I had a job interview and I needed a haircut. Not only am I trying to save money . . . it's almost impossible to get in with anyone really good without waiting at least a week.
Then Groupon offered a deal: a good one.
I bought it (around 8AM) and called-- Penelope called me back within a few hours. Talk about a quick turnaround! :) She gave me a 9AM booking (thank goodness-- a hairdresser who is a morning person!) for the next day. Despite my nerves about this interview, I felt happier and more excited than I have in a long time. Hair is that important to me.
Some backstory: I am going gray and I kind of like it. However, going gray also means I have these weird cowlicks on both sides of my head. As I normally part my hair on the side, this poses an issue. Penelope took one look at my hair and said, "Why not part it in the middle?" Why not indeed? I am a writing teacher: I am constantly showing my students how to re-read. "Everything is a text" I tell them. Why I couldn't practice what I preach with my own hair I don't know. So right away, I was thrilled to have Penelope re-read my hair for me-- she helped me re-see it.
I never know what to say when a hairdresser asks me what I want. Therefore, when she asked me, I mumbled something about liking my last haircut and just trimming the ends, Penelope took one chunk of my hair in her capable, experienced fingers (you know how you can just tell when someone knows what she is doing? There's something about the way a good hairdresser touches your hair) and asked, "You don't want me to make these layers more pronounced?" (Note: She said something far more descriptive-- but that was the essence.)
I have flat, thin hair-- I have love it when a stylist to ask me something like that! But most of them seem scared by my hair-- I've only had one hairdresser (my long-time hairdresser in Seattle) who ever wanted to take any risks with it. "You don't have hair like Jennifer Aniston," one fraidy cat told me in the early 90's, "so I can't give you a haircut like hers."
At any rate, Penelope gave me a beautiful haircut AND showed me how to style it: "Fun hair" (parted in the middle!) and "Professional" hair (parted on the side.) She took the time to show me how to tame the cowlicks for the "professional" haircut.
Normally, no one notices when I get a haircut: EVERYONE noticed. My students-- the woman working the desk at the yoga studio . . . even someone from my yoga class (to whom I've never spoken) said, "Your new haircut looks great!"
The best comment, however, was from one of my students, that afternoon. She said to me, wonderingly, "Your hair . . . it looks so . . . Smooth." (If I could italicize smooth I would. Pretend I did.)
For the rest of the day, privately, I kept tossing my head and taking self portraits with my cell phone.
I could say a lot more about our 45 minute visit, but I'll keep it brief: Penelope had some great ideas about color and foils to help me gray more gracefully . . . great suggestions about product (and not washing my hair as much-- long hair requires less frequent washing) . . . and she showed me a few alternate styles.
A year after moving to the Portland area, I've FINALLY found my new stylist! I am excited to see what further wisdom Penelope has as my hair. :) Thank you so much! read more