the hair nightmare

Allow me to vent for a moment. (As if you aren't used to it by now!)

I recently got a much-needed haircut. After calling my usual very awesome stylist and getting a voicemail message that said she was no longer cutting hair (at least for the time being, I know she's expecting a baby in the near future), I frantically emailed everyone at work for recommendations. Let me also say I have the worst luck with stylists, as soon as I find one I love, he or she inevitably leaves me. Why does this suck? Because I have curly hair and trying to find someone good at cutting curly hair is next to impossible. ANYHOW I decided to go with the salon three people recommended: I had said I was willing to spend up to $50 and this place was in the $40-50 range. Worth it if they can make my hair look good...so I called for an appointment and specifically asked for someone who was good at working with curly hair. (I also checked the prices on the website to be sure--the regular stylists charged starting at $40 and the owner charged $50, so I was figuring $40-45.) I got there and explained to the girl that I wasn't looking for a new style, I just wanted my hair cleaned up really well and layered in such a way to prevent the bottom from looking bushy and the top from looking flat.

I should have known from the shampoo that it was not going to be good: every good salon I've been to, they practically give you a scalp massage while washing the hair...at the last one, the shampoo girl would actually massage your neck for a minute after the wash! Not this one. Okay, well whatever, it's all about the haircut, right? Then, I should've known by her (lack of) conversational skills that it wasn't going to be good: she tried to engage me in conversation but it was VERY forced and she'd ask a question ("Are you from around here?", etc.) and I'd answer and try to get the conversation flowing but she wouldn't continue. Okay...yeah, maybe that's not important but it's not fun having your hair cut by someone who acts like she'd rather be eating bugs than cutting your hair. (The women in the chair next to us were talking about an upcoming wedding and my girl was like, "Everyone is getting married. I am SO NOT getting married." Bitter much?) Now, the girl cutting my hair looked like a blonde Kelly Osborne and seemed funky and cool and very indie-rock, and I understand I'm preppy and conventional and we were not destined to be best buds, but chatting couldn't hurt...yeesh. The cut itself didn't seem to bad, a little (okay, a lot) shorter than what I'm used to but it DID need to be cleaned up. I asked to have it blow-dried straight and again--the good stylists I've been to (probably everyone in the last 6 years) use a big round brush and mostly dry it that way, only resorting to the flat iron to touch it up at the end. That's actually how I do it myself, only it never comes out looking as good. This one? Not so much. She blow dried it into a big ball of frizz and then proceeded to attack it for a long time with a very tiny flat iron...okayyy I could have done that at home! But whatever, it was done. I went to pay and was charged $55....WTF? Why did I pay more for this girl to cut my hair than I would've paid for the OWNER to do it?!?!?! JEEZ! But again--if it looks good, I'll spend the money.

So the next day I wash my hair and use the diffuser to make it curly...it curled up VERY short and quite bushy. I'm not pleased but I know by now to give it a week....my last cut in March looked funny for a few days because that's how long it takes for it to get used to the new cut, then it looked awesome. This time? Nope. Over a week later and it's still short and bushy and I look OLD. I want to scream (and probably have a few times!)...UGH!!!! Luckily it looks fine straight but honestly? I could've gone to one of those discount places and gotten a trim for $15 if all I wanted to do was wear it straight. Plus summer in North Carolina is NOT the time to fight nature when it comes to your hair. Now I have to wait I don't know how long for it to grow, by then it'll be all fuzzy and annoying again, and I'll have to take a chance with another person. NOT. FUN.

Plus, Ava went back to sleeping horrible last night (but no coughing!) so I'm very tired and cranky and everything feels utterly hopeless when I'm tired. BLEH.