The Quest for a Great Hair Cut

Thank-you Tootie for this article! I think we all can totally relate!

Somehow I managed to survive our recent military move, including the packing, the sale of our home (finally!), and even navigating around our new base. But, there's only one thing that I've dreaded more than anything else: finding a new hairstylist.

Not just any hairstylist – a great hairstylist. The irony is that I hardly spend any time doing my hair. In fact, aside for a quick blow dry in the morning, I almost completely neglect my hair altogether. But, I know a great hairstylist can do great things cutting my hair – and thus cutting my number of bad hair days, at least in half.

It took me a couple years at our last base to find a great hairstylist. For a while, I went to a lady who gave a pretty darn good hair cut, but I had to endure an hour of painful conversation to get it, which made me lukewarm about the whole ordeal. Then, at a friend's recommendation, I went to another lady and finally found the Holy Grail of hairstylists: a woman (also a military spouse) who gave an amazing haircut at a bargain price, plus provided some very pleasant and enjoyable conversation in the process. And, if her enthusiasm and expertise weren't impressive enough, then her list of past clients (that includes Heather Locklear) was. I know that I won't find anyone here who is quite as amazing as she is, but I'm hoping to find someone that still will do a great job.

There is hope for us – and our hair – surviving each move, and here is what I've learned so far:

• Get your hair cut with your favorite stylist right before you move. You better believe I saw the Holy Grail of hairstylists before we left our last base. It gave me at least a little time before I had to rush and find one at our new place. Plus, I needed a cut anyway.

• Start looking for a hairstylist early. I know it might not rank on the top of your to-do list when you move. But, if you wait too long, you might get desperate for a cut and go on impulse to the first stylist you can find. I did this once, in Georgia, and got a hair cut so bad that it warranted this comment from a co-worker: "With all due respect, what did you do to your hair???

• Ask other ladies in the area for recommendations. Getting a suggestion for a good hairstylist cuts out a lot of the uncertainty, and it offers you much better odds than walking into an unknown salon. If you don't know anyone in the area yet, ask a woman that you see who has a particularly great hair cut. I'm sure she'll be flattered that you like her cut, and she'll probably be happy to share the name of her stylist. It doesn't hurt to get more than one recommendation, especially if the first person you ask is anything like the woman I asked last week in my yoga class at the base gym. Her response was an enthusiastic: "I cut my own hair!" (Hmm…)

I know that I have many more moves and hairstylists in my future. But hopefully with the right recommendations (and some good luck), I'll get some good cuts. If not, I'll be the one in yoga class with my hair secured in a perpetual pony tail.