My last hair cut was back in April of this year. I tend to get a trim about every 3 months and although it’s recommended to trim your hair sooner, I wait because I’m fickle when it comes to my hair style. For the longest time that I could remember, I loved having long hair. Long hair didn’t mean past the shoulders or towards the middle of my back. What I meant by long hair was to have my hair past my butt, so much so that I would probably have to bring it around the front when I used the bathroom. Make sense? But this year, I have had no patience or want to grow my hair out. Almost every visit to the hair salon has been for one reason: cut the length off.
The last time I cut significant length off my hair was last year, around the end of the summer. I had this intense love for short bobs and that’s exactly what I went for. Weeks later, once I got bored with my hairdo, I opted for highlights. I couldn’t settle on a color, so I went for a deep teal color, something that would suit my dark, almost black hair. I’ve done bronze and caramel highlights in the past, but like I said, I’m fickle. Fast forward to April, I had my short bob, which grew out, trimmed and I had my stylist add layers. I was in love with the end result so much that I even asked her to freshen up my teal highlights. Both of us were so in love with the result that we even added purple highlights to compliment the blue.
While all this sounds all exciting and lovely, here’s the problem: I was traveling to India, mere weeks after my last color refresh. I didn’t trust anyone with my hair except my stylist, and she was back in NY. What was I going to do in Mumbai? I’m not throwing shade at any of the stylists in Mumbai but, they’re so busy trying to force you to do something that brings in the money, that every experience I’ve had at a salon in Mumbai has left me wanting to strangle someone. I arrive in Mumbai mid-May and I planned on staying for 6 months. At first, my hair didn’t bother me. The color was more of a worry than the length. I found some great color depositing shampoos that did the trick, and I was happy. Problem sorted.
Once the monsoon began and the heat doubled, I was growing frustrated with my hair. Why? If you’ve ever had a grown out short layered bob, you’d know that tying your hair off your neck is almost impossible. The amount of clips I used to keep my hair in a ponytail left me feeling like I would set off the metal detector at the malls (every mall in Mumbai has tight security). Most of my highlights grew out and the whites were peeking through, so I used the color depositing shampoo to fix that and get a new haircut.
I still had some color towards the roots, so I wasn’t worried about losing anymore if I got rid of some length. I went into a local hair salon (I did some research and it got great reviews) and asked for a Pixie Cut. I know! Drastic right? I took for granted that the hairstylist understood what a Pixie Cut was. He seemed confident while he was cutting my hair, and so I didn’t think to stop him at any time. BIG MISTAKE. The moment he took out the electric trimmer, I started feeling butterflies in my stomach. He kept attacking my head and with the amount of hair I saw on the floor, I dread looking in the mirror.
Once he finished, I had a weird fade on the sides and the back of my head, that was too close for comfort. I almost saw my scalp through and through. The top of my head was asymmetrical. In short, imagine Rihanna with her pixie cut by Edward Scissorhands. My hair was a mess and I was livid. I asked the man if he knew what a pixie cut was. He nodded and said, “It’s what men do here all the time.” I face palmed myself and asked him, “Do I look like a man to you?” He shook his head at me and stood here. Why didn’t he ask me to be sure?!
I’ll admit some of this was my mistake but if you’re representing a company that offers a service, isn’t it your duty as an employee to make sure you know what your client wants? If the stylist observed that the so called Pixie cut, in India is asked for by “men” and that now a woman is asking for the same “style”, wouldn’t it make sense to rethink and ask, “Are you sure this is what you want?” Considering a messed up hair cut takes a lot of time to grow out, it’s not something you want to make a mistake with. Honestly thinking, Pixie doesn’t even sound masculine. Again, I’m not throwing shade at all but given that “Pixie” is generally associated with woman, I figured the stylist would have asked. I’d say a 25:75 mistake — 25% mine that is.
Now I’m stuck with this weird hairdo and it’s ugly. But I’m trying to work with it as best as I can. I went back a few days ago once I realized that the top of it was asymmetrical and asked him to even it out for me. It’s growing out looking weird because my hair is naturally curly. I don’t even want to give you an image of what I might look like because it’s really that embarrassing. I went in thinking that I’d rock a great Pixie cut, something new for the summer, enjoy it while I was in Mumbai and instead I look like a broccoli. The image that I had in mind was a Pixie cut, with my 8 ear piercings, and I was planning on getting two tattoos. How cool would that look? Instead, I’m stuck looking like a prepubescent boy. While there’s nothing wrong with that look, it wasn’t the one I was going for.
Where from here? The one thing that I can do with my hair at the moment is wait and pray that it grows quickly. As it grows out, I was advised by my stylist back at home, that I would need to get trims so that my hair grows out evenly. Can you imagine how afraid I am to get my hair cut by the same person? Do you blame me? What do you think I should do? Should I let it grow out odd and deal with until I get back home? Help. Please!
