Presented Without Comment

 Big Sexy Hair:

My Big Sexy Hair:

Blue Hair

I'm really glad that I titled my challenge "30 in 30ish" since my goal of publishing 30 blog posts in 30 consecutive days reached a total of 3 days before I missed a day. Maybe 30 in 35 or 40 is more realistic.

Anyway, I was at the grocery store recently and came across this:

I don't have many options for what I can do with my hair, but changing the color is a possibility. Of course, all I could think about was the Progressive commercial where you're trying not to turn into your parents.

(My apologies for posting this version of the video where the guy says blue for 10 minutes. I can't seem to find the original commercial.) 

The First Haircut

The first time your child rolls over, eats “solid” food and crawls are all significant milestones. Does a child’s first haircut also count as a significant milestone? I’m not sure of the answer, but I’m sharing my 14-month old son’s first haircut experience with you (and possibly with him to see when he’s older). So where does someone find a barber/stylist that specializes in kids’ haircuts? Let’s go to the mall!



We chose Cartoon Cuts, a chain with locations throughout the DC area that specializes in children’s haircuts, primarily since the salon is located fairly close to home. Plus, the salon employs some of the most patient people you’ll ever meet. I have no idea how they provide haircuts day after day to kids, many that I’m sure don’t want to be there and share their displeasure. One such kid was my son. I’ve mentioned before that he’s generally a happy child except when I scared him during the Steelers playoff game and when he gets his diaper changed. I have no idea why he hates the diaper-changing experience.

Anyway, as soon as he sat in the barber chair, he freaked out. Maybe he didn’t like the idea of being strapped into the chair, so we quickly went to Plan B meaning that he would sit on Daddy’s lap. That didn’t help. Lots of crying and tears when the apron went on and the scissors came out. Since he enjoys seeing his reflection, I tried to point out the numerous mirrors he could see. That didn’t help. I showed him the television located directly in front of him. Even though he is usually fascinated by the TV, that didn’t help. The stylist gave him a game to play with, and while that grabbed his attention for about 8 seconds, overall, that didn’t help. More crying. More tears.

After what was probably about 5 minutes but seemed like 55, my son’s first haircut was complete. He looked so handsome and mature. He also looked so grown-up. He could have gone straight from the mall to his Bar Mitzvah! As soon as he was out of the chair and back to being held by Daddy, he was fine. No crying and no more tears. He was his usual happy self walking through the mall and at dinner.

Overall, the haircut cost $15 after using a $2 off coupon and not including tip. Cartoon Cuts also offers a first haircut certificate, but they were out so I need to go back to get one. To answer your questions, yes, we took some of his hair and placed it in a Ziploc bag to commemorate the event. Plus, we’ll use the bag of hair for a Harry Potter spell at a later date to be determined.

In addition, yes, we took pictures to chronicle this potentially significant milestone. He looks miserable in every picture which should make for some fun and entertaining (and embarrassing) stories when he’s a teenager!

The $10 Haircut

Remember my dilemma last week regarding the unlicensed barber shop? Well, I tried it over the weekend and wanted to share the results. Let’s start with the positive.

- I enjoyed the music selection of 90s hits including Mr. Jones, Wonderwall, and an ‘N Sync song that I can’t get out my head. While I can do without Aerosmith’s Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing and whatever Backstreet Boys song they played (Is Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely the name of one of their songs?), overall, the music was a plus.

- They gave me a hot towel at the completion of the haircut. Hot towels should be used and available in any personal and professional situation. They also provided a razor shave of the back of my neck and sideburns. I always think this is cool even if these razors could potentially cause lots of bleeding.

- I was treated very well and received excellent personal attention. There was my primary male barber and another woman who occasionally assisted. The female barber may have been the owner or it was a student-teacher type relationship where she was making sure he was doing everything was correctly.

- The entire haircut was $10.

Sounds like a wonderful experience, right? Well, here’s the negative:



This is a picture of the back of my head with a random gray stripe at the bottom. Perhaps the word “trim” was lost in translation. I don’t think my hair has been this short since my birth. Fortunately, I expect the hair to grow back...and then I guess I'll go back to Hair Cuttery for my next haircut.

Dilemma

It’s audience participation day here at Sean’s Ramblings. I have a true scenario and want your opinion on what to do.

I’ve mentioned several times that I get my haircuts at Hair Cuttery. The haircuts cost $16 (before tip) and the barbers/stylists are generally fine. However, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them to others and would certainly be willing to try somewhere else particularly since I don’t have much hair and cutting my hair shouldn’t be very difficult or time-consuming.

A month or two ago, a barber shop located in a house on a street near me opened. It seems a little sketchy or at least in an odd location, but they have a website and advertise $10 haircuts. They also have two positive reviews on Yelp.


(This is not the place near my house. I just liked this ad.)

Curious about this place, I contacted the barber shop by e-mail to make sure they are licensed. Since they haven't responded, I contacted Virginia’s Board for Barbers and Cosmetology, a division of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation ("DPOR") about this barber shop. The government agency quickly replied (typing those five words together doesn’t seem to make sense) stating:

We cannot locate a barber shop or cosmetology salon in our records under the name you have provided. If you believe that the barber shop or salon is operating without a license, you may submit a complaint to the Department’s Complaint Analysis section.

So here's my situation. Do I file a complaint with the DPOR? Do I try to get a haircut first and see how it goes even though they may be unlicensed? Do I do nothing besides ask a series of questions?


Update 1/17: So, I got a $10 haircut. Although it wasn't a good haircut, I'm not going to contact DPOR and will return to Hair Cuttery for my next haircut.

Sean Gets a Haircut

This is a picture of the top of my head.



From the view from above, I seem to be missing a good amount of hair. Some people may say that I’m balding, but I like to think that it is a sign of maturity. (Although I never think that.) Nevertheless, I get a monthly haircut to shave the back of my neck, even out my sideburns and trim the remaining hair on my head since I still have a significant amount around the sides. Basically, I’m Jeffrey Tambor from 20 years ago.

At my recent haircut, the stylist asked me if I wanted color for my hair. I was surprised by her question, but I politely said no thank you. A few minutes later, I asked what kind of color she had in mind adding that I didn’t think blond highlights were in anymore. She confirmed that the blond frosting was indeed out and that I would get the same color as my hair. I still declined, but I’ve thought about this a little more since then. Why would I get color? I assume that the color wouldn’t be spray-in-a–can to cover up my bald spot. Plus, as you can possibly tell by the picture, I don’t have any gray hair. Perhaps I should find a new barber (or just shave my head).