Someone once asked me what part of myself I was most proud of. This was quite a long time back, and I think it was because we were playing some game as part of our NYE celebrations. In any case, I answered, "my hair." To this day, it still hasn't changed. I love my hair. No matter what I do to it (which is very little, I don't even brush my hair in the morning), it always looks good.
There are two things that have always been associated with me and haircuts, one of which is that I'm not fond of getting my haircut because I usually hate it for the first day or two before growing to accept that it's not actually that bad. I don't have any strong opinions as to what should be done to it, and my instructions to my stylist usually go along the lines of "just make me look good." It tends to work, except for the odd occasion when I ended up looking like a character out of a manga (which wasn't in itself bad, just that it was possibly a little too unprofessional given the kind of office I was working in at the time).
I've never really had a regular hairdresser. In Singapore, it was Kate at Estique in Pacific Plaza. Here, despite having lived in London for over three years, I've just managed to find one in Yuka, co-owner and Image Director at Kaizo. I first went to her because she's Oriental and, face it, only Orientals really know what can be done with our sort of hair. But, having gone to her twice now, she and I seem to really get along. She told me that there's something about me which makes her feel challenged (in a good way) to come up with something that will express my personality.
That's not something that's an easy thing to do. I'm not exactly a chameleon, but my dress sense isn't something that can be easily defined. The first time Yuka met me was the day of my company Christmas party, and I was dressed in a suit. She also saw pictures of the outfit I intended to wear: a slinky Hervé Léger dress and incredible four inch heels which just about screamed dominatrix. Yesterday, I was dressed in a comic baby-doll T-shirt, jeans, a casual jacket and trainers.
The same person, but three very different outfits. Even my good friends can't quite pin me down when it comes to what kind of clothes I like to wear.
In any case, the updo she came up with for my Christmas party was absolutely amazing and not-at-all damaging to my hair. There must have been dozens of bobby pins she had to use for my very thick hair, but, unlike other times with other hairdressers, my scalp didn't hurt after I let my hair down. Not only that, but she helped me with my make-up!
And my haircut? Well, it's different, I'll grant you that. She decided to trim my fringe and give me a look with bangs a la Jennifer Lopez. I'm sure there are other hairdressers who could have come up with the same look, but the difference with Yuka is she makes me feel involved in the whole process.
And I love the new look. I think it makes me look fresher, younger and even more feminine than I usually look. And I do tend to look quite girly at times, because I love to wear pretty frocks and heels. Still, my head feels lighter and it's great to have found a hairstylist who matches my personality as much as her skills match my hair requirements.
Now, if it took me just over three years to find the perfect hairdresser, I wonder how long the search for the perfect man will take...
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