my 2 hours as a guinea pig for 12 dollars

since my head is looking more like a baby porcupine each day, i dared to try something new and decided to get a haircut from a hair school. based from my initial research, the rate is 60 percent cheaper than the usual cut from regular barber shops or salons. usual haircut costs 20-25 dollars. besides, there is not much to lose should the student fails to yield a favorable result since my hair are just a few inches outgrowth of spikes from the semikalbo do that i had almost two months ago.

i scheduled my appointment days ago to save me from the queue on weekends. the hair school is huge as in warehouse huge with intimidating interiors. the light fixtures look classy and if you are just a curious passerby who wouldn’t dare to check what’s inside it, you wouldn’t really know that they provide their clients cheaper services as compared to other salons. why? well, because they’re a school doing actual tests and exercises on your hair. i don’t know if most people actually pay attention, but as you log your name at the counter, they give you a waiver that states and reiterates your submission to services that are mostly performed by their students at training and that they have no responsibility whatsoever to whatever happens to you or your hair afterwards. ok. so i signed the paper and was assigned to my student hairdresser. her name is mayra, a pretty hispanic girl with straight hair. after shaking hands with her, she immediately led me to her station where i will officially be her guinea pig.



i told her to something new about my hair. trim it down a little bit, fix it and give it a little spunk, if you know what i mean. it was not too much to ask since i still have a relatively short hair, only a bit bushy. spiky-bushy, that is. she did finger measurements on my head and then she led me to the hair-sink area for the shampoo and conditioner ritual.

the moment she sprinkled water on my head, i already knew that shampooing is clearly not her talent. splashes of water invaded my forehead and my cheeks as she performs the initial ritual. the shampooing is ok. the conditioner smells relaxing and aromatic. her fingers flirted with my head for about 15 minutes, i nearly slept at the sink. after the shampooing, she left me and asked me to return to her station for the guinea pig testing shiznit without even toweling my head. without any choice, i have to walk back to the place with my head dripping like a poor sweaty porcupine.

now back to the station. she told me to wait. ok, another 15 minutes. she came back with an instructor who gave her pointers about cutting my straight hair and about shaping my irregularly shaped head by creating an illusion of volume. after the instructor left, she did the finger measurements again and finally, she started the cutting. oh boy was she careful. she does a lot of finger measurements on my head that i sometimes wonder about the irregularity of its shape. she talks to me from time to time. i told her i used to sport super curly hair as a child and then one day i woke up with a straight hair. was it because i was born in another baby person’s body and was transferred to a body of some straight haired dude? ok, i really don’t give a damn. i instantly snapped back to reality whenever she inflicts a little sting of scissor to my scalp. it was tolerable. she performed her experiment for more than an hour. she cut small portions of my hair from this part and that part. sometimes instructors would pass by and praise her. i still don’t see a significant difference from the before and after.

a few cuts more and she finally asked me if everything was ok. i told her to make the sides even shorter. so she took a weird shaped scissor from her silver case. then the instructor came. they talked about a chunk of hair that seems to ruin the scene. then the instructor took over. he did the final touch and fixed everything. now, hair doesn’t look like a baby porcupine ball. it looks more tamed now.

so far the experience was good. though not quite sensitive with her client upon the initial ritual of shampooing, mayra the student performed ok. so will i be coming back? most probably. but i will try their students next time with my long hair.