flow it, show it

The Hater and I have been talking about Baby's hair for a while. After more than the little baby peach fuzz came in, her hair actually started growing at the back of her head first. It slowly filled in from the back to the front. We knew that eventually it would get long enough in the front to need a hair cut, but we've just been waiting for that point.

This week we hit that point. We noticed her pushing hair out of her eyes several times. Some strands went below her nose. It was simply time.

My cousin and her daughter had a good experience at one of the kid-themed hair cut places. However, Jane and her daughter had a terrible experience (I can't remember if this was told to me via emails and chat windows or her blog. Can't find it on her blog, but it could be there.). The Hater and I talked about this in depth and decided to throw the dice and try the place that was meant to be kid-friendly.

I should note that growing up my sister and I had terrible Dorothy Hamill bowl hair cuts. We had uneven bangs in the shape of a rainbow from where Mom cut them for us. (I can remember her taking us to the hair dresser, who would look at us with a sad face while Mom explained that she just gave us a little trim...) If that wasn't bad enough, strangers always thought we were boys. Boys.

Other hair memories include both Mom and Dad jerking out tangles from my hair with a fine tooth comb. Because apparently there was no such thing as conditioner in the 1980s. This was also one of the first scenarios when Mom would tell us, "Beauty must suffer pain," a reason as to why the tears should have been worth it. In hind sight, that was probably one of the beginnings of my indifference to making an effort. But that's another story for another day.

With all that said, Sister bought Baby some spray-in conditioner at a baby shower before Baby was even born. It's the dawn of a new day and there's no reason to jerk out tangles anymore.

The Hater and I have decided that we don't want anybody to think that Baby is a boy. Our plan for now is for her to have at least shoulder-length hair, at least until she's big enough to have an opinion about what she wants to do with it. All bets are off when she has sense enough to have her own opinion.

That's probably the understatement of all understatements.

So we went this morning to the kid-themed hair cut establishment with plans to just get her bangs cut. We like the length of it and the curls in the back - the purpose of today was just to get it out of her eyes in the front. We ordered the "bang cut" and a nice lady led us back to her station.

The decor was decked out. Baby was intrigued. I sat her down in the pink padded chair and the hair cut lady buckled her in with a buckle. She covered her with the hair drape apron and turned on the tv. Baby was sitting quietly, taking it all in.

And then the lady picked up her water-squirt bottle and sprayed the back of baby's hair. About that moment baby looked at The Hater and I, took in a slow deep breath, dropped her bottom lip, and proceeded to scream. I snapped one picture and then felt too bad about being the paparazzi during such an austere moment. Other parents gave us sympathetic looks. We tried to console baby, but she had nothing of it until she was out of the chair and in my arms.

They gave her a prize of bubbles and her bangs are no longer down to her nose. On the contrary, it's business in the front and party in the back. She's sporting a mullet for now, but we just had to spare the curls in the back! (Don't tell her heart, her achy-breaky heart... she has to have something to complain about on whatever social media exists in 30 years. "Oh, yeah? Well MY Mom gave me a mullet! A mullet!") Eventually the hair on the front and sides of her head will fill in and she'll outgrow it.

I would recommend the kid-themed salon. If you prepay haircuts ahead of time they end up being cheaper than the cheap places in the mall, plus they get a treat at the end. And, what's possibly my favorite part, you can avoid DIY rainbow bangs with an inexpensive bang-only cut option.

We hope the next time won't be so bad, but I'm not going to hold my breath.