Pamper Thyself

For the past 4 years my friend Marisa had been cutting my hair. We met junior year in college and once she told me she aspired to be a cosmetologist, I knew we’d be the best of friends. This would save me some serious cash. After all, money saved from haircuts meant more money for downtown. Let’s be serious, who has money in college to spend on other things besides booze? You had to weigh the value of necessities and 9 times out of 10, alcohol won. I offered to pay Marisa some money but she always said alcohol would be my payment. So naturally, we’d make a pregame out of the beautifying experience. We’d make Bloody Marys, put on some good music and talk about our plans for the night. Getting my haircut had never been so enjoyable. However, the only downside to Marisa cutting my hair was that I never really felt pampered. Sure it was free, but I wanted her to wash my hair and massage my scalp like they do at the salon but she refused!

For a person with curly hair, the shampoo and conditioning is the highlight of my salon experience for two reasons. First, it’s obviously euphoric. I want to close one eye and lift up one leg, twitching it like my dog does when I find the right spot on his belly, but I have to control myself. After all, I am in public. Secondly, it’s the only time it’s acceptable for someone to rub my scalp. I don’t get that privilege when my hair is dry and curly. People can’t play with my hair or if they do, there are rules that they must follow. For instance, you can’t take a curl and with two hands, pull it apart. You can’t be rough with the curls. You can’t run fingers through my hair or try and style my hair a particular way. Doing one or all of the above results in a serious afro and I’m not trying to look like Richard Simmons. You have to be gentle with curls. Basically, all you get to do is pick them up and examine them or pull them and watch them spring, which still feels good. But, I’m usually not trustworthy of who is touching my hair. They always get carried away. You can restyle straight hair, but once curls are ruined, it’s the end of looking good.

The last time I had my hair cut was in January. It was time to get some bounce back to the curls but I could never coordinate it with Marisa. She lives in Wilmington and our paths don’t cross as conveniently as they used to. After 10 months, it was time to face the reality of the situation and make an appointment at a salon. (I haven’t spent money on a haircut in 4 years, so of course I’ve become spoiled!) So after picking a place that looked normal from the outside and discovering that it only cost $45 for a haircut, I knew I could handle this. $45 in college was like $100. $45 in the real world making money is actually not bad at all. It’s cheaper than filling up my tank. (I have an SUV, but I wish I had a horse and carriage instead. That would be a true protest to our country’s dependency on oil!) Anyway, the moral of the story is that even though it seems like the economy is disappearing into some vortex, we can always make room in our bank accounts to get pampered. We just might have to make some adjustments to our spending habits until we get paid again. So when the country doesn’t make you feel good, go to a salon so they can make you feel better…until you turn on the news again.