Another One Bites the Dust...

Yes, that's right.  I have conquered another Parisian fear.  The dreaded coiffeuse (hairdresser).  It is always a little scary to be in a position where you have to find someone new to cut your hair.  Is this person going to send me out the door looking like a new and improved version of me?  Or will I leave wanting to go through the next few months with a paper bag on my head?  The mental image of the latter has had me avoiding Parisian salons since my arrival in July.

But today, I woke up and was just plain annoyed by my hair.  I was tired of the pony tail that was becoming my go-to look.  I was tired of spending forever each morning on drying, straightening, curling, etc...only to have my hair return to its flat, lifeless look the second I stepped out of the door.  I was determined that I would fix the situation, and I would fix it TODAY!

And then reality hit me.  How am I supposed to explain the way I want my hair cut?  What if they ask me a whole bunch of questions?  I heard you have to tip the person who shampoos you and the person who cuts your hair...how much am I supposed to give them?  Do I need an appointment, or can I just walk in?  AHHHHHHHH!!  My questions and subsequent anxiety began to get the best of me. 

So I did what I always do when I am anxious.  I GOOGLE.  Google can solve all problems, right?  I started with googling:  shoulder length hair styles.  I emerged from that search with a picture of a cute cut that I could take with me to the salon.  Next:  tipping in French hair salons.  From that search, I learned that a 5-10 euro tip was appropriate for the person cutting my hair, and a couple euros would be plenty for the shampoo girl.  Finally, I googled:  French phrases for the salon.  Believe it or not, I found a very helpful page with a lot of advice for getting what you want in a French salon. 

Now I was armed and ready.  All I needed was the actual salon.  There are 5 or 6 in my neighborhood that I walk by daily, so I decided those were a good place to start.  The salons all post their prices on the windows, so I meandered by each of them as nonchalantly as possible to check them out.  I did not want to draw attention to myself.

I spent 20 minutes going up and down my street, passing the salons each time.  For the life of me, I could not get up the nerve to go inside.  The salons were all so...um....glitzy.  Shiny.  Glam.  And yes, that sounds exciting, but it is also quite intimidating.  I couldn't bring myself to just open up the door and blurt out my memorized phrases. 

That's when I decided I needed a different type of salon.  One with more of a "Steel Magnolias" feel.  You know?  One where I could develop a personal relationship with the person who cuts my hair.  One where they would remember my name and look happy that I had come back.  Was a place like this possible in Paris?

At that moment, I noticed a small hair salon down a side street.  I was going to just casually walk buy and try to get a glimpse.  As I passed the store, I could tell it was much more my style.  It was nice, but didn't have the intimidation factor of the chain salons on the main drag.  Before I even knew what was happening, I realized I had walked straight to the door and was beginning to open it.  No turning back now!

As soon as I entered the salon, I was greeted very quickly with, "Bonjour Madame!" and then someone took my coat.  I explained to the girl who greeted me (IN FRENCH!!) that I wanted a cut like the one in the picture I brought.  And she UNDERSTOOD me!  She took me right back and started shampooing me.  There were a few questions I didn't understand, so she switched to English (YES YES YES!). 

When she finished, she introduced me to Isabelle, who was going to cut my hair.  Isabelle was WONDERFUL!  We spoke a mixture of French and English...probably more English than French (even though she told me her English wasn't good...not true).  She gave me a great cut and I even remembered to tip both gals.  I have an appointment to go back to see her in 2 months!  VICTORY IS MINE!