“Hair is everything. We wish it wasn’t so we could actually think about something else occasionally. But it is. It’s the difference between a good day and a bad day.”
– Fleabag
Being a woman, while I don’t really cater to stereotypes, I do feel haircut is a critical venture. That, combined with the fact that I harbor an anxiety-driven OCD imp, led to me very rarely deviating from the usual hairdresser I go to. It has always been that salon near my home every six months and the idea of change for me is just the length of haircut experiments that I can do – or that I am allowed to do by my middle-class, haircut-abhorring parents anyway.
But pandemic has known to alter your plans and so it did for me too. I found myself this Sunday afternoon wanting to go for a haircut after 15 long months, but unfortunately without my partner in hair crime as she was ‘away’. I was slightly disappointed because I knew finding another weekend where the stars aligned to align my parents for a haircut would be difficult. Also, my hair was increasingly starting to look like I was meditating in the Himalayas, just minus the mental peace.
I was on the verge of settling down to yet another unproductive Sunday when I suddenly remembered this little salon that I had gone to almost a decade and a half back. I was new to the city and had stumbled upon it perchance but loved it with a purpose. But it wasn’t meant to be a lasting relationship as the owner had informed us of their imminent shift to another side of the city. It was like a whirlwind romance, where you part ways knowing that maybe you wouldn’t meet again but you would remember. And so, this uneventful Sunday, I did remember again.
I turned to the trusted Google and found the location. I dialed the listed number and held my breath, not knowing what to ask to make me sure it was the same place. The person on the other end lifted and I politely asked about the usual details for the cut – time, charge, etc. As we were about to close the call, I blurted out my question, wanting to know if this was the same old place. Pat came the answer positively. Elated, I hopped into an auto to reach the salon, all the while also nervous to find out whether they would meet my expectations after so long. Not to mention that this was a serious deviation. I was trying out a haircut where I knew not the place or the person but had a vague remembrance of the persona. I peace chanted all the way to the salon and eyed for hat shops along, just in case.
When I arrived, the place seemed different but the vibe definitely on point, just how I remembered. But I loved their attention from the start. I was sanitized not just by a tiny squirt of sanitizer on my palm, but a light spray on full body. I was seated with offerings of refreshments, and then taken inside to be ‘prepped’ for the haircut with a smoothening hair wash. The usual round of haircut prep for me just meant waiting on the aisle till it was my turn and then hoisting my jeans and myself up into a barber’s chair. So of course, I went into thrift mode and asked them if this was to be charged extra. The staff not only dissuaded my price fears politely, but also told the reason behind the insistence for the same. Feeling a little at ease, I sank into the procedure, with now a new anxiety to churn – all this is fine, but would I get the same hairdresser? I remembered not the name nor the face of my past collaborator, so I just went with the flow, reminding myself that there was a hat shop just aside, covering me for the worst case scenario.
But once he entered, I knew instantly it was the same person. His lively chatter seemed to fill the almost empty room, making it suddenly buzz. He asked me what I wanted, listened and said, “Okay I get it. You want to grow your hair but also get some volume to it. I will snip it in a way that won’t require you to get it cut for another year or so, making it grow better.” I was pleasantly surprised. Here was a businessman who was looking at customer need first and company profits second. So, we started. Just as he easily cut through the hair, he did so too the tension of dealing with a so-called new customer. He talked about my hair, knowing details that I hadn’t told him yet and discussing about the ones I did. I was offered another round of refreshments as he regaled me with some of his client stories. But as he wielded the scissors once again, I was nervous that the memory wouldn’t live up to reality. He made a few more snips and commanded the blow dry to commence. I was disappointed, trying to face the fact that I couldn’t, of course, assume the standards to be same after so many years at such a boutique shop. But that is when the performance began. Two assistants grabbed my hair like a florist would a bouquet of flowers. They turned and twisted the strands with an intention. A third assistant was on standby just in case anything was needed at all. I was seldom used to such spotlight. With my other hairdresser, usually I was tucked into the corner of a chaotic room with everything happening simultaneously, for me and for other customers. No one really talked to you apart from asking what you wanted. There wasn’t time to linger. It was straight and efficient. In and out in under an hour, everything done in one sweeping motion. They came, they cut, and they conquered. But here it was as if I was the Sun (narcissistic enough?) and there were planets revolving around me, albeit to increase my shine.
I was just deciding whether I should marvel at their focus or rationalize the attention overload (maybe they didn’t have enough customers), when the hairdresser came back and started a second round of cut. He explained the first was to get the right height and the second one to get the right style. He went snipping merrily, talking all the while and gave me tips to take care of my hair. He also referred me to his brand of special oil that supposedly worked wonders. I thought – okay here we go, the commercial angle of the cut procedure! But he didn’t quote any figures and explained the ingredients, the process, the benefits, and even alternative recommendations if I didn’t want to use his oil. I didn’t follow up with any questions and was just gazing to ponder if my wallet could bear the added bout of the oil when he announced the haircut to be finished. I looked up properly this time and found my new hair bouncing with joy. Between pulling my hair at office work and scrunching it up for housework, I hardy thought my hair had a life beyond the ponytail. But now my hair was ready to party!
But we weren’t finished, not yet. Another assistant came by this time with a brush and blow dry in her hands, meticulously removing any evidence of the cut away strands. After 5 minutes of solid brushing off, I was allowed to get up and marvel at the final product. What I loved was that I got what I wanted – slight styling with no harm to the length. I was afraid of this combo request because hairdressers are notoriously known for their will to hack away at perfectly good length of hair. But I walked away from the mirror, knowing my mother wouldn’t rap me for getting it cut too short.
After an hour, I found myself satisfied with my service and meandering at the pay desk, mulling whether I should buy the oil. I think what bowled me over to its side was the fact that the person just politely billed me for my haircut and didn’t push for the purchase of the oil at all. Giving me that space to decide for myself earned them that extra profit. What was more heartening was after the purchase he jumped into actual action, explaining to me its usage, result outcomes, what I should look out for, etc. He went onto to show me the boxes in which he gets the ingredients delivered from a specific vendor so that I could trust his sources and process, given it was an unbranded oil. Feeling assured, I paid for the service and the product – both of which were relatively cheaper than my usual joint – and left the salon.
As I travelled back home, I pondered what I had learnt from the experience. There were two things.
One – it was definitely a great find. What made such an impression was their care for the customer. The full body sanitization, the insistence to take care of your hair first, the effort to know your customer, genuine way to introduce products and the intention of it all. I don’t know if the oil will work but I know that their attention to detail did.
And two – bye bye old outlet, hello new hairdresser!
