Hair Tales

I would like to thank those who reassured me that I am not spending an
insane amount of time at the hair salon. This being said, I am pretty sure
that the day they washed my hair four times at Earth was excessive.

There is a perfectly good reason why, at 32 years, I am unsure about the
amount of time the average person spends at a salon...much like I was once
unsure of the price.

My stepmother is a hair stylist.

Until I was 20, the majority of haircuts (and most of the colors) came from
her. You don't notice the clock so much when you're with good family.
I have no clue how long Day Of Bleach took when I decided to go Hitchcock
Blonde. Poor Jo-anne, how could she have guessed that I had residual henna
from when I'd been away from her and that after 3 strippng procedures she'd
have to settle for turning my whole head a color you may know as Dial
Anti-bacterial day-glo orange.

The times in college when I had to book my own stylist I had almost no hair.
I could easily maintain the black color by myself and only needed cheap boy
haircuts. Many a stylist worried that I might look too boyish...not possible
with my face and build. They were always surprised that it was cute on me.

After college, well, there were some hair mistakes. They didn't come from
professionals, they came from my own two hands. I can be trusted to bleach,
color, and even henna at times...but you should not let me cut my hair or
yours.

Then I was back in Madison! Time to see my step-mother! Back to hair
adventures of the correct type! By the time I left for Japan I had lovely
black and red hair, the type I couldn't maintain by myself, and I found a
stylist who spoke no English but could replicate the style. And, then I
wanted a change. I was a fool! I've never been so happy to know I
have hairdye at home That evening I came home looking like a mutt with
mottled tri-color hair. I didn't want stylists anymore and I didn't want
Japanese small talk...

The growing out process, with a variety of hairdyes, started. I did
some very bad things to my hair with scissors in that time. You'd think that
with my attention to accesories and clothing I would have been better to my
hair, bur I wasn't.

...in 2004 I went to an expensive English-speaking stylist in Aoyama because
I know there would be questions asked that I couldn't answer in Japanese. I
had to make some promises about my scissor use. The nice Japanese stylist
would quitely tell me "It's just shocking...you did this?" I've kept those
promises. It was a great salon, in part because the shampoo stations were
shampoo beds similar to a padded massage bed. You get you hair washed while
in a supine possition ...but there is only so long you can justify the
16,000-20,000 yen price...and the job change and apartment move broke me.

Now, after a few years at "Earth", a local place that takes walk-ins, I have
traded up for Aveda. The price is about the same and the service is much
better. It smells great as well.

Hair Tales

I would like to thank those who reassured me that I am not spending an
insane amount of time at the hair salon. This being said, I am pretty sure
that the day they washed my hair four times at Earth was excessive.

There is a perfectly good reason why, at 32 years, I am unsure about the
amount of time the average person spends at a salon...much like I was once
unsure of the price.

My stepmother is a hair stylist.

Until I was 20, the majority of haircuts (and most of the colors) came from
her. You don't notice the clock so much when you're with good family.
I have no clue how long Day Of Bleach took when I decided to go Hitchcock
Blonde. Poor Jo-anne, how could she have guessed that I had residual henna
from when I'd been away from her and that after 3 strippng procedures she'd
have to settle for turning my whole head a color you may know as Dial
Anti-bacterial day-glo orange.

The times in college when I had to book my own stylist I had almost no hair.
I could easily maintain the black color by myself and only needed cheap boy
haircuts. Many a stylist worried that I might look too boyish...not possible
with my face and build. They were always surprised that it was cute on me.

After college, well, there were some hair mistakes. They didn't come from
professionals, they came from my own two hands. I can be trusted to bleach,
color, and even henna at times...but you should not let me cut my hair or
yours.

Then I was back in Madison! Time to see my step-mother! Back to hair
adventures of the correct type! By the time I left for Japan I had lovely
black and red hair, the type I couldn't maintain by myself, and I found a
stylist who spoke no English but could replicate the style. And, then I
wanted a change. I was a fool! I've never been so happy to know I
have hairdye at home That evening I came home looking like a mutt with
mottled tri-color hair. I didn't want stylists anymore and I didn't want
Japanese small talk...

The growing out process, with a variety of hairdyes, started. I did
some very bad things to my hair with scissors in that time. You'd think that
with my attention to accesories and clothing I would have been better to my
hair, bur I wasn't.

...in 2004 I went to an expensive English-speaking stylist in Aoyama because
I know there would be questions asked that I couldn't answer in Japanese. I
had to make some promises about my scissor use. The nice Japanese stylist
would quitely tell me "It's just shocking...you did this?" I've kept those
promises. It was a great salon, in part because the shampoo stations were
shampoo beds similar to a padded massage bed. You get you hair washed while
in a supine possition ...but there is only so long you can justify the
16,000-20,000 yen price...and the job change and apartment move broke me.

Now, after a few years at "Earth", a local place that takes walk-ins, I have
traded up for Aveda. The price is about the same and the service is much
better. It smells great as well.