While the rest of the world peacefully sleeps I rise and shine and give god my glory glory.
It’s SATURDAY yippee. The lucky people are snuggled down after a late night of mirth and merriment, they have sleepy heads as they snooze alone or cuddle with their beloveds.
(table for one)
(Maurice and his beloved Babbette.)
A day off for most. For those of us in the beauty world Saturday is the ‘big’ day. The red one, the deuce, the monsta.
and for some it’s a day from hell……
There’s the Friday night hang over to contend with, not to mention the sleep deprivation. It’s our Friday…… just got to make it through this one last day, these last 10 clients. I’ll make it past the finish line even if I’m crawling.
It’s the day that the entire salon runs late and it’s LOUD LOUD LOUD, Blow dryers are blowing, cell phones are ringing, the house phone Is off the hook, dogs are barking (and farting) hair spray is spraying, laughter is in the air, people are In the shampoo bowls screaming above the sound of running water in their ears, so all within ear shot hear the details of their Friday night follies, assistants are sweeping, directing traffic and running back and forth with drinks and magazines,
We start the day with a huge stack of clean towels. The robes are hung up and ready. The wine is chilled, the espresso machine fired up, the lights are on, the music is just right.
We are in the mood. the mavens at the front desk are cheery and eager to serve. They deftly juggle all the phone lines working their magic trying to assure and accommodate all the last minute changes and ‘can-you-squeeze-me-in’s?’. Our day sheets are printed, our tickets are ready. Everyone is looking their Saturday best. It’s 3 minutes to opening.
We get in a huddle, we sing kumbaya, we recap the week, plan our attack and disseminate the plays, we know where the ‘weak spots’ will be and at what time, and what their names are, we are ready. WE ARE HOT, WE ARE FIRED UP, WHO’S THE BEST?, WHO’S THE CHAMP? WHO’S YOUR DADDY?, BRING IT ON BITCHES, 24, 68, go long…….BREAK!
The doors open and off we go to do arm chair therapy and spray and pray our way through another glorious day in beauty world.
For others, it’s a heavenly lair……. The wildest day, the busiest day, tension’s are high, energy is up. Women pour in for party up-do’s and make up applications, and manicures. In the dark ages when I was first coming out as a hairdresser, they would bring their gowns and shoes to the salon so they would be red carpet ready for the evening’s soiree.
It was the day of the week the prettiest of working girls came in. This would put the male stylists in full blown swoons. My boss, el jefe, Bob absolutely LOVED Saturday’s in the Salon. He could hardly contain himself, it was the one day of the week he was at work on time. He would greet everyone of the clients personally with a hug, a smile and a kiss and we would all be off to run the beauty gauntlet. The music matched the mood, happy, energetic, soothing and sexy. Sounds of humming along could be heard intermittently and here and there a hip would shake and a toe would tap. There’s no better place than the salon on days like this.
We were in-the-know for all the underground night clubs being birthed. So there would be lots of people coming in to say hello and fraternize, all of them wanting to get the latest scoop on where to see and be seen that night. We, the stylists were in the thick of it, everyone wanted us at their club, party or dinner. We were the social butterflies. There was so much to keep up with, no time to eat or rest. Our energy was high high high, we were ON, loving up our clients and lending an ear when necessary. Every few minutes a frumpasaurus turned vixen would sashay out ready to take on the world.
Pooped though we could be on Saturday, this was what we all lived for.
(above – a desperate beauty pro will do anything to snatch a few z’s – even dress as a client.)
The end result, the smiles, the cry’s of “oh my heaven,I’m gorgeous!”, the lovely new look we co-created. We forget our hang overs, our crashing blood sugar, the full bladder, the painful feet, the tiff we had at home, the dying parent, or the bad news we received yesterday.
Being in service to another in such a basic way is often just what the doctor ordered to ‘be here now’ and to heal the heart. We spend our days standing for long hours making people smile, adding a spring to their step, listening to their deepest secrets. It’s real. It’s vulnerable, it’s a caring bond. it’s what being human is all about. It’s a holy and beautiful experience.
And when the last client has settled their bill, re-booked their appointment, dressed and left the salon. We turn off the lights, turn off the music and turn back into pumpkins and head home to rest up to do it all again next week.
Because after all, everything gets back to the follicle.
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