Cutting Edge

For men, a haircut is routine, but for a woman, going to the hairdresser is akin to an appointment with a shrink. There, you are what you truly are. Your hairdresser, is not the in and out for a bargain cutter, but the person with whom you have shared secrets and sessions for years. There's nothing wrong with a quickie cut but those who frequent that kind of salon are missing something that is worth the bucks.  The something of which I speak, is the sharing of personal confidences. Hairdressers are trained to be good listeners while doing their hair jobs and they are usually good at both. As they trim and shape and perhaps colour, they are giving you more than that. These wonderful folk, can touch your head and know your soul. Tightness and scalp problems, scars, improperly kept tresses all tell a story that lips need not express. When she or he, regard a head, they attempt to heal at the same time. My hairdresser must have a PHD equivalent in massaging while shampooing. As I rest my neck against a sink lip that innovatively comes up to my nape instead of I, trying to scrunch down onto its, Katherine massages my head in slow circles, her thumbs pressing areas she feels need attention and gently slides over those that are merely sleeping. After what seems a bit too much out-time, I am moaning in a relaxed state that a glass of sherry could never induce. Then it's time for the colour and cut. Colour these days is not a stinking, burning experience, but an application of the finest layers of foamy liquid served onto your awaiting locks from three or more bowls of foamy fragrant whipped  delight. No more, are there noisy dryers to sit under as you sip the coffee, tea or bottled water brought to you along with a pile of the latest pictorial fashion or Hollywood magazines no one would pick up other than in a salon. While perking in your foil headdress, you read the most outrageous, unbelievable gossip and gaze longingly at equally decadent piles of jewelry in photos that seem from another planet. You have stepped out of your reasoning, sensible world into another place. For a short time. The last step, that of the final set and the new you in the mirror, you are ready to pay up and re-enter the real world, while feeling entirely much more able to face its challenges.