My frazzled blonde mane has been my constant companion over the last few years and I have only just come to realize the extent to which I am dependent on it. On days when I feel like flipping off the world and all its inhabitants, my hair provides shelter, protecting me from all the beings in my immediate surroundings. The mane has seen me through my "I'm-too-cool-for skinny-jeans" phase and my "I'm-not-that-cool-after-all-and-so-now-wear-skinny-jeans" phase. Through it all, the hair has stuck by me, unchanging.
Understandably, I am haircut-phobic. The only times I ever get my hair trimmed are when my mother tells me I look like my Great Aunt Mildred, who spent her days sitting on benches and feeding pigeons out of her bird's nest of a hairdo. Since coming to Penn, however, I have grown bored of my tresses and so the prospect of a cheap haircut was obviously exciting to my very fickle self. After days of intense deliberation, I found the courage to take the plunge.
Upon walking into the Aveda Salon, I was filled with trepidation. At reception, I was handed a release form to sign, and informed that the salon is a teaching institute. Although the people handling my hair would be students, I was assured that they had all had at least four months of formal training before they were let near real people. And so I signed the consent form, thus relinquishing my right to sue in case of accidental injury, death or ugliness.
And then I met Hal, who would be cutting my hair. Reassured by his smile and his flair for hair, I quickly relented and offered him carte blanche with my coif. After a quick swivel in the chair and a five minute consultation on the future of my locks, Hal guided me to the wash basin where he proceeded to use wonderfully scented Aveda Chamomile Shampoo and Conditioner to soothingly massage my scalp and hands. Needless to say, it was glorious.
After almost denting the metal chair with my anxious grip, the first snip came and went, and I began to relax. Hal treated me with his vast repertoire of celebrity gossip, and I even let a giggle slip. After taking about two inches off the ends, Hal applied Aveda's Hang Straight followed by the Light Elements Smoothing Fluid and proceeded to blow-out my hair before further cutting. A slightly long 45 minutes later, we were ready for phase two: the side bangs. Before Hal, I had been under the impression that a 'bang' was an explosion, not a hairstyle, but oh how wrong was I. Slowly but surely, the mythical bang appeared and my haircut was complete.
