MEGAN WILL CUT YOUR HAIR! She'll do it good. When Mrs. S and me moved to Brookings, we were leaving a hairdresser we loved, a hairdresser we'd spent years with. Her name was Jessica and she worked at a salon that was consistently ranked as one of the best salons in a major east coast metropolis so, y'know, FAUNCY. I have annoyingly thick, wavy hair (if I do say so myself) that, when cut by hacks (as it was throughout most of my youth), within three weeks becomes puffy and unruly. It resembles pubic hair along the sides. It's altogether unmanageable. I spent most of my teenage and college years hating my hair. How can I describe it? Blacks cultivate Afros and Jews bemoan their Jewfros - what do Teutons call their headpuff? I looked like Beethoven in those paintings of Beethoven, and he was wearing a wig, so it was on purpose, must've been fashionable, so I guess I would've been hot shit in the 18th century. Today, I just look like crazy hair. No good. Then I moved to east and met Mrs. S., who set me up with Jessica, who knew how to cut hair. For the first time in my miserable stinking life, I could enjoy my thick, wavy hair. The universe was no longer a total disaster. When we moved out here to the Territories, I was convinced it would take years to find someone as good as my previous hairdresser...if I found someone at all. I was resigned to regular trips to Omaha, Minneapolis, even Chicago (or simply back east to Jessica) in order to get a decent haircut. If I was LUCKY, there was a competent hairdresser in Sioux Falls. No way that's gonna happen in Brookings. I was totally wrong. Locals who know hooked us up with Megan right away. She's set up in a cute little salon in the same building with j.ella und that Old Market restaurant that keeps changing owners. At first, I was suspicious: she didn't wash my hair before cutting it, and I was used to that happening (turns out she does it after - whatevs). But she got the cut right the FIRST time. Granted, I brought instructions from my previous hairdresser, which Megan was TOTALLY cool about. The instructions were pretty basic, so about 10% of the cut's success was the instructions and the other 90% was Megan. Nailed it. Granted, getting a good haircut in the salon is only the first step. It's gotta grow out good. So I was stoked when, three weeks later, I didn't need to return and get my Teutfro under control. Nor the week after that. I could reschedule at my leisure - the hair was growing out great. Oh, and because it's Brookings, it's cheap. Megan can - and probably should, at some point - charge way more than she's charging for a men's haircut: fifteen freaking bucks!! I've heard Megan is really adept at men's haircuts. My wife's color and cut routine is a bit more complicated, and it took her and Megan a few rounds to get it right. But again, Megan was TOTALLY cool about everything - she listened to what my wife said, was respectful and responsive and willing to make changes, but also relied on her own training and instincts when she needed to. Megan is very professional and easy to work with. She strikes a great balance - ESSENTIAL in a hairdresser- between listening to what you want and knowing when you're wrong. Mrs. S. and I are extremely happy clients. read more