"So, what do you love about your hair? What don't you like about it? And when did you last get your haircut?" I asked to begin the consultation with Leslie, a new client. Through Squaw Valley Writer's Conference in "07, I met a group of women writer's from the Bay Area. Some of us have remained in contact, some have read at the readings I've held at the salon, and a few have even become clients. One of the writer's that I had become a client, referred her friend Leslie. Her curly hair was lovely, and way over due for a cut. The longest layer on top reached to about her chin, sagging her beautiful face down "I'm one of those annoying clients, who wants to keep some length, but feel it's too heavy up here," she replied, pulling at her hair on top. "I just got it cut six weeks ago. That isn't very long is it?"
"No, it isn't, not for curly hair."
"I feel like always leave with the same haircut."
"What attitude do you want your hair to have?"
"Ooh, that is a good question. I've never been asked that. Hmm. Well, what do you think I have?"
"Long hair."
"Yeah, I feel like I look like a hippie, but without the hippie."
"Do you want to move into something a little more edgy?"
"What does that mean?"
"Edgy means to me a stronger shape."
"What does that look like?"
"Okay well, let me get my hands in here. I think if you brought the length up to shoulder length, then took this hair away from your face a bit, slightly off center, then layered out this top, we'd be getting somewhere. I want to round out it out, so that you don't have a pyramid shape, and I'll do some dry cutting."
"Sounds, good. Yeah, I've had the $30,000 pyramid quite often."
"You are funny."
"Well, you come up with all kinds of names when you've had this kind of hair for a long time."
She removed her glasses, which was as slight discomfort, because she could not say anything. And so we cut, and cut and cut. I asked at one point I asked if she would like to put the glasses back on. No, she said, she was enjoying not seeing. Then product instruction, then I twisted the hair and diffused. Her hair looked fabulous. Bouncy, full, sassy.
I unwrapped her, she reached for her glasses, and as we spun the chair around, she exclaimed, "Oh wow. I love it." She remained in the chair a bit, wanting to take in her image a bit. We laughed about her looking for reflective surfaces to gaze in, on her way home. We agreed it was a transformation.
http://search.creativecommons.org/photogirl7
http://search.creativecommons.org/Neil Carey's photostream