The Hairdresser | Irina Roleva
She is sitting in front of a glass door, covered in advertising posters of hair dye. The sun is shining towards a small cloud of smoke which is moving slowly up in the air, but there is no fire. It’s a 41-year-old hairdresser lady, Irina Roleva, taking the last puff of her cigarette that helps her relax before the next client shows up.
“You’d better stay a nonsmoker,” she recommends while getting inside the hair salon.
A large beam of light is breaking into the room through the window. In the rhythm of a lively song, coming out of a small speaker, Irina is sweeping the floor for the seventh time today.
A couple of moving shadows are appearing on the floor followed by a creaking sound of a door opening. A huge smile shows up on Irina’s face. She is happy to welcome two little girls by offering them a box of chocolates and some Coca-Cola.
“My clients are also my friends,” she says. “I have always tried to make them feel at home. Every year I throw a party, celebrating the birthday of the salon, and my clients come even without being invited.”
Long dark blonde hair is lying on the backrest of a big black chair where one of the girls is sitting quietly while looking at the reflection of her sister standing behind.
During a friendly chat between the hairdresser and her young client, Irina is smoothly brushing the girl’s hair starting from a few inches off the bottom and slowly working her way up in small sections and short strokes to remove hair tangles.
“Every single client is different,” the lady says. “We should be able to feel the clients and treat them in a friendly manner. We should ask them questions, talk to them nicely, and thus making them feel more comfortable.”
She takes a piece of the girl’s hair and cuts it off, but instead of letting it fall to the floor, she pulls it off and puts it away.
“I love charity, and I often encourage my clients to donate their hair to people suffering from cancer,” she adds. “This girl is not here to get a new hairstyle. She’s donating her hair.”
The snipping sound of scissors, combined with the rhythmic background music and the funny jokes that the hairdresser is making, continues for the next half an hour.
When Irina is done with the haircut, the girl smiles at the mirror. “The most beautiful thing in my job is to see the smile on my client’s face when they get their new hairstyle,” she says. “I can see the pleasure in their faces, and there is nothing that can make me feel happier.”
The sun keeps shining outside where the hairdresser lady says goodbye to the little girls with another cloud of smoke coming out of her mouth, waiting for her next client.
###
Borislav Petrov is a sophomore student at the American University in Bulgaria majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication. He is inspired by Irina Roleva’s job, specifically by her friendship with the clients.
