A Good Hairdresser

   One luxury that I allow myself is having my hair done. My hair started turning white in my mid to late 20s. Since then I have had it coloured to cover the increasing amount of white hair. I don't do it because I want to look young or am afraid of what people might think when they see white hair. I simply prefer the way darker hair looks on me. The nice thing about having mostly white hair is the fact that it is a blank canvas. I can do whatever I want.
   Being a pharmacist I can't do pink, blue, green, purple or other funky shades. I still believe that people expect their pharmacists to look like pharmacists, especially older people. That means I need to stay with shades that are "normal" hair shades. I have found over the years that there is a lot that can be done within these shades.
   I have a truly gifted hairdresser. Her name is Mel. I have been going to her for a long time. I can't even remember how long. Close to 12 years, I think. I consider her to be an artist. She has done some wonderful things with my hair over the years.
   I started going to Mel when Kristen, the hairdresser I usually went to, moved. I wasn't too sure about her at first. Her hair was painted all kinds of funky colours. She seemed like she might have lived a hard fast life. I can still remember that one of the first things she asked me was that she heard that Mormons don't believe that dinosaurs existed. She wanted to know if that was true. I answered her question while cringing a little on the inside. I really hoped this wasn't a sign of future conversations.
   It usually takes a couple hours for me to have my hair done. Part of it I spend alone reading a book while the colouring processes. Most of the time Mel is either applying the colour, washing it out or cutting my hair. I like to chat with my hairdresser while she works. I just can't sit with someone for that length of time and not say anything. After the initial conversational blip, I soon discovered that Mel is fun to talk to. We're close in age and have similar tastes in a few things. She did live a wild life, but now lives in a rural town with her husband. We discuss all kinds of things. We've talked about her grandchildren,children, jobs, toxic people pretty much anything, except politics. (I don't talk politics with anyone, except maybe C.) I really enjoy visiting with her.
  Another thing I like about Mel is that I don't have to tell her what to do. I know nothing about hair and how it needs to cut in order to get a certain style. She is an experienced stylist. My hair is curly and somewhat thick. She knows how to cut it so it looks good. I just have to tell her how short I want it. Sometimes I want to change the colour a bit, for some variety. I have no idea what to change. I depend on her to make suggestions, which she does. I always wind up looking good.
    She's good about answering hair related questions. She's recommend a few products for me to use to protect my colour since it can fade. Once during a reorganizing spree, I found some product that I didn't know what to do with. She told me how to use it.
  She's always done a good job with my hair. Even last winter when it was falling out and looking very thin, she still managed to make it look good. (Turns out that hair loss is a sign of anemia. Once the anemia was corrected, the hair grew back.)
   I feel very lucky to have her. With all the changes that have gone on the past few years, at least that part has not changed.  It's nice to know that no matter how I feel or look going to my hair appointment, I always come out looking and feeling better.