Your haircut cost HOW much?!

I recently got a haircut.


This is a big deal for two reasons:

1. I haven't chopped my hair off for about 10 years. And actually, its never been this short. But i felt like i needed a change, and lets face it, washing long hair on a cold winters morning really sucks.
2. I tried a new hairdresser. Even though its been a long time since i lived out in the burbs with my parents, i STILL go back there to get my hair done, just as i have been for the last 15 years. Why? Because its CHEAP. A cut, colour and blow dry for my long, long hair cost me $80, which i spent maybe every 4 months or so because I'm lazy.

Insert tangent, as i ask - why do some women love going to the hairdresser?? I HATE IT! It's a chore - i have to sit there for 2 hours in an uncomfortable chair and make stupid small talk with someone i don't know but who's pretending to know me. Where's the pleasure-factor? Its not like you're at a spa getting a massage. Maybe it's because i get bored too quickly. I can think of so many other things I'd rather be doing. And reading a Woman's Day from 1997 isn't one of them.




But back to my story. I decided it was becoming a pain to go so far away every time i wanted a haircut. Plus, Maria's been raving about her hairdresser for ages. So she made me an appointment, and off i went.




And, i had to admit, things looked good. The girls were very attentive. They served proper coffee and chilled water. I was supplied with current magazines. My head massage at the basin was superb, AND the chairs vibrated - in a totally cool, lower-back-relaxing way. My hairdresser was lovely, just the right amount of chatty, and she did a great job with my hair. She didn't torture me by prolonging the cutting - in fact, she cut half of it off in one go: "Ready! Say bye bye!" and chop! The end result looked great - shorter, neater, and with really pretty highlights. I was impressed!




Then i went to pay.




Now, maybe I'm naive. Maybe all these years I've been getting a great deal out west and i just didn't realise how much a haircut and colour cost out in the real world. But when she told me how much it cost, my jaw actually dropped. The poor girl had the decency to look sheepish when i recovered and blurted "Pardon?" Alas, i had not misheard. I'm so appalled that i don't even want to tell you how much it was, but the first number started with THREE. That's right. THREE.




WTF????




Despite the fact that i loved my new hair, i was outraged! Surely, i thought, this wasn't normal. So i polled a few of my friends. And i was shocked to discover that it wasn't as uncommon as i thought! Several of them said they had paid similar prices for their hair before, though not on a regular basis. In fact, they said, most upmarket salons in what i suppose you could call "well-to-do" areas would definitely charge that much, depending on what "work" you have done to you hair. (Work? JUST CUT IT!!)




So, there you go. I guess times have changed. And i ain't even that old. Here i am, post-cut. You can't really see the highlights or anything in this picture, but still - after what i paid, i have to show SOMETHING off.