Jul 08 2008
Hairstyle Advocate I’m Not
Hairstylists intimidate me. I’ll admit it’s not a totally rational fear, but they scare me. I hate going to the salon, I hate the smells, I hate the atmosphere, and I hate feeling like a total schlep, with my too long limp hair tied up in a half pony tail, in my flip flops and bermuda shorts. I was in desperate need of a cut though, and my daughter was persistent about getting a new look. This meant a trip to the salon, today, because I couldn’t put off any longer.
My daughter, 13, wanted a totally edgy haircut, I wanted a generic mom cut. So she had pictures she’d printed off the internet and was really excited. The stylist we met totally burst her bubble. He told her the style and her hair were not a match, so he tried to talk her out of it. She totally shut down. Instead of insisting on her cut or talking to the dude, she just kind of rolled her eyes and hung her head and said, whatever. Whatever.
And me being the passive wallflower that I am, kind of shrugged and said to myself, “well, he’s the professional, he should know.”
He proceeded to give her the haircut, he thought she should have. Maybe he couldn’t pull off the other one, maybe he figured it would be too extreme and she wouldn’t be able to pull it off on a regular basis, because it’s a bit high maintenance (admittedly my daughter tends to be very low maintenance). In any case, he cut her hair the way he wanted, charged me a ton to blow it out and flat iron it, and sent us on our way.
I loved the way my teen’s hair looked, it flattered her face and still looked cool. My daughter hated it, it was NOT what she wanted. I knew that, I knew from the minute he went at her head with a pair of scissors, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to argue with the scary hair guy. I’m not one of those smart, assertive consumers, I rarely speak up because…well, I’m neurotic and insecure, let’s be honest.
So to make amends, I’ve promised my daughter another haircut, preferrably with another professional, who will give her what she wants even if it looks like crap. Chalk it up to another “bad mommy” moment. I’ll have plenty more of them, I’m sure.
