Life after Garland...a Lesson in Trust

Hi. This is about my hair.

Garland is gone to New Orleans.  He was my friend who let me live with him for a year, but he was also my stylist. The joy of living with your stylist is that every so often he looks at you with raised eyebrow and says "girl, get in that chair".  Usually this is accompanied by a sad shaking of his head, at what a mess is on my head.

Now, even though he did a final farewell cut/style on my hair in July, it was getting a little crazy on one side. That's the joy of curly hair. Just when you think it's all fine and looking good, one side (or piece) decides to do its OWN THING. It gets poofy, or it sticks flat to your head. Sometimes it grows out in a completely different direction, just because it can.

Very independent, this curly hair.

So. The right side of my hair was trying to stick close to my head. The left side has somehow gotten LONGER than the right. Garland suggested this is perhaps because I'm always tilting my head questioningly. Nah.....

I have a friend with curly hair who tried a new stylist. Her hair was cute and she liked the stylist, so I made an appointment. Let me tell you, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this salon!! It's very urban, like a man cave. The owner stylist is a straight guy (is that still what we call them?), and the salon has got some funky style. It feels like a garage, as he's using Craftsman tool carts at each station. There's 50's wood paneling, but with lots of funky art and a fun couch. It's all KINDS of retro chic, with a manly flair.

Anyhow. I really liked the stylist, and we had a great time laughing and talking. What I FAILED to remember, though, was that I had wanted him to just TRIM the cut that was in place. I liked talking with him and felt comfortable that I said the dreaded words:

I TRUST YOU

I forgot he had never worked with my hair. I told him I wanted it a little shorter and we agreed upon an amount, but I forgot he doesn't know how much my hair 'springs' back up. The only person (with scissors) to touch my hair for 5 years has been Garland.

Now, where there was one length, there are now layers. This makes it lighter, and hence curlier. This is not always good, especially when it is this short and independent.

For some reason, the left side still seems longer than the right, and the right side is still sticking close to my head. WHY?? Why, hair? What's going ON on the right side of my skull? Is there a party??  And YOU, random bit of hair on the LEFT side of my head....why are you still LONGER?? You were longer before the cut, and you are longer now. Are there growth hormones in that set of follicles? What gives?  Why still longer even after the haircut? AARRRGH.

The layers make it CURLIER, but not really in a controlled way.

And for the first time in years, I just want to cry when I look in the mirror.

I don't want to blame the stylist, because, really, I did not communicate what I wanted. I trusted too soon, and too much. Not a good idea in any relationship.

The funny part? I wanted it trimmed so it looked 'neater and cleaner' for a wedding I'm attending next week, as the guest of a friend. It's the first fancy thing I've done in a few years and wanted to look nice.

I may just take scissors to hand and try to even it up. Yeah. I'm sure that will go well. That's a whole different post....

Where, you ask, are the photos of this hair silliness? Not here. Not now. Too much sadness. Maybe after it grows out a bit I'll share.

Off to find those scissors....

Oh, and yes, I DID wake up at 6 a.m. so upset about my hair that I could not go back to sleep and had to write about it.  So there.