My Bad Haircut

Today was Allison's last day of preschool (for the regular school term) and she'll be moving into a new room for the summer term next month. I decided to take advantage of the free day and get my hair cut. I go to the hair school near my house and while it always takes 2-4 hours for a haircut, it's cheap and I only get basic things done to my hair so it never phases me to have a student cut my hair.

I am trying to grow my hair out again (I miss my braids!) so I asked for a trim with a long layer to break up my heavy hair. After the consultation with the student, the teacher/supervisor came over and okayed my "trim" on the note card record of my request. My student turned me away from the mirror and started in.

I asked him how far he was into the 18 month school and he said he graduated in July so I felt confident he could work more quickly than a new student. He said that after graduation he would have to apprentice for a year. He thought that was ridiculous, but then when he was a full time staffer he would have a "slave" so he guessed it would all balance out. When I said I didn't know about the apprentice time he said, "Yeah, it's like becoming a doctor, you go to med school, but you still have to do the training."

This was my first red flag that this guy was delusional and had a higher concept of himself and his opinions than he should. After an hour of cutting (typical for the hair school), he spun me around and I lost it. He had cut two layers in my hair, a normal trim, and a second layer blunt layer that was (at spots) 8 inches shorter than my longest hair. It looked like I had 2 haircuts and I immediately asked to see a teacher. She came over and the look on her face as she approached told me she was on my side.

I immediately started to cry (not sobs but just silent tears pouring over my face) and she assured me that even though this wasn't what I asked for that she could fix it. I asked her if she heard me saw trim, she agreed and said that was what I asked for, and when I asked what the guy was thinking he said he "was just trying to take some of the weight off my heavy hair, but in retrospect, this cut probably wasn't the best match for me." I could have screamed, instead I told him that he made a mistake by not telling me first what he was doing and that this is a school, not a salon, so he doesn't know best. The teacher began to shape my crazy layer and then handed the scissors to the student to follow her example but I refused him, I said he could watch and learn but that I didn't trust him to finish the cut. I honestly thought I'd be walking out with a chin length bob. I could have given myself a better haircut. It is so terrible, I cried the whole way home how my hair looks like a "Rachel" on crack.

I know it's just hair but I was excited about my decision to grow my hair again and these layers will take years for my slow-growing hair to grow out. It looks awful and I know it, so it'll be a lot of half-up hair do's and ponytails this year, or until I can figure out to cover it, maybe with curls...I don't know, I'm just upset. And Nathan asked if this means I'm done with the hair school, but honestly, I've had terrible dye jobs and awful hair cuts at professional salons that cost 10 times what the hair school charges, and this is my only my second bad haircut (the first was a bad bang cut a couple of years ago) in 5 years of going there. I just think that I don't look like myself so I'll have to get over that.

After Nathan got home (with wine) we spent some family time in the backyard. Allison was pretending that she was a farmer ("not a person, a farmer!") and was feeding her cow (Nathan) grass, so that he would take her for a ride. I love that she's getting an imagination. She has also developed an interest in Band-Aids, or "ban-bans" so she always has one on.