Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Hair in Vancouver

While in Puerto Vallarta, I had the good fortune to meet Sidney, an accomplished hairstylist who had just moved to PV from San Francisco. She came to the house twice with her scissors, sat me down outside, wrapped me in her hairdressing cape and gave me two amazing haircuts. The bill for her services was approximately $17.00 each time.

Two and a half months later, I was desperately in need of a haircut but didn't know where to go in Vancouver. Caramel Hair Salon, just around the corner on Granville, has won major awards. When I looked online, the prices seemed out of my range. Deciding to look online, I typed in "cheap haircuts in Vancouver". Several places came up but one caught my eye..."Beehive Hair Salon", originally on Main Street in the Riley Park area and recently relocated to 23rd and Fraser. The comments from clients were very positive so I called and made an appointment with Sarah Jane. Judging by the location, I assumed that the price would be reasonable, so I didn't ask!!

The salon was long enough to be a bowling lane, the walls lined with local artwork and a chain of leftover paper sculptures from the weekend Craft Fair that takes place on several Sundays throughout the year. The chairs are moved out and a juried show takes place. At other times, there are workshops and other cultural events held in this funky Salon.

Sarah Jane greeted me and led me to her chair for a preliminary discussion/ analysis of my hair. From there we proceeded to the hair washing station where she carefully scrubbed my hair and spent five delicious minutes massaging my scalp.

The haircut itself evolved over the course of the next hour while I listened and learned about the young woman who was treating each hair on my head like a national treasure. Small sections were snipped and adjusted as I heard about her parents, boyfriend, cats, friends, travels, schooling, piercings. It was an educational experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.

At the end of a 70 minute visit with this talented stylist, as I was preparing to pay, Sarah Jane informed me that the bill was $60 plus tax(plus tip?). Trying not to show my shock at the price, I took one last look in the mirror and extended my credit card. I had the appearance of a "wannabe Jamie Lee Curtis" without the fine features that enhance her style!

"We give a complimentary revisit with this price" Sarah Jane explained. "It's called a bang-trim so you can come back anytime in the next few weeks to be trimmed at no charge". Whew...what a relief!!
Another Vancouver experience!!

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