Is there a more transformative, relaxing, all-sensory-encompassing experience than a trip to the hair salon? I say no, there isn’t.  We are so #blessed to live in this time and space where you can walk down the street and find yourself in a salon in a matter of minutes, or if you’re like me, you have a regularly scheduled 6-7 week appointment.  As I sat in the chair today letting the bleach process, it dawned on me that getting your hair done is just tops.  Ace.  Here’s why:

The Unrivaled Pleasure That Is Someone Brushing, Washing and Overall Playing With Your Hair

I mean, this is legal heroin.  Your entire life could be quite literally falling apart (and sometimes this “my life is f*cked” vibe is precisely how one finds themselves in the stylist’s chair in need of a life/hair makeover) but a few minutes of a brush or comb running through your strands can lull you into a deep peace.  And don’t get me started on the hair wash – head scratch combo.  Bonus points if your stylist has long nails.  I don’t want to turn this into a graphic romance novel but…it’s just the best and you know it.

 

The Gossip.

GIRL.  Did you hear? The salon is where all of the juiciest gossip is served.  I don’t know what it is about getting your hair done, maybe it’s the relaxation, the hum of the blow dryers, or the fact that your stylist is standing very close that makes people let some cats out of the bag.  Whatever it is, I love it.  

I like to think of myself as a Professional Eavesdropper and just on today’s trip alone I heard about a woman who is in a bind because her best friend treats restaurant wait staff terribly but always picks up the check, and a man who genuinely thinks that his girlfriend doesn’t know he colors his grey hair (she knows, dude).  And of course, I filled my stylist in on my love and work life.  Which brings me to my next point…

Stylist = Therapist

Most women are incredibly loyal to their hairstylist.  My mom, for example, has been going to the same stylist for over 30 years (!!!!).  With that much longevity and time spent together, it’s almost expected that you’re going to talk about some subjects you may not talk about with anyone else.  You trust your stylist with the hair on your head so why not with matters of the heart?  Or that idiot at work that keeps getting on your nerves?  You can vent and ask for advice freely because, well, your stylist is basically trapped there with you until your hair is finished.  I’ve always wondered if stylists enjoy being our makeshift therapists or if it gets annoying.  I’m hoping for the former.  Maybe I should start tipping more…

Apparently the eyes AND hair are the windows to the soul

That Little Buzz You Get From Bleach
Okay, maybe this one is just me, but I enjoy that weird scalp tingling, bleach-inhaling buzz I get when my color/bleach is processing.  Is it healthy?  Hell no.  Does it stop me from drifting into a chemically-induced daze while I read the latest Us Weekly?  Also hell no 🙂

                                      I’m a very un-natural blonde.

That Fresh Cut Confidence

Finally, when all of the dye has been washed out,  hair has been cut and styled, the blow dryer and flat iron are off, the stylist spins you around in the chair and you look in the mirror.  GOT DAMN.  You look amazing.  Who cares how much it costs because you’re going to pay and walk out of that place feeling like a supermodel on the runway.  You stare at yourself in every car and store window you pass, running your hands through your hair and feeling like a million bucks.

 

That is….until you have to wash your hair two days later and remember that only a trained professional can ever make your hair look that good.  But it’s okay, you’ll be back soon.