Dear Beauty Parlour Employee, I Am Not My Hair, Dry Or Otherwise!

When the desire to ‘improve’ oneself strikes, a visit to the beauty parlour happens…but instead, do we end up believing that we are ugly?

Contrary to what we may say in public, the overwhelming desire to look beautiful exists in each one of us. Beauty is very subjective. It is a perception rather than a fact.

Inspite of knowing that there is nothing more beautiful than being your genuine self, sometimes we give in to the desire to make our physical appearance more appealing. By appealing, I mean trying to blend in or keep up with the current fashion trends. Beauty is very real and it has little to do with our physical appearance but still, girls with straight hair want to have curls, girls with curls pine for straight hair, girls with dark skin want a lighter skin tone, and girls with a beautiful face don’t like the way their eyebrows curve.

Yesterday was one of those days when my urge to look appealing won over my common sense. So I finished all my household chores and went to the parlour. I am not the usual college going or young client so the look the hairdresser gave me told me everything he thought about me. I said that I had come for a hair treatment. He showed me to a chair. And then my ordeal started.

He started by saying that my hair was completely damaged and that nothing could be done. My hair lacked moisture and strength according to him. I felt that I had wasted a trip and was ready to leave since he said that there was nothing he could do.

He stopped me and said that he would try to do the necessary corrections (yes, that’s what he said). I sat there for two hours and all the time he was just telling me how bad my hair was. I listened to all of it and didn’t want to say anything while my hair was in his hands.

When he was done, the look he gave me reminded me of the ugly duckling story. I paid the bill, said thank you, and me being me, could not leave without telling him what I thought.

I told him that my hair was dry and unmanageable, which was the very reason for which I came to the parlour. I told him that he was giving me a service for which he was charging me and he should stop giving unsolicited advice. I said that I was well informed about the condition of my hair and also the remedies available. I tipped him nevertheless and walked out.

It is not the first time that this has happened; every time we go to a parlour, the beautician will reveal so many imperfections in our faces, bodies and hair that sometimes we may end up believing that we are really very ugly.

I know they are trying to promote their business and sell as much as they can but sometimes, even if rarely, it may dent our confidence.

As I stepped out of the parlour, I laughed it off; I know I am not me because of my hair, dry or otherwise.

This lousy experience will put me off beauty parlours for some time but the urge to have straight hair will come out of the blue someday and I will be back at the parlour, at the mercy of the hairdresser.

Please do share your experiences in the comments section.

lalitha

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