28 February 2011

Curly hair challenges

Ok.  I have curly hair.  If you've got curly hair, then you'll know what I'm talking about when I say that it is difficult to find a good hairdresser.  You can't cut curly hair the way you cut straight hair.  Honestly.  Because curly hair, well, it curls when it is dry.  So you can cut wet bangs perfectly straight across.  But they ain't drying that way. And no two curly people are the same.  Actually, each individual curl is unique.

I had the incredible good fortune to find possibly the world's best curly-hair hairdresser back when I was in highschool in Canada.  Tony had two great things going for him:  he loved to cut hair, and his wife (and business partner) had curly hair!  What a combination!  Tony always knew exactly what to with my hair.  Long, short,...it didn't matter.  Tony made magic happen each and every time.  And that's why he was my hairdresser for over 20 years. 

Jump ahead to Croatia.  Tony still makes magic happen at his Salon Profilo in Canada, but I'm about five thousand kilometers away.  I hope Tony is not reading this because I'm going to make an admission that would make him cry (and laugh a lot!)  I haven't been able to find anyone who knows how to cut curly hair yet.  So for nearly 3 years....I've been cutting my own hair.  Folks, it ain't pretty.

Here's what I've learned about cutting your own hair:

-cut it dry, because you'll always cut it too short when it is wet
-trim off a tiny bit, then wait a day, and trim again.  Don't try to do it all at once.
-don't cut your hair when you are in a bad mood.
-don't cut your hair when you are in a really good mood either
-cut it when you are in a sensible, logical mood.
-buy several nice hats for all the seasons...you'll need these until things grow out a bit.

 Note to self:  gotta change that profile picture of myself...there's a lot less curl now, and hair in general.  Or maybe I'll just photoshop a hat onto my head!