For lots of years (the ones since getting married and moving around so often), I've not had a steady stylist. I'd try different places and never get inspired by what the stylist did with my hair. I'd let it grow out til I couldn't stand it any more and then try again. The end result? Bad haircuts and worse, unruly grown out locks.
I thought I'd found my salvation in a small shop that was within walking distance. She gave me an incredible cut. Then I wanted to schedule my next visit with her, deciding 6 weeks would be fine. She was confused. Why would I want to come back so soon? (This is not boding well...) To maintain the cut, I told her. She bristled, but took the appointment. I went back, and wound up with a very different cut. Hmm. Didn't really love it as much as the initial one, but heck, she did great that first time, so I gave it one more whirl. Six weeks later, I was back in her chair and this time, it actually felt like she didn't want me there. Very. Very. Uncomfortable. That was the last time I saw her.
The problem still remained, I now had a crappy cut and my hubby was returning from Iraq in a month. Naturally, I wanted to look as amazing as I could (with my lack of style, I'm still searching for it, all this time later...and he loves me anyway).
I yelped and looked for places with decent reviews. I narrowed it down to a couple of places and then hemmed and hawwed for days. Finally, I took the plunge and committed to one. It was a bit further away, but I picked it anyhow. I got lost on the way, initially taking it as a sign that I'd chosen the wrong place, but I was now just days away from the hubs return and I needed a haircut. I found my way and was only a few minutes late.
The salon was great, cute, stylish and fun. So was Holly, my stylist. She took the time to sit and discuss my hair with me. In the end she gave me an amazing, current hair style. She didn't find it odd when I asked for another appointment and five weeks later, she gave me the same amazing hair cut. She's been doing it now for almost 2 years. I've never been disappointed. She's a rock star and I'm so grateful to have her!
Back in November, because of our financial crisis, I decided that I wouldn't get my hair done every five weeks until we knew we were in a better position. Somehow, spending 50 bucks so selfishly seemed wrong. I was practically teary when I asked Holly if she'd keep me on as a client if I went to appointments once every 3 months for the foreseeable future. She was awesome (as if I'd expected anything less), we discussed my hair goals (which included continuing to try to grow it out some, talk about good timing) and what would be the best thing for my hair over a long absence from her care. She gave me a cut, that involved taking off a bit of length, but giving it a new shape. It's been a little more than 2 months already and it's held it's shape, it's curl and still looks every bit as good as it did when I walked out of the salon 2 months ago.\
I don't know if I want to make this long breaks between visits a permanent thing. When we're doing better financially and don't have to be so thrifty, I'll be sure to go back to my 5 week schedule, other things I'll continue to do, like shop for bargains, thrift at goodwill. But for now I'll stick to my 12 week schedule and be thankful that I found such a gem. A stylist who is as skillful with people as she is with hair.
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