hairdresser from hell
I’ve been pretty traumatised by a haircut recently. In fact, I go to pieces whenever I think about getting my hair cut. Even though I’d like to think I’m a pretty confident person, the moment I get into a hairdresser’s chair, I get stage fright.
That’s right, the old rabbit in the headlights trick. I stare straight ahead, only to see a stunned mullet reflected back at me (but one that’s internally fretting and imploring to every world deity not to have a mullet as the final product…)
But I went and got my hair cut recently, against all better judgement, at a hairdresser near our metro station. By default (comes with the territory of living in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, I guess), it was a pretty snazzy place, with a price tag to match (darn!). Sure, I hadn’t had a haircut since arriving in France, but I really should have thought it through a little more and taken heed of the elderly clientele and the location. I was just fed up with cutting my own fringe, had made a mess of it the last time I did it, and decided that I wanted my demi-annual shearing. It was time for my shoulder-length mop to go.
The hairdresser spoke English (after reliving my French ballet trauma recently, this should have also set the alarm bells off), but to my dismay, neither of us spoke hairdressing English. A request for a low-maintenance, short haircut with an angular fringe turned into a very hip 1980s pom-pom puff of extreme side-parted, blow-dried volume. Some gel? Why not, could it get any worse?
So I just sat there, faking an appreciative smile, just tiding away the moments before I could go home and wash it and reclaim the hair as my own. On my arrival back to a forgiving mirror, I realised with horror that she hadn’t actually taken any length of the fringe. Why didn’t I just stay home in bed?
5 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post · TrackBack URI
Leave a Comment
Entries RSS
val said,
March 8th, 2008 @ 7:46 am
I don’t think speaking the same language as your hairdresser is necessarily a benefit. They pretend they’re listening, then proceed to cut the style that they think you should have. It doesn’t even count if you’ve been to them before.
Svet & Kyle said,
March 21st, 2008 @ 7:40 pm
Hi, Bettina!
A good thing that hair grows fast, next time you’ll find a better specialist!
Best wishes,
Svet and Kyle
PS By the way my philosophy is that’s all what is happening with us is for better! So look at this like some experience…
Bettina said,
March 22nd, 2008 @ 11:37 am
Val - unfortunately this time my hairdresser got it into her head that a boy’s bowl cut would be the best look for me this spring!
Svet & Kyle - your killer haircut was an eye-opener! I couldn’t believe the lengths some people could go to over the price of a haircut! (and I thought I was irate!)
My philosophy was always that the difference between a good and a bad haircut was three days… but I’ve definitely disproved that as a theory this time!
Liz said,
April 4th, 2008 @ 3:29 am
Ok 1. Having for the first time ever found a hairdresser who “gets” what I want (and she went to school with my brother so I get a discount) I can promise it is possible.
2. Your haircut suits the whole amelie-au pair thig you’ve got going, I like it and if I wasn’t dating a French guy who is obsessed with long hair I would go to your hairdresser and ask for the same!
3. Kim, Jo and I in Italy at 16 decided to get our hair(or hairs, because the Italians, unlike the english, realise that one has more than one “hair” - I don’t know why we say leg hairs, but head hair is always singluar, I digress) cut together. We thought the lovely girl in the salon was saying “great? you’re sure? great!” when she was saying “shorter? you’re sure? (you crazy lady?ok…) shorter!”
Needless to say we ended up with hair like Agyness Deyn, but decidedly less chic. So I think you did well.
Amusingly, in my list of questions to ask when I encountered you in Paris was “hairdresser?” (yes, there was a list!) but I decided one bad international hair experience in a lifetime was enough.
Bettina said,
April 4th, 2008 @ 2:09 pm
Luck your hair was already looking fantastic, Liz, because I would have drawn a blank re: hairdressers here!
I don’t think you should get your haircut elsewhere if your brother’s buddy gives you a discount (that’s all I’d be looking for in a hairdresser!)… and as for “hairs” - Guillaume still insists on calling it “them”, which I think is adorable, like it gives them an individual character (which anyone blighted with a cowlick will know this is true!).
Thanks for leaving me a comment & see you here next year for some new shoes!