Oooh A New Do!

                             
I haven't really mentioned hair since last Spring when I got mine cut short.  I loved it.  My husband did not.  I compromised:  I'd keep my hair short through the heat of the Spring/Summer and let it grow out again come September.  I kept my word, not getting it cut after July until September when I went to a more or less shag type style which was my only option due to the super short sides and longer back.


For one reason and another I've been unable to get to the local salon with the stylist I like so much.  And I was beyond need of another cut.  I don't know about you but when my hair looks bad I feel worse, lol.  So this past weekend I broke down and colored my hair for the first time in nearly 3 months.  That was all the incentive I needed to push me to find a salon and get a haircut.  The boost in color (washing away a lot more gray than I can credit my children giving me) was just step one in regaining my hair confidence.

So, due to a shorter than usual shopping list and only two stops to make, I decided that I simply had to find a salon while time was all my own.  First I drove over to an area where I'd used various salons over the past 30 years.  Do you know every single salon I recalled was out of business? I guess the economy is to blame as some had been in business for quite a number of years and I am sure did not fail due to poor management.



I did find a salon at last in the new shopping center.  I'm always leery of these shops and I'll tell you why.  They lack personality.  They lack the ambiance of a local salon.  They lack hominess.  The place where John goes is nice and clean and super efficient.  The girl who cut his hair a few weeks ago told me that from the moment they key the client's name in until they check him out they are timed.  Goal is to keep cuts to around 15 minutes...I don't like being herded in and out like so much cattle either.  BUT one thing I do like about that salon is the stylists have to type in exactly what lengths they cut hair (and if they use a set of clippers what setting the clippers were on, etc), so no matter who this client sees next time he goes in, the haircut is the same.  That I do like!

Now I'm picky about a few things which I've shared over the years.  I like REAL perfume, not much into man-made scents.  I have to special order the scent I wear because it is not available in this state.  I am picky about purses.  One main pocket, not a dozen. Straps long enough to hang on my shoulder and at least tuck under my arm, but not a shoulder bag.  Deep enough and wide enough to hold a book, a bottle of water and the necessary items (wallet, makeup bag, yearly planner, checkbook).

So I confess I'm picky.  I want my hair dresser to at least LOOK like she keeps up her own appearance.  I don't care if her hair is pulled back into a neat pony tail, but at least look as thought she took time to do something with her hair.  Makeup should be applied as well.

So...imagine my trepidation when I walked into the sole salon I found yesterday and discovered it furnished with rolling toolboxes as work stations, a loveseat that looked like a car's bench seat and tires stacked with glass on top as tables...No, not a girly sort of salon.

And the stylist most definitely was not interested in how HER hair appeared...but I so desperately needed a hair cut that I swallowed back my trepidation and settled in the chair.  I've had really bad haircuts before.  Hair, thank goodness, grows.  And I really really really needed a haircut.  I told her what I wanted was just a basic trim.  Bring the back up about 1 inch, trim the rest.  I figured with basic instructions I'd at best get a basic looking hairstyle.  Nothing flippy and girly but safe.

I watched as she cut very carefully.  I got pretty much what I expected.  A good basic style. Nothing special.  The best I could say after checking in the mirror was that it would do.  Not the best, but by no means, thank goodness, not the worst, either.  The stylist didn't bother to style it in anyway.  No blow dry, no curling iron.  Just spray, trim, take a look,pay, go.

This morning I got up and showered and washed my hair.  Then I took the time to do what hadn't been done the day before: root enhancer, blow dry, used a round brush...And I was stunned.  I take it all back.  It's soooo cute!   It's a basic bob style, classically chic.  I love it!

Do I want to go back?  Nooooo, not really.  I felt pretty much as though I'd wandered into the men's room by accident yesterday.  I still prefer a stylist that looks as though she has a passion for hair and makeup.  I like a certain intimacy in the salon I patronize.  Where the stylist knows who I am and asks after my family.  Where the decor is a little less masculine.  But you know what?  I confess to being nicely surprised and quite happy with the outcome this time around. Picky me is satisfied.