I knew I was going to get a haircut this week; I was not sure of the day.  As I was nearing the end of my walk, I decided today was the day.  I used the online check-in.  I didn’t need to.  There was no one ahead of me, and no one behind me the entire time I was there.  Unless requested, you get the next stylist that comes up.  Today, someone who had never cut my hair before cut was “up.”

This person was of a different faith than me.  She referred to praying while in troubled times.  And she claims to talk to others often about her faith.  I complimented her on her values, and we didn’t talk about much else.  She did compliment me on my full head of hair.  (My dentists used to compliment me on my great teeth…until they didn’t.  It was like I woke up one day and found out my teeth had aged two decades in a 6-month period.)  I didn’t let my “hair pride” get the best of me.  I took her comments about, “Some of our product lines are on sale” and “You should get yourself a new style for your women” as idle chatter.  I would not make any changes.  My only hope was she didn’t make my cowlick into a creature I could not control.

When the haircut was over, she did not comb my hair over.  She left it sticking up in the front.  Her mention of “Brad Pitt” may have been her last attempt to convince me I should try a new style.  As I stood up, I used her mirror and her comb to put my hair back the way it belongs.  Her unsanctioned styling looks to be a battle I will fight with my hair in the coming week.  She did not cut it to comb-over where I like to part it.

Fortunately, I had something to rejoice about as I checked out.  Nearly every year, I buy a hair card and prepay for 15 haircuts.  Two years ago, the card was purchased but soon disappeared.  The “Put it back in the envelope” rule developed soon afterward.  With some encouragement and two key pieces of information from my favorite stylist on a previous visit, I could call the corporate customer service number.  Within a few weeks, I had received a new card MINUS the one haircut that had already been used.

I got a haircut.  Because I used the recovered card, the cost was only the tip.   With this haircut, I have now received a haircut from everyone at this location.  I will only let this stylist cut my hair if I give her very specific instructions.  On the positive side, I have hair to cut, and it grows in quickly.  This puts me ahead of many my age.  It is motivation for me to continue to act and feel as young as I can.  When necessary, I will adopt the philosophy of many of my peers, “Beauty is only hair follicle deep.”