Saturday had a very light agenda. I needed a touch up. Just an everyday or every four week chore that usually takes an annoyingly long two hours for which an appointment had to be scheduled between working hours and my salon's opening hours and of course Sean's availability. But gray roots are not attractive and so handling this regular appointment had warranted some consideration when we made our plans to leave for four months.
I had my last touch up 48 hours before we left Philadelphia so by my calculations, I would need a touch up in Paris, Prague, Italy and then maybe TURKEY???!!!! Or maybe I'll just make sure I get home before I need that last one.
Luckily I have one friend in Paris who is pretty much a hair superstar. When we met for dinner my first week here, probably the 3rd sentence I uttered was, You must tell me where I can go for a touch up in a couple of weeks. Voila, the appointment was made, all I had to do was show up. Saturday Steve and I took the metro to Superstars, the Paris outpost of a Tokyo salon.
You would not describe this salon as posh, not in the conventional sense.
Picture walking in to a stark white boxy room, bare walls except for four large mirrors and four blow dryers hanging on the wall. Metal open grated gym locker like cubbies where the staff immediately takes your bag or coat or scarf (of course you have a scarf on) and locks it up. One long white table filled with slick fashion mags, laid put in precise perfect rows, all in French but you can still read the pictures. Simple but comfy, squishy chairs held out for you to sit on and sink in. Bare fluorescents emit bright light. The staff is all Japanese and young and hip with the latest hair fashion and colors ranging from a dusty grayish to a subtle purple and an indescribable blue-gray. Everyone in some version of a white lab coat. It feels clean, antiseptic and very hair forward (like fashion forward but for hair).
They are all also multi-talented. In addition to doing great color, cuts and brushings, the Euro word for blow dry, they are fabulous masseuses. Oh, you mean your salon visit doesn't start with a fifteen minute head, neck, shoulders and back massage while you sit in the chair waiting for your color consultation?
Well, perhaps once the root color has been finalized and the decision made to correct some of the color discrepancies for the rest, I am sure your salon gently covers your ears with tiny 'shower caps', right? And then two wonderful technicians start applying the color, one on each side, right?
And during all this you get to sit and chat with your friend who put aside his entire afternoon to oversee your experience, right?
The next part is always a bit boring, sitting and waiting but Steve is there to talk to as well as meeting and chatting with a lovely Mexican woman who works for the IMF in Africa giving us tips for day tours from Paris.
No bells ring but the 35 minutes is up and it is shampoo time or rather shampoo experience time. I go back to the shampoo room. It has two stations. Each station has a bed you lie down on. Then you are covered with a blanket. A folded towel is draped around the frame of your face. And the magic begins. For the next 25 minutes, and I am not exaggerating, you are treated to the most wonderful shampoo and conditioning massage that you can imagine. And then you wake up and it is time for,
THE CUT
Simply said, perfect.
In the end we decided to keep it long........til next time.........then we are cutting it all off! Who knows, maybe I will even go gray or blonde or dusty blue. But for now, I can just say thanks for such a great day Saturday.
PS. Laurent Phillipon is publishing his first book this fall, check it out...it will make a great holiday gift for the hair guy or girl who makes you look great.
LOOK HERE:
http://www.amazon.com/Hair-Fashion-Fantasy-Laurent-Philippon/dp/050029108X/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_t_1_JBCN
Available for Pre-Order now.
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