Hair salons save lives

Today is not the first day a hair salon saved me. When I decide i want a hair cut,  I want it done two days ago. Today was like my first haircut after being bald from chemo. 

After nearly two years of a bald head, when my hair was finally just long enough to need some shaping, during my inaugural birthday trip to Atlanta (that instantly became annual), I had a spontaneous  cut and blowout. It was life changing because after two years of invisibility to the world at large, I was instantly fabulous. 

Today, though I've thankfully not been bald  for many years, I had a similar experience. I got a spontaneous shampoo and blow dry.

I know, I know- millions of women do this daily or at least regularly, yet not I.  I schedule my hair cuts around events for which I want "good hair". My manicures and pedicures are non-negotiable but paying $50-60 to get my hair washed and dried? Not in my teacher budget. 

During my nearly five miles crossing most of Hong Kong island through intermittent showers with an overcast glare requiring sunglasses and an umbrella, I had passed some salons and noted the cheap price of a wash and blowout- like $10 US. Since it was actually late enough to segue day into evening, I realized my crumpled, torn and soggy map resembling the Magna Carta was a metaphor for my hair. 

I began craning my neck in search of salons, peering in windows like a fat kid looking for cake. The salons on this part of town were more like Westchester prices- at least $75 US. For half a second I considered backtracking a few miles. 

Just when I'd nearly given up, I spied one within my budget- equivalent to $15 US- and it was a hair dream come true! After a solid twenty minute scalp, neck, forehead, shoulder, and temple massage during the shampoo process on a fully reclining chair, my hair got all fluffed and fancy. The workers all broke into song singing, "You're out of the dark, you're out of the woods, step into the light..." a la Dorothy in Emerald City. As I walked down the street my hair swung in slow motion like a hair commercial. 

After that and a quick stop at MAC for a little makeup reboot, I was ready for the night. I am salon fabulous! 

I'm going back tomorrow. 😊

Here's the before/after: