Yes. I am talking about getting my hair cut. Again.
I had no idea what I wanted done with my hair. I simply knew that I didn't want 'short'. It took four months for my bangs to reach my eyebrows. I wasn't going back there.
I simply said that I was trying to grow my hair out. I didn't want my hair to resemble that-which-I-was-sporting at that moment in time. I simply wanted a style that made it appear that I looked this way on purpose.
He talked and felt his way through the mop on my head. He made me laugh as we made our way through the next few hours. I felt safe and secure in his hands because I felt that he heard me. He really heard me.
I did not tell him the horror story of my last haircuts-in-quick-succession. As one hour turned into two, I eventually told him that my hair had been growing for close to four and a half months and he expressed sheer horror at the shortness-that-my-hair had seen. He made me feel justified in my hairdresser phobia.
As he worked on my hair, I heard a voice behind me. I was turned away from the mirror so I couldn't see a face. But that voice. I knew that voice.
The voice kept talking and I thought 'she reminds me of my niece'. That is why I thought the voice was familiar. Until ...
... she started talking about 'hair school'. Then it hit me. She was the girl that was responsible for Part One of the Two Part bad-haircut of the Summer of 2013!!
I was relieved that I did not go into a rant-about-my-previous-haircuts the moment I sat down. I had a talk with myself before I went in for my appointment and reminded myself that when I put down one hairdresser's skill, I am also speaking to another hairdresser who knows what it is like to be on the opposite end of the scissors. "Be gentle" was my mantra ... do not insult the one-with-the-scissors.
I was careful not to give myself away. Do hairdressers-in-training never forget a head of hair? They are working on so many different people, with so much new information coursing through their brains ... do they have room to remember a set of hair follicles?
I was quiet. I was very quiet. Until the end. "How does it feel?" the current-love-of-my-life asked me. I started to rake through my hair and stopped myself. Oh no! This hairdresser-in-training was watching me. What if she remembered my mannerisms? My New Hairdresser (yes! I am keeping him!!) saw me hesitate and urged me to indulge myself and see how it felt. How it really felt.
It feels fine. I woke up this morning and it still feels good. My reflection didn't laugh back at me or mock me in any way.
I got my hair cut. And I think I like it!
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| Back view only because the front view comes with a face. This guy was great, but he could only work miracles with my hair... |
As our time together wound down to a close, my New Hairdresser started talking about our future together. We will keep trimming the bottom until the top and the sides catch up. I told him that I had no idea what I wanted the end result to be and he assured me that we will aim for shoulder length and see where to go from there. He gave me his card. He wants me to call him. Our first 'date' instilled a sense of trust that I have not know for quite some time ...
To my Hairdresser-in-Training: "Listen and watch this master ... he can teach you many things that they don't cover in hair school. Do not be afraid to let down your guard and absorb the wisdom that those have walked before you can teach you. You are in good hands. Trust them ..."
I felt like a victorious Arnold Schwarzenegger as I walked out of the salon last night saying, "I'll be back ..."
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