new thread
To start, my hair reaches past the middle of my back and is even longer than my wife's. I can't remember the last time I got it cut, but it had to be within the last six or seven years.(I did get it trimmed a quater inch for my wedding a year and a half ago, but that was a special day!) Before all that, I woe it in a "medium to long" style that fell just over my ears and collar and that style I just let grow out. When it was long enough (or too long, take your pick) I started to wear it back in a ponytail. The ponytail became the costumary way I wore it and only occationally wore it loose. One day last week, I happened to have my hai rloose while walking from the dinning room to the living room. My wife was in the kitchen and watched me through the kitchen pass-through. She said that I needed to get my hair evened up because it looked skragglely[sp] at the ends. After looking at it, I agreed. (Due to what amounts to another sotry, I didn't get it done the next day, this was due to a very large four-footed guest that is hopefully now with a family with lots of kids... but I digress) She told me that if I was going to do it, that I should get the full nine yard: shampoo, cut, style, blowdry. After all, "there is something about sitting back and relaxing while someone else does your hair". I went to a local saloon that takes walk-ins (a Hair Cuttery, geat place). After I told them what I wanted, they got me the next available 'stylist', or whatever the term is these days, who took me to my seat. Now I think that two things are important to note: 1) I was the only male there 2)I also has the longest hair of anyone there. As I was being led to the sinks to ge tmy hair washed I overheard the [typical] comment of: "I wish MY hair was that long!" (My typical response is usually, "Then don't cut!" but I was good.) My stylist, Terry, started off with asking what I wanted. I told her wash and cut to even things up. Since my bang had some catching up to do, it was a couple inches off the back and fractions off the front. So as I sat back ,way back, she gathered up my hair and began to wet it (even asked if the water was okay temperature-wise) I think that we can all agree that there is something definitely relaxing about how someone massaging your scalp when they're washing you hair. After the rinse, she toweling it off and we headed for her station. There we got to the fine nuts and bolts of what I wanted. Since I once had a bad experience with someone 'styling' my hair as opposed to the way I had said I wanted it, this was a crusial point for me! She started with combing out the mass, since one of my more recent problems was lots of snarls, the trim would also help there. While she was doing this, I could again hear envious comments about my hair [which even we guys can't get enough of]. She divided my hair in sections to start the evening up process, taking the individual locks, folding them and twisting them to secure them to the side-top of my head. At one point, when she put up one twist, she ask my opinion of the style and I had to confess that the 'Samuri top-knot' just wasn't me. We held some of the usual client-stylist conversation, but in cases where the hair is long and staying that way, the convesation always tends to stray back to you hair. Additionally she gave me one tip: with hair my length, one should by the shampoo and conditioner as separate entities. After all of the sections were brought down and trimmed accordingly, she proceeded to blow-dry straighten it wave I had gotten from always tieing it back. Once that was done, she showed me the evenness of the back to the front and also applied something to keep the frizz down. I told her how I didn't like stuff (nice knowledgable term there) that left my hair in place but stiff. She was very good and assured me it wouldn't and then explained what she had and what she would use... for my approval. Then she tied it back in its ponytail and let me up for final inspection. It looked good and I felt good. Returning home, my wife hartly approved. I took my hair out of the ponytail to get a more all-over look and to show off the evenness-when-loose to the one who started it all. She asked me, "Doesn't it feel better to have some one spoil you and do you hair?" I had to agree, one of the pleasures of having long hair is having some one fuss over it for you, but next time, maybe we'll do each other's at home...
I read this expecting to see another Terry type post, but was pleasantly surprised. I agree with Eric, I really enjoy being pampered in a salon and getting the compliments of the staff and other women.
My hair is below shoulder length and I have a conditioning treatment once a month and a trim every two to three months. My hair always feels great afterwards and has a real shine to it, and it is also easier to manage.
Fuckin' great post, man! I absolutely loved reading about your experience! 'Made me decide to try and fork over some $$$ to get MY hair trimmed. I haven't been to the salon in well over a year, and my split ends are quite visible.
Of course, judging by some of the past posts I've seen here regarding salon shyness, I'm probably the luckiest of the posters here. (grin) There's a salon in downtown Kansas City (about a 15-minute drive from where I live) called Salon Designs. They SPECIALIZE in long hair, and are EXPERTS on how to grow it, keep it long, and maintaining it. In fact, judging from several ads they ran a while back, at least 3 of their stylists are MEN, ALL of whome have long hair. My wife used to go there a lot when her hair was longer, and she said they do a SUPERB job. Her stylist's name was Carlos (there was a shot of him in one of the ads we saw), and his hair was noticably down to his waist.
I've BEEN meaning to get down there ever since we saw the ads, but I've never gotten around to scheduling an apointment, but reading your story has convinced me to go.
BTW: The pic above is an older one of me.
Glad I could help Nyghtfall, we guys gotta realize that the stylist isn't usually the enemy. More over, the womenfolk can't hog all the perks of having long hair! ;-) My wife went there only last night to eeven her ends, only it was shorter than she was thinking. When she came back it looked like a sixties style (just past the shoulders and flipped up at the end) except I said how much it looks like her younger sister's style. She told me that her stylist had very short hair (I think I recall seeing her when I went in) and when my wife said "Its so short!" the stylist responded "Oh you long haired people are just spoiled"...or something along those lines. We consoled eachother with the knowledge that it grows back and that now it was more evenand fuller.Later she realized the lengths of the shortness[no pun intended on the word play] that there was barely a tail to tie back and that her brush strokes ended too soon. I offered to let her futz with my hair in the interum. To Thomas, I'm glad you like the post. My writing style is somewhat Eddingsque. I thought I caught all of my spelling errors or at least my mis-types, but after rereading it, I see I need to work on my proof reading. At least the main jist of the story was there, which you and Nyghtfall picked up on, which is go out and get pampered, even if its just a wash and blow dry! If you have someone close who wants to pamper you a bit, they can brush, braid, style, wash or otherwise play with you hair, let them have at. After all hair isn't just to be looked at, when we describe it many of the words invole tactile adjective, so go ahead... touch it and let it be touched. Ist all part of the enjoyment of having long hair.
The stylist's comment obviously shows a lack of respect for long haired people. I wouldn't want anyone like that cutting on me!
Would I let people play with my hair? You bet! Anyone I think is cute is certainly welcome to "brush, braid, style, wash or otherwise play with" my hair! But I allow NO ONE to cut it! Twenty years ago, long before I grew my hair really long, I gave up on barbers and began cutting it myself because I got butchered too many times. Once, near the end of my barbering years, I went in with four inch long hair and told him I wanted it to be three inches long, and the jerk took three inches off!
Over the years I began to sense that some of these guys were in that profession to advocate their "short hair politics", one head at a time. And I fear, for others it was like the inept shortening of legs on a table - they'd cut and not get it right and so they'd cut some more. :-(
So nowadays, the only guy who gets to approach my head with scissors is ME.