I had a bad day as sometimes we all do- I had got into work late because somebody had taken 15 mins. to reverse then as soon as it was over the traffic became free-flowing, my assistant spilled her coffee over me- stupid bimbo- UGH! I know, she doesn’t mean it and heaven knows I made the same mistakes when I was in her position!

THEN

I had a meeting with the hot rep. WOAH! To watch him come towards you YUMMY! I wouldn’t kick that out of bed then fate took a hand- YET again and the ice-lolly I had been eating slipped down my hand so I quickly tried to retrieve it by finishing it and asserting some damage control but that is when a gust of wind decided to blow and I got melted lolly all over my hair- I could’ve screamed!

There was only one thing that could cheer me up after this- no chemicals just that head massage and feeling and looking FABULOUS. So I made an appointment at Christina’s, my beauty salon.

I marched in there like I was the owner, all the staff stopped what they were doing.

“Won’t keep you long” assured the receptionist.

I removed my coat and handbag. I felt a cape being placed around my shoulders- sky blue, nice and tacky. It didn’t matter, the cape symbolised so much more for me. It meant the chance to be pampered.

“Come on through”

“So, what are we doing today Madame?”
I took a deep breath and sighed. I thought long and hard. Shorter? A different colour? Layered? Perm? I started to realise that I couldn’t make another decision today.

“Honestly?” The anxious hairdresser nervously waited.

“I really don’t care. You do whatever you think will suit me. I have had a day from hell and I am only hear to be cheered up. I need anything that will pick-me-up.”

The stylist looked puzzled but I merely nodded. She placed a black cutting mat upon my shoulders and said “Well OK then”

She sized me up in the mirror.

“OK. I know-” but I cut her off. “BU- I don’t want to hear it. Just do it. Now give me my head massage!”

The stress dripped away from me with every movement whilst also washing my hair. I was lead back to the stylist.

“Ready?” I just put my hand up with a small smirk upon my face. This was SO the right place to come.

I felt my hair being combed from root to tip- oh this was heaven. The rep was a distant memory, the traffic- gone too.

I just lay back and felt as my hair was tugged and twisted then I heard her start to cut- I felt her holding my elbow-length hair in a ponytail then start to cut directly behind my eyes. I was still in heaven when she threw what she had just severed onto the cape on my lap and I felt as she slowly moved around my head with the comb and scissors- I vaguely recall my barber friend saying that they only used the comb for detail cutting- I pushed it away. When I leave I will look the same person, just more relaxed and more fabulous. The facial I booked for straight afterwards would assure that!

I felt her cutting over the ears, pulling the hair out and chopping. All the while my eyes stayed closed.

UNTIL

I felt some drying hair trickle past my nose. I had to open my eyes to rub my nose and then I saw it- how long the ponytail was, I did a quick calculation- the length of my hair when I had arrived take away the amount upon my lap meant my hair was going to be VERY short- shorter than I had ever had it?! The amount of hair upon my lap was easily enough from my elbows to my nose! I felt her comb out the hair above my ears, only just going over the top of the ear then snipped away.

Oh never mind, it probably needed it and I WAS enjoying this cut. I just had to trust that she was doing me a service. It gave me stress to worry about it and that was the last thing I needed. I closed my eyes again and wondered what I would look like. I started to enjoy visualising the different short hair styles I could have- Halle Berry, Ana Matrix from the Scissor Sisters, Natalie Portman…….. I hadn’t even realised that I could hear the sound of the clippers and they were being used upon my head until I felt them around my nape then above me like a small flying insect. This was fun.

“Well? Would you like to see it?” I kept my eyes closed. “No thank you. I will wait until after my facial.”

I tried not to shudder as I watched the junior sweep all the hair I knew was mine. I tried to pretend it was somebody else’s WOW! I have short hair. Any other day I would have screamed. My partner will not know what possessed me. I always had said that I would never have it cut- I could just say that the stress got to me.

I noticed the eyes of all the other customers upon me. A technician smiled at me. “Your facial will be in this room.” It was a see-through room that she lead me into. “Wow! That really compliments your eyes” I beamed.

“Can I tell you a secret?” The technician became worried. “No, it’s not a bad one- at least I hope not!”

The technician leant in. “I told the stylist that I didn’t care what she did.” I lay down as instructed.

“That was brave of you, might I ask why? I saw you come in and your hair seemed magnificent! Bad day?” I liked this girl. She never let me answer, but then answering was stressful so I was glad of it. I just nodded. “We all have days like those!”

“Does your partner know?” I smiled and shook my head. I listened, totally relaxed by now while she wittered on whilst massaging my face.

“Done.”

“Can I ask you a question?” I asked when she finally gave me breathing space.
“Does my hair look nice?” For once she didn’t say a word just beamed at me like the first time the mother of the bride sees her daughter in her wedding dress. That was enough for me.

I drove home. I couldn’t tell you how I got there but by the time I did I was starting to regret booking the appointment at all, but then at least my skin looked good. I ran in, hearing my partner watching TV in the room.

“Is that you?”

“Yes.”

“How was work?”

“Crap day.”

“So I….” and I faced my partner. “WOW!”
“Is it good? I didn’t let the stylist show me”

“Come with me.”

I was lead to the mirror in our bedroom. “WOW!” Now it was my turn. She had given me the type of REALLY short crew-cut they gave marines, not even 1/4 of an inch long. For the first time I touched the back. It made my eyes look huge. I felt the kisses on my neck and I lost all sense of regret.

It felt weird not having the hair there, like somebody else’s head! My partner picked up a brush and brushed my hair, I no longer had enough hair to create any sort of bangs, bangs were at least 4 inches longer than my new hair length. I touched the hair as my partner brushed.

“WOW! That is a weird sensation”. “You can say that again. You look great, you should’ve done it YEARS ago!”

It was strange, I never would have cut my hair before but now that I had I liked it. It took all the issues to do with hair and made them irrelevant and to top it off it emphasised all my good features in a way that a diet never did!