making the cut

Boy, do I hate getting my hair cut. So much so that I only do it once per year and when I walk into the salon I'm overwhelmed with anxiety and fear. It might have something to do with me never fully recovering from my involvement in 2001 hair show in which I watched 9 inches of hair fall to the floor - with no warning of this dramatic change whatsoever. Horrific.

They - and by "they" I mean hairstylists, beauty editors, and pretty much anyone who knows how to maintain a healthy head of hair - suggest trimming your hair every 6-8 weeks. I couldn't imagine taking a scissor to my hair that often. I did the math in my head: hair grows 1/2-inch per month. If I went every two months to get a trim, my hair would grow only 3 inches per year instead of 6. I'd much rather have 6.

I decided on a whim yesterday to get my long overdue trim. I figured it's been long enough - 4 months - and with all the heat styling and coloring I do, the ends of my hair look like they belong in the garbage and not on my head. So I called Antonio Prieto salon (127 West 20th Street in NYC) because I had been there once before and they did a phenomenal job from start to finish. Not only is it a Kerastase salon - yay! -, but everyone who works there is really cool, down-to-earth, young, and most importantly, they know what they heck they are doing. I'd say that's a good thing, wouldn't you?

My hairstylist was Brian. As I listened to myself tell him what I wanted, I realized how insane I sounded. "I'd say take off this much", as I grabbed a 3 millimeter-sized strand at the bottom of my hair. "I'm trying to let it grow," I explained. I was waiting for the moment when he would tell me I needed more than that, and that I needed a full inch or some absurd amount, but it never came. What? A hairstylist that didn't want to take a chainsaw to my hair was rare, and I was pleasantly surprised when he complied with my wishes. 

"You'll get a dusting, which means I'll take off the very tips, mostly removing just the split ends," Brian said. Wow, I thought, that's impressive. I've heard the term dusting before but I've been to a few unfortunate salons that aren't aware of the term and just think it's a fancy way to say "trim one inch off my hair." He went on to say that dustings allow your hair to grow while keeping the split ends away. I liked the sound of that.

And so, Brian did as he promised, and added a few layers in the back to give my hair more bounce and body. The bottom of my hair looks exactly as it did when I walked in (boob length? check!) but it feels and looks much healthier. He really did it - he cut my hair without making me cry. Congrats, B, that's a very big deal. 

The lesson of the story here is this: don't be scared to take off a little bit of hair. It'll make  a huge difference in the way it looks, and you'll spend less time making it look perfect every day. Find a salon that can fulfill your dusting needs (I highly recommend anyone at Antonio Prieto), and you'll never be scared of scissors again.