Haircutgirl
Images on Deviant Art
Sheila won a free makeover at the new salon that had just opened. She had always had long, straight hair but it was getting tedious to keep it so long, especially since she almost always wore it up.
Everyone was kind and friendly when she walked in. Pat, the stylist who owned the salon and was going to do the haircut, greeted her warmly and asked a strange question right off the bat “have you ever had a perm? I think you’d look just adorable with curly hair!”
Sheila was surprised by the question and a little caught off guard “no, but curls might be nice for a change”
“Let’s do it! I want your makeover to make a splash, the paper agreed to cover it. Take a seat and I’ll get started”
“Well, maybe not..” Sheila was interrupted midsentance and sat in a styling chair. She tried to speak up again but the cape was so loud as Pat snapped it and draped it onto her.
With scissors already in hand, Pat asked “Do you trust me?”
Shelia hesitated and said “Well yes, but…”
Pat squealed and exclaimed “you’re going to love this!! Just relax and I’m going to transform you!!”
Pat’s enthusiasm assured Sheila but she wasn’t sure what she was in for, she wouldn’t do anything too crazy with out checking first? Right?
Pat took all of the length in one hand and started sawing thru it with the other, right at the neck. 20 inches of hair growth were gone instantly and a rough bob hung in Sheila’s face now. Too shocked to speak, Sheila couldn’t object. Pat was working fast, cutting off more and more hair till everything was about 3-4 inches long.
Then she pulled out the rods and began putting rows of small rods thru her severely shortened hair.
This was not in all what Sheila had in mind but she was resigned and maybe she’d like it, eventually.
Sitting under the dryer, she imagined all the best possibilities for her look and all of the worst. At least it was something different?
With Sheila back in the chair, Pat couldn’t contain her excitement as she removed the rods then, she turned Sheila away from the mirror to prolong the reveal. Soon Sheila’s head was covered in short, springy curls. Pat teased them out a bit a pick. Sheila thought she’d see the look now that the teasing had stopped but Pat took out scissors and began shaping the curls. Big red curls were falling on the floor in front of her. She was now coming to terms with how short her hair was going be. It would take years to grow out and she couldn’t even imagine what a perm looked like on her.
Pop! Buzz… now Pat was sculpting her hairline and taking a bit more off the back and sides. After a sufficient amount of permed hair had accumulated on the floor, Pat slowly turned the chair around so she could surprise her makeover client with her brand new look.
It wasn’t bad. But she looked like a completely different person, it was a different vibe. Did she look more like a little boy or a little old lady? Who was she?
Stunned by her appearance, her mouth hung open in the mirror as she turned her head side to side. It was short, it was super curly and it was kind of cute, she thought.
“Oh no! You don’t like it! I think it’s amazing, you look gorgeous!” Pat exclaimed.
“No, I like it (a lie), it’s just it is very short and I wasn’t excepting this at all. I didn’t think you’d actually go thru with the perm without asking but I guess I trusted you (a truth). And I’m glad I did, this looks so cute. (Another lie)
“Oh good! Lemme get an after pic!”
This was a mess but she didn’t want to make Pat feel bad. And then she remembered it was going to be in the paper. Now, the whole town would see what a travesty had been done to her long red locks. Would people really think she looked better with a short perm? Her thoughts raced with a million questions. How long would it take to get back to a length she liked? And the perm! How long would that last? Would she do it again? What will my friends think? And the guy I’ve been flirting with at the gym? What did I just do? Do I like the new me?
She thanked Pat and left in a daze, thinking intensely about the consequences of this makeover and avoiding the mirrors. She ran to her car and took a deep breath before she looked at her reflection in the rear view mirror. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about how beautiful her hair was before walking into that salon and meeting Pat.
After her photo ran in the paper, two readers notes published; one accusing Pat of butchering her hair and another praising the new look, saying they were inspired to cut and perm their waist length hair and would be going in to Pat’s that very day.
