Tim's First Haircut

While living in Greenville, I typically cut Tim's hair. I wouldn't say I am good at it. In fact, I would admit that I am pretty awful at cutting hair, but it saves $15 a month and gives Tim and I a good hour (that's right an hour - I'm slow) of trying to figure out how to make his hair look good - a little more there, a little more here. It looks presentable (enough)... 

The day before we left the States, I made the executive decision that Tim should have his hair cut at a reputable establishment because I didn't pack the trimmer. I figured if he got a really good haircut that we could take pictures of, it would be easy to show the barber in China the kind of cut he wanted. 

My idea backfired. We were at the mall and there was a well-known salon, so although it cost over $20, I felt confident they would do an outstanding job. Well, they didn't. It was uneven and to be honest, a lot worse than Tim typically gets. Unfortunately, with the timing, we were unable to go back and get it fixed. Tim has become really good at covering up haircut mistakes (see paragraph one), so he has been able to make it look pretty OK for the past couple weeks. His hair grows really fast, so this morning we decided to visit the barber.

This place is on the way to the metro, about a five minute walk from home, so we see it every day. We were greeted at the door with barley tea (YUM!). Tim went to get his hair washed. Once washed, I went back to help him out. Tim told the barber I was his girlfriend, not his wife, and that I was a teacher - which I am not. Lost in translation somewhere I guess. Anyway, we explained what he wanted and the cutting began.

So he cut… and cut… and cut some more. It took him an hour of cutting (I thought I was abnormally slow)! After the cutting was over, they washed Tim’s hair again, massaged his scalp and then dried his hair. During the entire cutting process, Tim was encouraged to get a conditioning treatment so he could achieve the same volume as the stylist. Tim wasn't interested. Are you shocked?

Then the styling began. If you know Tim, you know he is pretty much a guy’s guy. He uses styling wax, but it takes about 10 seconds to “style” his hair, and that only happens when he is going to work, church or out for a special occasion. He prefers the natural look, so the 25 minutes of styling was a bit much for him; however the stylist said it would make Tim look extra handsome, which I didn't think was possible, so I didn't tell him to stop. 

After it was over, Tim examined his hair (they also trimmed his beard) and announced it was the best haircut he had in a long time. I’m not offended – it was the truth.

Of course he will style it a bit differently (a bit too much volume for his liking), but for $7 USD, I’d say we will be repeat customers!