Saturday, May 12, 2012

Awkward Haircut

Little did I know that after writing the last two posts that I would have the opportunity to write a similar one about my most recent haircut.

Getting a haircut here is always a bit of an adventure anyway as good hairdressers are 1) hard to find, and 2) incredibly expensive. But over the last year, I've located a couple of options. Actually, I tried to find a consistent hairdresser, but one other trait of salons here is appointment cancellations ... sometimes last minute. So, I'm now growing my hair long to minimize the haircut hassle.

But even in the growing out phase, it was time for a trim, so I made a last minute appointment on a Friday morning, which was pretty lucky so I figured maybe this time, the haircut would be a pleasant and smooth experience. (sigh - I've always been a hopeful kind of gal)

When I arrived, my hairdresser was standing outside the salon talking in animated Arabic which sounded angry (but you can't always tell with Arabic). Still, it didn't seem like a good omen. Checked in and had a seat. Not too much longer, she came back in and took me to the chair. I explained what I wanted and headed to the shampoo basins. Shampoos are done by the salon assistants here, not your stylist so all was going according to plan. And the assistant was great and I got a nice head massage (not awkward at all ;)

Meanwhile, my stylist started a blow dry on another client who had an appointment before mine. After a few minutes waiting, my stylist asked, "Could I have some of your time please so I can finish her blow dry?" Sure, I wasn't in a hurry and an extra 5 minutes wouldn't hurt anything.

20 minutes later she came back to my chair and apologized. The good thing was the salon manager (I think) got me some coffee and a couple of free trial bottles of conditioner for my inconvenience. I was impressed that she noticed and tried to make up for it - that doesn't happen much here.

We finally got started and she seemed to be doing a good job, no complaints on my end.

About halfway through my cut, one of the assistants started teasing her about being in the same dress as yesterday. Come to find out, she had left the salon late the night before, gone to dinner, had waaay too much to drink (this is her recounting the story to me) so ended up partying all night. Her plan was to go home and shower and have a nap, but then one of her clients (the blow dry marathon lady) called so she came straight in to work.

Seriously?

I started paying closer attention to make sure she was cutting in a straight line after that story! What would possess you to tell a client, a NEW client, that you've been up all night partying and are really tired and haven't showered? Did she think she was forming a bond with me or something? That I would sympathize and forgive any crooked edges because she was hung over?

Awkward

The good news is the haircut turned out fine. Who knows, maybe she does her best work hung over? It will make me think twice about going back to her, however. But I shouldn't have to worry about it again for at least 8 weeks.

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