Vitalandfresh
Paula, my hairdresser, had had time off and my next perm was delayed as a result. I had briefly looked at going somewhere else but doubted I would get the open tolerance of my desire to talk about and try femme styles. To help Paula catch up with her schedule my wife and I agreed to go together and she would cut Christine’s hair while my perm was processing. I would arrive first and get rolled up, then Christine would arrive, have her hair cut and leave, and then I would be finished off.
Prior to my hair appointments I try to look like I look after my hair to some degree, being long and a bit thin it always looks a bit scruffy but I make sure it’s clean, at least. This time I wanted Paula to see how I’d been leaving it a bit curly too.
I arrive and am welcomed with pleasantries and invited to sit at the wash station. Paul looks at me and says “Have you had your hair braided?” she was wondering where the kinks in it came from. I reply “No, it’s the body perm, this is how I’ve been leaving it.” I ask if I can briefly show Paula what I have in mind and show 2 photos, of me after a curling iron session with Paula and the last roller set with Hannah. She nods and shows me the rods she intends to use, it will be fine.
Paula then says: “So you had a roller set, how did you find it?”, I reply: “It was good, it lasted longer than the curling iron.”
“So maybe we could do a roller set after today’s perm instead of drying your hair with a diffuser?” suggests Paula. I am thrilled, I’ve never had a perm and a set together, so “Yeah, great, why not.”
This will be a full curly perm not a body perm, and as it progresses it feels like the rods are tighter, the solution smells stronger, and the processing is longer. I begin to feel this is a real transformation. Paula is so relaxed and chatty while she works that I am constantly wondering how she doesn’t forget to soak a rod or something. At this point Christine knocks and is let in. My curlers are covered in the plastic bag and I sit to the side while Christine gets her delayed haircut. Christine has a short pixie that has length on top with the sides and back clipped short, number 2. Just as her cut is completing, there’s a knock at the door and Paula apologises that her handyman will just come in to check something that needs fixing in the salon. The man comes in glancing at me in perm curlers and Christine with her short back and sides and it strikes me that our hairstyles are completely reversed male to female. Presently Christine’s hair is finished and she says goodbye and leaves.
My curlers are rinsed, the neutraliser dabbed on, nice and cool, and finally the rods are unrolled and I get a soothing wash and a bit of scalp massage, heaven. A quick dry with a towel and it’s back to the styling chair and the mirror. My hair looks evenly wavy bordering on curly, still a bit thin. Paula asks if it’s what I expected and I reply: “While wet, my hair is always going to look a bit thin but yes it looks about right.” It’s 10 inches long now so any curls will inevitably stretch out when wet. Paula is straight on with the rollers for the set: “When you had the set 2 months ago can you remember if the rollers were this big or like this?” I choose the larger of the two, then Paula: “Velcro or plastic?”. “I remember them being brush rollers like my Mum had all those years ago”. And then it’s another roll-up with the bigger rollers. I ask for a photo when I’m rolled and Paula wraps my set in a net and I get another treat, a hood dryer. Previously with the sets I’ve had, I was never convinced I was properly dry and the set flopped a bit it seemed. This time it will be perfect.
It was noisy, but I didn’t get too hot or drowsy. I sneaked another photo of me under the dryer, I had to have it.
The timer goes and I’m unwrapped, the pins come out and the rollers are unwound. The hair springs back virtually all the way to my head, wow. Before all the rollers are out the next customer arrives and takes a seat behind me to the side. A 30 year old with orange hair. The salon is not big enough for her not to hear all that is said, I wonder what she thinks of a bloke getting a perm and set. Paula separates the curls a bit but emphasises she thinks it’s best to leave it up a bit as it will drop with time and the weather. “With a bit of luck you might get 5 days out of it”. She shows the back with the mirror and asks if I want it a bit less springy which I say I do. She combs it a bit, and I love it, shaking my head I feel the springs bouncing and rubbing on my ears and neck. Paula then remembers: “Eyebrows!”, she trims them to a few millimetres each visit. A tidy of the neck with the trimmer and she asks: “Have you ever had it coloured? Would that interest you?” I’m non-committal and reply: “I’ve not really thought about it”, which we both know is unlikely but that way we can discuss it next time when no one else is listening. The strays clippings are brushed away and I am free. I thank Paula profusely as I leave the salon and amble towards home. The wind is light but it feels different, the hair swings and brushes my skin. What a great experience.
Opening the front door back home, I call out to Christine, I had warned her my hair would be curlier but not coiffed like this. I expect her to declare it not looking natural, but Christine is surprisingly neutral. Later in the day she even says it looks fine, if she ever says it actually looks good, I’ll let you know! I immediately begin fantasising on having a regular set to keep it like this all the time.
>I walked into the town centre and did some shopping errands, I don’t think anyone noticed or drew attention to my femme bouncy hair. I enjoyed the experience of being in public with a different look. The rest of the day was spent mooching around at home looking in mirrors and shaking my head to watch the coils swing like on the TV ads. Touching it is great, you feel this softness and fluffiness away from your head which simultaneously caresses your scalp.
Through the week, my curls did slowly drop but they stayed looking like a “do” and I wore it with pride. Being markedly curlier than the previous week, it was noticed and I got some neutral comments, and one snarky “he won’t be able to go, he’s doing his hair”. At choir practice Ann exclaimed: “I really like your hair, I love curls, well done for doing it.” I’ll take that, that’s all the encouragement I need.
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