Haircut
I used to always get my hair cut by the same person for years at a time. The only time I ever changed my barber/hairstylist (or whatever they’re called now) was when I moved or they moved. I’ve had about 6 regular barbers in my life, and maybe 6 other one-timers, until lately.
I like being able to walk in, sit down and not have to explain anything. I like consistency, and I like being able to close my eyes and doze in the chair. (It’s usually the only nap I get in a month.) My best barbers are those who realize early that I’m not much on small talk in the chair, and if they just let me sit quietly to think or doze, they get a good tip.
Lately, however, I’ve been going to a spot that just opened a few months ago very near my home. (About 200 yards, near.) Unfortunately, in the four times I’ve been there, I’ve had a different barber every time. Fortunately, they record my choice of length so everyone knows how much I want my hair cut. This record, combined with the convenience of being able to show up at any time by just walking from my home is what gets me to put up with having a different barber every time. No appointment is necessary, and I’ve never had to wait more than maybe five minutes for a chair.
The thing they don’t record in my “customer log,” though, is my hairstyle. And there in lies the funny: I don’t have a hairstyle. My hair does what it does, and I never give it a thought on a daily basis. I wash my hair in the shower, dry it off with a towel, run my fingers through it to make sure nothing is sticking up, and then I’m done. It might look slightly different each day, especially depending on how long it’s getting.
A new barber always asks me about how I like it styled. They usually ask based on how it’s “styled” at the moment they’re looking at it, but they don’t realize that I never know how it’s “styled” until they comment on it. I just don’t think about my hair—it’s still there, in full, so I’m happy and content without giving it any attention. And what the barbers never know, and I never tell them, is that as soon as I walk out their door with my new cut, I tend to run my hands through my hair. It’s a habit, but it feels good, and it breaks up the “perfect look” they comb and brush into it.
I had one barber, several years ago, chastise me for putting a cap on my head after the haircut. I had been wearing the cap when I came in, and so naturally I just put it back on when about to walk out.
“You know,” she said politely, and with a little mirth, “that usually insults your hairstylist, especially right after she does your hair.”
“But,” I countered, a little embarrassed, “I wore it in.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Okay.”
We both paused a few moments, and then I took my cap back off.
I liked that barber (she knew me and let me nap in her chair), so out of respect, I never wore a cap to her store. But I still ran my fingers through my hair and mussed up my do every time I left her store, once I was around the corner and safely out of sight.
Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com
