Getting a Haircut

The salon was a tiny little pink room inside the woman’s house, with just enough room for the barber chair (which spun around but did not go up or down) and a small table with her assortment of scissors, brushes, combs, spray bottles, and hair dryer. There was barely enough leftover space for her to maneuver. She was wearing a yellow mechanic’s shirt that said “Dan’s.”

Our salon: a tiny room with pink walls

A woman’s haircut, wash, and blow dry cost 1,500 Armenian dram, the equivalent of about $4.

Laura’s host mom introduced Laura and I to our new hairdresser by saying, “She is very slow, but she is very good,” a phrase she was to repeat often in the next few hours. And then she sat Laura down in the chair and we tried to explain, in our very limited Armenian (which does not include “layers,” “shoulder-length,” “bangs,” “bob,” “angle,” or most other words that have to do with hair styles) how she wanted her hair cut.

The hairdresser had me come look to see if she was cutting at the right length. (I’m sorry, Laura, if I let her go a little shorter than you expected. But at least I stopped her from going as short as she tried to at first!)

Laura’s host mom and the hairdresser conversed in Armenian during the entire hour-long cutting process. Laura’s hair was wet down with a spray bottle, separated into sections, and cut very very carefully all the way around. The hairdresser was especially proud of her nice straight cuts. You could have taken a level to them.

The hairdresser, making sure Laura's hair was perfectly straight

When she was finally done, she had Laura follow her into the bathroom to wash her hair, which was a different order of events than we’re used to back home. Usually the hair wash comes before the cut. But what was even more different was the hair washing process. She had Laura bend over the tub, then held the hand-held shower sprayer over her head. Once Laura’s hair was wet, she squeezed a bunch of shampoo into Laura’s hands, and Laura washed her own hair, twice. When all the soap was finally rinsed out, she handed over a towel and had Laura follow her back to the hair-cutting room.

Laura, getting her hair washed over the tub

Then the hairdresser proceeded to blow dry Laura’s hair. It took close to 45 minutes before she declared perfection. It was the most time I have ever seen anyone take to blow dry hair before.

Laura getting her hair styled

And then it was my turn. First I had to agree that yes, Laura looked beautiful, and yes the hairdresser did a fantastic job. Yes, she was slow, but she was very good. Yes, my hair is blonde. And no, I did not want exactly the same haircut as Laura, and I did not want bangs.

My turn to get my hair cut

After the cut I also washed my own hair, bending over the tub. And although my hair-drying process was a bit shorter, it still lasted a very long time. My hair was completely dry within the first 5 minutes, and after that, it was all styling and re-styling with the round brush.

Me, after getting my hair cut and then washed, but pre- blow dry

My turn

A little over three hours from when we arrived, we paid our 1,500 dram respectively — agreeing that the hairdresser was slow, but good and that we were both now very beautiful — and left, feeling the wind riffling through our freshly cut hair.

I was quite exhausted from the whole hair-cutting experience and barrage of Armenian, and ready to go home and lie down for awhile. But Laura’s host mom took us and our perfectly-styled hair to a couple of shops — presumably so she could buy a few things, but I secretly think she just wanted her “two beautiful girls” to be seen in our town. So after another eternity of debating what pattern of sheets was the prettiest, and convincing her that we didn’t want to buy anything for ourselves, we were finally able to leave.

It’s always nice to be rid of the split ends and have a new “do,” but I’m kind of thinking of growing my hair out for awhile.