I had to do it!

When I was a student nurse, I didn't have the luxury of once-monthly haircuts that I have now. Usually, they had to wait for 2 months or longer, and one time my hair grew into a gnarly mop that reached down to the nape of my neck. It reminded me of a book I'd seen when I was small, oddly enough called 'Mop Top', about a boy who flees to a barber shop when an elderly lady mistakes the top of his head for a broom.

I was desperate to have my hair cut. Not only did I need & want to look professional for school but it was becoming a pain in the rear - the hair constantly scratched and tickled at the nape, and hung halfway down my ears. Most of the time my school hours didn't allow me to get to a shop without a prolonged wait (if the shop was even open), so it was delayed several times.

Finally, one time, I had a break in my school week. This is the day, I told myself. Time to get rid of this mess on the top of my head.

I found a local barber shop, a little different than the salons I'd been to for the last several years. When I walked past the shop, there was no one waiting, so I went in and had a seat. The only two people ahead of me were already in the chair. It wasn't more than 15 minutes when one of the clients stepped out of the chair, and walked to the front. In a few minutes the barber walked back to the chair, and asked me 'can I help you?' I stepped up and had a seat in her chair.

While she folded a piece of tissue around my neck and draped me with her large blue cape, she asked, 'I'm just curious - how long since your last haircut?' 'About 3 months', I told her. 'You sure need a haircut', she told me, 'one that's going to last a while if you don't have a lot of time to get one.' After fastening the cape she turned the chair so that I faced a mirror. A huge sense of relief came over me as I took my last glance at the ugly mop on top of my head.

'How about we take 2 inches off, and taper that back - it'll last you a bit longer. And I can thin out some of that hair on the top and sides so it doesn't stick out', she suggested. 'I think so', I replied. 'Just make sure you cut lots off the front too.'

By now she had wet down my hair and combed it out, all around my head. Then came the scccchhnnnkk of her scissors as she cut a big chunk of hair from the side of my head. A huge piece of cut hair landed on the cape and slid down, and then came several more little snips as pieces of hair fell away. I looked through my bangs - combed down to eye level - at the mirror and watched as my hair started to fall. Pretty soon she had worked around both sides of my head and I was starting to look normal again.

'Let's get rid of those bangs', she said, and I shut my eyes for a second as her scissors clipped just above my forehead. I opened my eyes again and could actually see my face. In the mirror I could see my bangs on the cape - about 2 inches of thick, wet hair. What a difference! I smiled at the image in the mirror.

When she started cutting the back, she took some locks of my hair that she had cut and showed them to me. They were starting to curl at the bottom and were about 2 1/2" long. 'You're not a girl anymore', she teased, 'you're starting to look like a handsome guy again.' I just laughed and smiled. Then she held up the mirror to the back of my head. 'How's that for length?' 'Much better', I said. My nape-long locks were gone and replaced by a neater, 'professional' look, just above the ears. 'I'm not through yet', she told me, and picked up her clippers - minus the guard - and gently ran them down the back of my head.

'You hair is so soft - and easy to cut', she told me as she wet the top of my head again - my hair always dried out fast - and cut about an inch off the top with her scissors. 'This should leave you a good length - just enough for the ladies to run their fingers through', she teased. Then, when it was finally done, she held up a mirror to the back of my head.

Finally, the mop was no more! In its place was a stylish, 1-inch classy business cut, with the sides thinned to 1/2" and no sideburns.The back was tapered nicely to 1/4" at the bottom, just above the ears. I looked down at the cape around my neck - it was covered in clippings and so was most of the floor. I figured probably a full 1/3 of my hair was probably cut that day!

'I love this cut', I said, as she dusted my face and neck. 'That'll last you at least 6, and probably 8 weeks', she told me while she pulled the tissue out and removed the cape from around my neck. I paid her for her services and tipped her handsomely. 'I'll expect to see you then', she told me as I left the shop. After such a great haircut experience, I did go back...again and again and again. At school, my classmates and instructors didn't recognize me at first...but when they did they told me it was great! My only regret? That I didn't have a camera!