Survived an Egyptian Hairdresser – 27 Jan 07

A week or so ago Leeann attempted to get blonde foils put in her hair – we didn’t see it, but she was horrified – they’d turned her hair GREY. Plus the girl who’d done the foils didn’t put them all the way to the roots so she had immediate re-growth. To resolve this adventure she went to another hairdresser two days later and he fixed it, made it look blonde and told her to come back for hot oil treatments and he’d try to resurrect the damage the first guy had done.

We saw the proper blonde version and it looked really nice. It got me inspired (despite the disaster she started out with) and I decided to finally pull my finger out and get my hair cut. I asked the girls from work and they found me a hairdresser near home. I figured I was pretty safe – what’s the worst that could happen he does a crap job and I have to grow the cut out!

I tried to go on Thursday night, but its not a place you can make an appointment – you just walk in off the street and wait your turn. There were 3 people already waiting on Thursday night so I decided to come back today. That’s another crazy Egyptian concept – don’t do anything as orderly as make an appointment – that’d be too easy. Just show up and expect to wait. They act like that’s a more efficient system!

They open at 10am on a Saturday morning so I was there by 10:05am. Lucky too, by the time I’d had my hair washed there were four people waiting.

It was the weirdest experience… Firstly one boy washed my hair, while another slightly older boy watched him. That’s fine I thought – this guy must be the apprentice. Then when the main hairdresser (a 6”5’ guy called Mess) started cutting my hair there were five people watching! I think they were all varying levels of apprentices, but it was a bit weird sitting there having my hair cut with an audience.

Once he’d finished the cut a different boy blow dried it and the youngest boy swept up the piles of hair on the floor. I don’t think they’d have hovered round watching so much had I been there later. By the time I was leaving they were all busily cleaning up, washing hair and ripping up foil etc.

He did a good job… it’s a little shorter than I wanted so I’m not sure it’s going to stay pinned up when its curly, but all in all not bad.