Hair

Our hair is important to us. Many of us place high value on our hair, or lack thereof. We buy special shampoos, styling products, certain types of brushes/combs, and special tools for drying, straightening, and curling. We spend hours of our lifetime fussing with our hair. We deal with our hair every single day (or at least I hope you do). As I have recently decided to change my hair style, this has become an even bigger issue with me. I don't know what I want to do, just something different - and longer. I can't believe I want to grow my hair out again - I thought I'd always keep it short once I dared to cut it all off. But the other night I saw the perfect hairstyle. Too bad it was on some random person on HGTV...and yes, I tried to go on their website and find her. Since the show was about decorating a room, they had plenty of pictures of the dining room, but none of the girl who belonged to it.

We come just short of the line of obsession over our hair, and some of us even cross it. We fuss and muss, primp and part, making sure it looks just messed up enough to be cool, but not enough to look like bed head. However, most of us are not very deft with actually cutting our own hair. So we must pay someone else to do it for us. This is where many of us run into a problem. One which I have recently discovered is not my burden to bear alone.

It seems that many people (mostly women) have a hard time finding someone they like to do their hair. Or more accurately, who does their hair the way they like. With the mass quantity of stylists in these United States, it shouldn’t be a problem to find one who is likeable, competent, and affordable. Oh, but it is. You see, there are several types of stylists that I have encountered over the years. Since we have moved a lot, I have had the opportunity to find a new stylist quite frequently.

The first type is the relative/friend. Until I was about sixteen, my hair stylist was my Mom, or even one of my friends. Yes, I had a few scary haircuts in there, but not many. There’s always the Transitional Stylist…the person who rocks your world with a simple, yet skilled technique. The first person I actually paid to cut my hair was the owner of a tiny little barber shop and she charged $7 to cut my hair. She introduced me to layers, and my life and my hair have never been the same.

I tried to get fancy and moved from the barber shop to the salon. That’s where I found The Talker. From the time I sat down in the chair until the time I left washed, cut, dried, and styled, she never stopped talking. And the more she talked, the more she cut. That was very bad for those who didn’t want more than a trim. So then I ended up back at another barber shop with the Color Queen. It wasn’t that this woman was highly trained in color, although I’m sure she had received the necessary instruction. It was that not only had her hair been extensively colored, but she had colored the hair of everyone else who worked there. And she colored mine. That was my first experience with highlights. I had no idea what I was doing…but it was fun.

After the Color Queen came Insanely Slow Girl. She was a great stylist…but you had to record her with a video camera and watch the film in fast forward in order to see any movement. It took her an hour and a half to wash, cut, dry, and style my hair. An hour and a half! And she never fixed it like I asked her to. I always ended up leaving the salon looking like a mushroom head. I was getting up the nerve to leave her when we moved again and that decision was made for me.

So then I ventured into uncharted territory. I went to a cosmetology student. I had a friend who was in school learning to cut, color, and do all things “salon” to hair. So I bravely paid $4 for her to cut my hair under her instructor’s supervision. It was a great arrangement until she graduated and moved somewhere else to work at an exclusive salon. Again, I was on a quest to find someone to do my hair. So I arrived at Trendy Stylist. She was newly graduated, young, and fun. She has awesome skills and took me to a new level of hairstyle. And I even love the way she styles my hair. However, the trendiness comes at a price, and I am afraid I can no longer afford to be that trendy.

So I have an appointment with someone new. She comes highly recommended and is surprisingly affordable. So we’ll see. My appointment is just before Christmas – I don’t know if I’m brave or a glutton for punishment. Wish me luck.