evolution of a haircut

Do you remember when you were little, and your mom would take you to her 'hairdresser'? Or maybe you had the 'at home' haircut. I don't think there was such a thing as a 'stylist' back then, unless it was in Hollywood.

My first haircut involved chopping off the ponytail that hung down my back, just above the rubber band. My mom saved it. I think she still has it. I might have been 6 or 7. Prior to that, I had the at home haircuts. These involved wetting my bangs with Dippity Do (remember? in the green jar?) then taping them down with the pink zig zag tape, so she could cut them straight. Which, due to my multiple cowlicks, never really worked. But my first haircut was a 'pixie". It was all the rage back then. Before Farrah Fawcett and Dorothy Hamil came along.

If there was a big event, say the Christmas Play at church, or maybe Easter Sunday, my mom would use black prickly rollers in my hair, to keep them in place she stuck pink plastic pins through them. I would have to try and sleep in them overnight. Sometimes she wrapped a scarf around them, so they wouldn't fall out while I tossed and turned, BECAUSE I HAD PRICKLY ROLLERS IMPALED ON PLASTIC STICKS STICKING INTO MY HEAD. Thank goodness curly hair wasn't required very often.

I have an appointment to get my haircut today. I became addicted to 'good' haircuts when I worked for Target, and would run over to Aveda on my lunch break. I felt that I worked so hard I surely deserved it. Those haircuts included a head and neck massage, and wonderful smelling product. And I loved my 'stylist'. But then I left Target. Then I couldn't afford her anymore, (you know, that whole quit-your-job-to-stay-home-with-your-baby deal) so Great Clips became the place to go. I really missed the massages, and the one I went to was right next to a fresh seafood place, so let's just say no product could outdo those aromas.

I got some money for my birthday, and decided to treat myself to a 'good' haircut, and started going to the Aveda in St. Paul, which is now Juut, and I LOVE my 'stylist'. I have been with her for a few years now, and she really knows my hair. You know how it is, you get used to a person. And my sweet hubby is kind enough to buy me gift cards to go there, so I don't feel guilty spending money on my hair.

How the heck did haircuts get so expensive? There isn't really any new technology. The 'hairdresser" who cut off my ponytail in the little shop over Gibsons in downtown Bemidji used a comb and a scissor. So does my 'stylist'. Okay, we have blow dryers now, instead of sitting under the big dryers (which I always secretly wanted to do as a child, and read a movie magazine). And really good smelling product. And the whole neck/head massage thing. But a haircut today could have nearly bought me a wardrobe when I was 7 years old.

But when I walk out of that salon, with my hair all swinging perfectly, and smelling really good, for at least a little while, I will feel like I am worth it.