Haircut Haircut

Guys really have it so much easier when it comes to getting a haircut. For the most part, fashion dictates that men have short hair. Men go to the barber shop, sit on the bench and wait their turn. When the time has come and it is your turn, you sit in the big swivelly chair for what seems like five minutes and you're done! At least that's how it is in Annan. Haircuts don't cost that much either. I think I pay about £7 for George's regular "short back and sides". I don't think guys worry that they can't budget for a haircut this month.

I don't envy men the hair loss thing. It must suck. I'm quite vain about my hair and I would be destroyed if it started to fall out. Pals of mine who are men and used to have long hair now have short hair because long hair that is rapidly thinning was making them sad. Our friend John used to have a head full of red dreadlocks. In photos of him in his youth, he looked like the Wild Man of Borneo. As he grew older and his hair started thinning, he said that from time to time he would wake up in the morning to find a ginger dreadlock on the pillow. He just cut it all off and has worn it short ever since.

The unwritten rule that has men having short hair and women having longer hair has an addendum to it. Women of "a certain age" have to stop having long hair. Think about it! How many women over the age of 35 do you know that have long hair? Answer: Not many

I am well over the age of 35 now and still have long hair. I like having long hair. There are no grey hairs in there (thanks Mom and Dad) and its still pretty thick. I still have to have it cut from time to time. Having long hair is one thing. Having long hair that looks uncared for is quite another.

I found a great hairdresser in Dumfries a few years ago. I told him that I didn't want to go the route of all women my age and have short hair. It was up to him to make it look good. Bless his heart, that's just what he did. I would leave the place feeling like a movie star. One good haircut can be just as good as about six months or more of therapy. Then the time to get an appointment grew longer and longer so he started hiking his prices up. The first two price hikes, I could still justify the expense. But the third price hike ended it for me. I wasn't going to wait six weeks in advance for an appointment and then have to pay through the nose for it. Don't even mention the price of getting my hair coloured! I'll only get the colour tweaked if I'm bored because as previously mentioned there are no greys. I'm not in the entertainment business and I don't live in London. This is Dumfries for heaven's sake! Who pays £48 for a cut and blowdry in Dumfries! It might be more than that now as I have stopped going to him. I've stayed with his salon though. I have a fear of a new salon destroying my hair.

With the Man of the Place boasting about how little he pays for his haircuts, and with all the expense we face with the extension I just couldn't justify the cost anymore. I had to start going to my hairdresser's understudies and employees instead. I was told that the haircuts would be just as good. Overall, I like the salon. You get service. They take your coat, ask you if you'd like a cup of tea or a soft drink or mineral water and you get to look at magazines. I love magazines. However the haircuts are not quite as good as when I went to the original guy. I guess you get what you pay for. They're not so disappointing that I'll switch salons. I've got an appointment with them this afternoon.

I know when I need a haircut because my hair hangs in my eyes and I have loads of split ends. Its not rocket science, it's time to go. Naturally on the morning of the day I have an appointment, my hair is looking great!. It's not hanging in my eyes that badly and the ends look fine. In fact it looks quite luxuriant. I am tempted to cancel the appointment on the back of how great my hair looks this morning. However, I know that by tonight it will be lank, hanging in my eyes once again and driving me nuts. I sure hope they can recapture some of that sparkle that I used to get after a truly great haircut.

16:30 - Just home from work and I have had my haircut. It's pretty good actually. I feel relief. Do you think anyone will notice????