pm), I used ColorOops Extra strength, in an effort to remove the permanent dark auburn I was left with from where the permanent was put directly on my roots. It got a good bit out, including the fading semi-red (leaving behind silver ends with pink and blue tinted/stained streaked) but obviously not all of it because it was still fairly dark. (I was supposed to do this much sooner, but I was lazy)

I had abdominal surgery at the beginning of April, and wanted my husband's help with bleaching my roots. The only day he had was Monday, 5/11. So I couldn't do a second ColorOops round (hair would need to dry for bleach, plus I wanted at least a day's worth of oils built up before the bleaching) prior to bleaching. I did the roots (anything super dark still, including where permanent dye was), the the closest to scalp and then did an all over bleach bath (leftover bleach mixture with clarifying shampoo + a little water) to my ends. I know bleach after ColorOops can re-oxidize the color, but it's *much* brighter/lighter than it was. Really looks like I was trying to remove red/pink but didn't leave the product in long enough (the bleach was processing for almost an hour in total).

My roots are great. They're as lightened as I need them. They could be toned, but since I'm going purple/pink... I'm not stressing too much about them (I never do tho).

My ends are... a mix- silver, pastel blue/pink. Will be fine.

My mids... are like a blush/strawberry blonde that had a pink/red boost that got left too long (I'll put a pic in comments). I'm worried it's a little too dark/vibrant for me to mask by putting dye over it (tho I am using darker-ish colors).

I am going to be using some combination of:
Adore: Pink Rose, Violet Gem & Purple Rage
Lunar Tides: Fuchsia, Plum Purple & Dark Violet
(Possibly also some old-formula Ion Brights Fuschia)
Going for a somewhat multi-dimensional purple w/pink highlights look.

So, all of this to say/ask:

-Would it be bad/silly to use ColorOops again and hope it removes/lightens the tint that is left (that I believe is from the permanent dye)? Just on the darker, middle banding area.

-Would it be better to do a bleach bath or bleach-based color remover? (I have both Strawberry Leopard and Matrix SoColor Cult removers)

Thanks!

Just looking for opinions.

I am already doing Electrolysis on my face due TO PCOS.

I can't wet shave without nicking myself in several places, due to loose, crepey skin (160lb weight loss) and dry shaving with a foil razor just doesn't... Last long enough.

I started thinking about IPL or laser. IPL would of course be "easier" since it's "do it yourself at home" thing (and possibly cheaper... Which would be nice since electrolysis is expensive) But not sure even where to start machine wise.

I'm a Fitzpatrick ~2 (very pale, dark hair with red in it).

Im an almost 33F with PCOS and have had facial hair since I was 12. Legit, no joke. Baby mustache at 12.

I did ~16 hours of electrolysis back in 2020. Several 1 & 2 hour sessions, 1-2x/week. $1800. NEVER had a full clearing. Tech used either fully galvanic or blend (I just remember holding metal rod), Apilus machine. Insulated needle. Instead of focusing on a single block, she moved around- the idea was to make it less dense over time until everything was permanently gone.

It did nothing. Seriously. I stopped due to getting abdominal surgery, and not being able to lay down flat for 2+ months and then… life happened. It didn’t help that she was 90 min away, and the closest I had found. Then I started tweezing (I had been a shaver until that point, except for summer 2018 when I waxed cause I was traveling abroad).

There are some hairs that are *easier* to pull out, but as with tweezing and hormone disregulation…. More hairs came.

I recently found out that electrolysis services recently got started up ~20 min from me. Much easier and more convenient. It is more expensive ($150/hr now vs $110/hr before- I am in the DC quad-state area) than I was paying before, but I figure that is par for the course with the economy. It was almost 6 years ago.

Did a consult Wednesday that turned into a 1 hr session (got front-facing chin and lip corners done, still have ~2 hours to doing a clearing on the rest). I feel good about it. But she did shortwave. I had forgotten about the rod until now, and am wondering… Is there a difference in how the modalities work?

So I have been thinking about possibly starting GLP-1, specifically because of the things I am hearing in regard to its effects on PCOS and food noise.

I *technically* have 15-20lbs I would like to lose, but not my main concern.

I have also had WLS (DA)- and already have issues getting enough nutrients in (partially due to my work schedule, partially due to just not being able to consume volume). Along with GI stuff, that is normal for the DS.

So I was thinking maybe micro-dosing could help without leading to more nutrient deficiency.

Would this even be viable?

How do you start? Where is the best place to get it? How do the doses even work?