Tag Archives: hair

strawberry shampoo does not taste as good as it smells.

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i had asked my daughter

to pick out a nice shampoo and conditioner for me

 was excited to get these

loved reading the labels

here are just some of the words/phrases on the packaging:

Resurrection 

For weak, brittle hair that needs an intervention!

Damage Level – 3

Micro shields boost strength and stamina

Great results may cause your hair’s ego to inflate to astronomical proportions.

what?! ‘damage level -3’?!

i love the descriptors

who could resist even one of these?

and also there is so much little writing on the label

 the shampoo and conditioner bottles look exactly the same

 once i’m in the shower i have no idea which is which

and i always forget to look before i get in

and i’m not getting out to get my glasses on

so i have a 50/50 chance of getting it right, a roll of the dice

and sometimes i lose

this is what i call an ‘x-treme’ hair care experience.

“sorry I can’t hear you over the volume of my hair.”

-author unknown

the works.

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before i left the salon

i booked my next appointment

after discussing what services

i’d be interested in

 as i walked back to my car

i read the receptionist’s summary

of what i’d requested

stated in two words:

“the works”

 i had better plan to be there for a while.

 

“great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.”

-samuel johnson

tangles.

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(not my sister but you get the idea)

my sister, p.

recently shared the following story

about her hair misadventure

and as sympathetic as i was

i could not stop laughing. 

and could totally identify. 

must have been nervous laughter

and gratitude that it wasn’t me. 

p. had gone to have her hair cut and styled

the very adept stylist easily cut it and blew it dry

with just a round brush

and

it emerged

into a full and lovely natural style. 

the next day

my sister decided that she could certainly do the same

so she armed herself with a blow dryer and big round brush

and had at it. 

only –

the brush got stuck

very stuck

absolutely stuck

tangled in both directions

and it was immovable. 

it was so bad

that she thought her only option

would be to cut it out

so she called the salon

explained the situation 

 they told her to come in for help

she drove through her small town

with the big round brush

still stuck on the side of her head 

parked her car

walked down the sidewalk

past the local businesses and people on the street

with it still stuck on the side of her head

and into the salon once more.

not surprisingly

they guessed her identity the moment she walked in

the salon was very busy

but not so busy that the staff and their customers

did not have time to guffaw and laugh out loud

unable to restrain themselves

people tried not to make eye contact

they walked her through the salon to the very back

where the staff took turns working on it

in between clients

until it eventually

was worked off of her head

one hair at a time. 

i totally get this. 

“so many tangles in life are ultimately hopeless that we have no appropriate sword other than laughter.”

-gordon w. allport

image credit: google images

full of it.

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Dog Sitting Under Dryer in Beauty Salon

at the salon

relaxing

calm

friendly

chatting

sharing

herbal tea

and

stories

until

he

arrived

full of self

all pomp

and

circumstance

and

said things

to his stylist

like

i’m a writer

for the university

i prefer whiskey

only the finest

you probably

wouldn’t have heard of

the bands i prefer

i had an outing

with a large group

of my friends

this is my first haircut

since i’ve moved here

you should feel honored

and

he was young

and already

so filled up

having to prove something

to the world

and himself

and it went

on and on

so full

of false importance

and then

his patient stylist

opened a door

to get something

and

a head rolled out

cathy002in2012

and

he looked

and

he shrieked

and

his wall

fell down

just a bit

and the

rest of us

laughed

and

laughed

for a long time

and

the man

was quiet.

—-
avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls,

your ego goes with it.

– colin powell

image credits: getty images, flickr

just looked outside, yep, 6 more inches of the white stuff.

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but i am a woman on a mission. i will stand back up now. and i will snowshoe downtown if need be. i have a hair appointment. 

The Harvard Law states: Under controlled conditions of light, temperature, humidity, and nutrition,

the organism will do as it damn well pleases.

 Larry Wal 

———–

image credit: funnyordie.com 

in beauty, there is truth

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when i sat down at the salon recently, after a long day, ready to relax and be pampered, little did i know this experience would turn into such an unexpected human encounter.  i was assigned a new stylist, ‘w.’  he was young, feminine, full of tatts, with asymmetrical hair, earrings, and looked to be trying to establish his individuality, and find his place, both in the salon and in the world.  he was quiet and gentle, and listened to what i had hoped to see happen with my hair, and then we began the transformation process.

as time passed and we talked, and shared a common space, he said i made him laugh with my openness and my stories, and i noticed that he became more relaxed and talkative, and let down his guard a bit. i asked him what had inspired him to want to do hair and he slowly shared his story. we had coffee as he worked his magic, and he told me stories about his life. at times, we both laughed out loud, at times it was quiet, as he continued on with his tale.

he had always loved to do hair, was badly bullied most of his life, felt that only one person in his family truly accepted him the way he was,  how he was alone, but that he had found hope, and after he was established he planned to move south to the carolinas to try to find his old love and begin again.

then came the story, so incredibly sad, about how he had decided to end his own misery one day, and was saved from it by a surprise puppy he had always longed for, (a unexpected gift from the person who understood him), licking him on his face, waking him up, from what he had expected to be his last sleep, on the morning of what he had planned to be his last day. something about the puppy, instantly loving him unconditionally, with no judgement, changed him and his plan. he knew at that moment he needed to take care of this puppy who was helpless, and loved him and needed him. this puppy, this gesture, had saved his life. this was the turning point when he decided life was worth living and to go and live it on his own terms. he had found the hope he needed to go on another day. we both were openly weeping at this point. 

he said, ‘i don’t know why, but i’ve never told anyone this. it felt like you wouldn’t judge me for it though and thank you for listening and caring. i’m sorry i was crying and made you cry too.’ i told him i was so happy that he felt comfortable enough to share this with me, and that it was my pleasure to meet someone who so clearly overcame great odds and yet, continued on. i told him he was an inspiration.

it was 3 hours of my life, sitting in his chair, sharing stories, drinking coffee, laughing and crying, and it was an amazing connection, a human story of the finest sort, from a person who, when all was lost to him, found his way and his hope once again.

in the end we hugged, and as we each went our separate ways, i told him i’d see him soon, when i needed some more of his hair magic and to share more stories. when i called soon after to schedule my next appointment with him, they said that ‘w’ had left the salon without explanation and was not coming back. i hope he is working his way towards the carolinas. 

If truth is beauty, how come no one has their hair done in the library?  –  Lily Tomlin