Parlor Suites

The hair saga continues…

Cut, Color, & Convenience

I decided to go somewhere new. Because of all the nerves that go with a new stylist, plus the cost and risk, I decided to go with only color, and save cut for another visit. I was going to Parlor Suites on 210 to have my hair done by Courtney, @golden.girlbeauty. Courtney has Sarah Jessica Parker S&C era hair with big, blonde curls.

I put it on the calendar and then waited the three weeks for my appointment to roll around. In the past that would feel like eternity, but in this season of busyness and parenting, hair gets kinda back burnered. Mostly, I just let it grow.

The Nineties Look

It had been a full two years since I colored my hair so it was essentially virgin hair again, back to the natural brunette beauty. It was time to get some bright blonde stripes in my hair. I’m talking an about 90s level chunks. I don’t want skinny highlights. I don’t want it to look natural. I want it to look like I am one of the X-men. Take Rogue’s single stripe and multiply it.

I found the photos – some of me, some of models, to show her what I wanted. “Can you do this?” I asked. She said yes and started mixing and foiling.

Hallway Hangout

Once all the foils were in place, another client came in for the next phase of her coloring. I went to wait on the comfy sofa in the hall.

The whole individually rented salon suite concept is very different from the typical salon visit. Realizing I would be waiting in the hall for a bit, I regretted not bringing my knitting.

I felt a little nostalgic for traditional salons. Maybe I want the strong chemical smell. Maybe I miss the mint and eucalyptus scents from Willow Aveda. It’s hard to know. Sometimes the music, the thrum of the salon makes me feel transported. 

Beauty Organism

The little noises of blow dryers, heat tools, shoes on cement or tile floors. A door that dings open. People coming and going. It’s this living beauty organism.

When my head is not in the right space and I go to SuperCuts, it can feel like a desolate, cold facility, an industrial wasteland of chairs, mirrors, and assembly line windmills tilting toward vanity.

I’m not sure how I feel. I miss my beauty magazines. I love the idea of being truly pampered. Is there a salon reality tv show? I think I want to watch that.

A few other clients from other salons are milling the hallway in foils and capes. We are in transition. We are cocooning in our foils. Maybe this in-between time will always be a little funny. Temporarily suspended while waiting for hair to lift, waiting to spread our wings, shake our locks and fly out as renewed butterflies.

Back in the chair, she took out the foils, then rinsed and toned my monarch hair. My tiger stripes were back. I would know if I really liked it for 3 days. But I could see right away that she did a great job with the bold blonde money piece, those head-turning strands framing my face. I left with brightness on my follicles and a lift in my steps.

And now for the highlights reel.