Not just a trim

I havent been to a salon for a haircut since I was 5. I may have been to a barber a handful of times, but for about as long as I can remember, my hair was cut by A) my mother B)my friends or C) myself.

Past the point of calling it shaggy (you couldnt see my ears), I finally decided it was time for a real haircut. My co-English teacher concurred and agreed to take me to her stylist this past Saturday. I now know why women like to go to the salon so often. They dont care that much about changing their look, they just want to be pampered.

From the moment I walked in, I felt moderately famous. Two stylists began fawning over me from the get-go, discussing possible "looks", and repeatedly telling me how handsome I was. One of them, Koko, led me to the reclining chair by the sink, put a towel over my face, and then shampooed by hair, not once but twice. Each time she would move my head a bit, or rinse, she would say "Shitsurei shimasu", which if you recall means "I am about to be rude". Makes me chuckle everytime. All the while, she kept making sure I was comfortable and, of course, telling how good-looking I am. Like I need more ego.

After a 20-minute hair washing, she took me to a different chair where I received an incredible scalp massage and then a neck / shoulder massage. Another stylist, Yuki, came over, and after deciding on a style together, took me to her haircutting-chair. She too, began by apologizing for being rude and began to cut my hair. We chit-chatted in simple Japanese, though mostly she just told me how good-looking I am and flashed me smiles in the mirror. After getting the look just right, I told her it was perfect, thanked her profusely and complimented her on her ability. Koko called over and said "She has the hand of God". Yuki then, I am not kidding, thanked me for my effort (sitting?), and sent me off with Koko, who took me back to the hair washing chair for another shampoo (goodness I thought, how dirty was my hair? have I been doing this wrong all these years?). After one last rinse and some styling wax, they assured me how cool my look was, and apologized for how long it took (1 hour 15min). Yeah, whatever, I would have let them cut my hair all day had they the notion (and I the money). I walked out feeling beautiful and vain, and resisted putting on my knit cap, though it was about 15 degrees F outside.