At my lowest ebb on the grand tour of Australia and New Zealand I got my publicist to book me in for a blow dry at a salon in Christchurch. And emerged feeling more fully human than I had done in many days. At the hairdresser's in London *on Monday, I recalled that in the 50s and 60s, my mother twice-weekly had a shampoo and set and always looked perfectly coiffed. It was the Vidal Sassoon five-point cut and later long hair, which drove us away from regular hairdressing and now I think that might have been an error. We all know that Anna Wintour has a hairdresser who comes every morning to her house to do her blow dry, and while can't all reach to that ideal, I'm starting to think that 25 quid for a blow dry once or twice a week might be a better use of one's income than regular manicures or taxis. Not that my hairdresser charges £25 for this simple service, but plenty of local ones do. And of course, in America it can't cost more that two cents.
* My stylist Roger tells me that a couple of you have gone along to him at my recommendation - I very much hope that worked out for you.
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
High maintenance
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7 comments:
I think it's the difference between a "hairdo" - needs setting and blowdrying and a "hairstyle" wash & go. I say it's time to bring back the hairdo!
You know, I think this is one instance where it's not a bargain here in the States. I don't know of any salon that offers this service, and I doubt most American woman working regular 9-5 jobs would have the time anyway. I could be wrong though; maybe this is common in other parts of the US but it sure isn't in Boston.
I saw a recent article in the NY Times regarding a growing movement in New York City with women going in once or twice a week for a wash and blow out and not trying to do their hair at all. Because my hair is so incredibly wavy and coarse(genetics, genetics), I have now gone strickly to this line of products by a US company(I don't think you can get them in the UK) called Devachan, which uses no shampoos at all. The whole line is for curly hair and uses the philosophy that keeping curly hair hydrated is the whole deal there. Of course, I have fairly short hair, so just running my head under the tap, spritzing on this moisurizer and running my fingers through works for me...
My mother also did the weekly shampoo-set-backcomb thing, and slept with toilet paper wrapped round her head to preserve the "do".
My hair is thin, straight and fine and requires almost daily washing, so I've given up and have decided to make a pixie cut my signature style. Less than a minute to blow dry, but oy! the bedhead beforehand is frightening.
I think it also depends on the haircut. I have thick black Chinese hair that has a bit of a light wave to it. I finally found my hairstylist in Hong Kong though and since my cut three weeks ago, I do nothing to my hair except wash and blowdry *without a comb* every other morning :)
Having said that, in Hong Kong a wash+blowdry at your neighbourhood salon costs nothing more than a meal at McDonalds.
My mum always either had her hair "done" or did it herself, but can't that look be ageing? Made her look much more "madame" in photos where she would be the age I am now.
If my hairdresser gets the cut right, the best for my hair is to scrunch a bit of styling aid into it and let it dry by itself - though that takes time too. I have very thick, very curly hair and dryers make it far too dry.
But of course the hairdresser is far better at the scrunching than I am...
No shampoos at all, toby? I'll look into Devachan, but I do sometimes wash my hair with shampoo - but not every time I rinse it out, with conditioner for curly hair.
UK prices are dreadfully high, as even a Londoner friend living in Paris - not a cheap city - attests.
I had a bit of shoulder surgery over a week ago, and find that the most difficult challenge is hair washing and styling while protecting the shoulder bandages. Fortunately, my already-booked hair appointment fell on the exact day when my hair became unbearable. Not only did I enjoy my usual blissful 2+ hours of cut, color, wash, and blow-dry, my stylist adapted my cut to be low-maintenance (meaning, shorter and air-dry-able), offered a wash & blow-dry whenever my convalescence demanded, and sped me on my way with a sling-load of sympathy.
Sorry, she is tres pricey, but so worth it. And the cut air-dries beautifully, so I have not had to accept the blow-dry offer. It would be like her to comp me for it, but if the salon insisted, it would probably run somewhere between $35 & $60. Don't really know, because who goes in for a shampoo & blow-dry?
(And please excuse any typos. I am still typing lefthanded.)
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