Have you ever been so excited to get your hair done by a well-known stylist and end up having the worst experience ever? Have you ever arrived on time, but the stylist arrived an hour late? Was there ever a time that you unexpectedly spent the entire day at the beauty salon? These occurrences are common among women and men that enjoy getting their hair done at beauty salons. My Hair &The Chair: A Collection of Experiences at the Beauty Salon, brings together a variety of stories told by women that have endured some interesting encounters at the beauty salon. This book is designed to bring laughter to those stressful and annoying moments almost every woman has gone through while trying to get styled. In both a realistic and humorous way, its content will provide insight to how problematic getting styled can be. While embodying the principle of having an alternative plan in case of mishaps, this book will also inform women that they are not alone in tolerating silly episodes.
Kellie is an aspiring Author currently completing a Bachelor’s Degree in English at Wayne State University. She discovered her gift for writing after an emotionally distressing relocation out of the city. Due to a lack of friends, she decided to write in a journal which eventually flourished into a love for writing.
Kellie is family oriented and assists in her mother’s clothing boutique. She currently writes short stories related to real-life experiences with plans of transforming them into a novel. Other works under construction include the first volume to a series of love novels and a television screenplay about working in a fast food restaurant, inspired through her past 4 year commitment as a crew member turned shift manager at Rally’s Hamburgers.
While finishing the last two semesters as an undergrad, Kellie currently resides with her parents just outside of Detroit in Roseville. Following graduation, she plans to acquire a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.
This book has a modest amount of competition. Most available hair books focus on the scientific analysis of how it grows rather than solely on experiences. These books provide a slew of information concerning how it is developed and how to maintain it while clarifying what causes hair damage, hair loss, scalp diseases, etc.
These books are very important and informative, but they lack humor. Also, they mostly appeal to those seeking instructions on how to maintain their hair.
People that have encountered embarrassing and unlucky experiences in regards to their hair often questions if they are alone – how many others has this happened to or why me?
Encountering unsuspecting and annoying episodes are part of life. It happens when we least expect it and it often causes setbacks. Making light of a situation are tactics that helps us get through them. Often unpleasant incidents create unsatisfying emotions, but after time have elapsed, those emotions unwind and become more humorous. Some are even made fun of. This course of action uncovers the realization that stuff happens.
As quoted by Goldie Hawn "Once you can laugh at your weaknesses, you can move forward. Comedy breaks down walls. It opens up people. If you're good, you can fill up those openings with something positive. Maybe you can combat some of the ugliness in the world."
My Hair & The Chair reinforces that understanding. It is a paradigm that doesn’t just apply to hair salon mishaps. Its implicit significance connects to anyone that has undergone frustration.
This book also attracts a larger demographic. Its contents are genuine, relatable, and comical, which are the elements that most readers seek. It is down to earth, an easy read, and entails a positive message.
Two books that are similar in concept include Ayana Byrd and Lori L. Tharps’ Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, and Juliette Harris’s Tenderheaded: A Comb-Bending Collection of Hair Stories. Both of these books contain a collection of stories. However, these books cater to a specific demographic. Also, the narratives these books enclose are taken from the works of established writers.
These books offer a wonderful insight to the stresses and controversies hair has generated and surmounted over time, but it heavily focuses on the historical and political aspect of hair experiences.
My Hair & the Chair sets itself apart from these books because it entails a collection of stories in relation to the beauty salon. The narratives are collected from various individuals with firsthand experience.
My Hair & The Chair comprises of a more humorous conversational aspect to the stresses of hair. It provides women with the opportunity of expressing their frustrations with how hair salons tend to operate. It gives people the chance to share their story and connect with others that have encountered similar situations. This will in effect, inform readers that bad hair salon experiences is common, while subconsciously bringing awareness to the unnecessary hurdles people tend to jump through to get styled.
While developing the contents of this book, it became known how eager people are to disclose their story. As the idea is presented, memories of frustration and turmoil surface and people want to share their experiences. All of the instant recollections are given detail by detail. People not only feel the need to communicate their encounters, but they are looking for someone to sympathize and relate to what they have endured.
Kellie will also incorporate an introduction expressing how the project was conceived and developed. Included will be her personal stories to emphasize its veracity. It assures readers that the author is qualified to institute this book and that she too have encountered turmoil while trying to get styled. In addition, she can personally relate to the emotions readers and contributors felt during that time.
What people can develop from this book is an insight of what could happen at the salon. By bringing awareness to these possible occurrences, people may begin to either find a new found appreciation for their natural hair, or develop an alternative back-up plan. Either way, it will generate thought, conversation and awareness.
Quincy Jones once said “I've always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying "Ain't that the truth."
His quote has truth to it and that is what readers will get from reading this book. Seeing an experience on paper will always attract interest and with it being humorous, it brings about laughter.
My Hair & The Chair: A Collection of Experiences at the Beauty Salon will touch every reader because of its positive message and hilarious tales.
Various publications may contain similar information or even the same message, but its organization and creativity are all different. I have provided links to a variety of hair books that are currently on the market. This selection represents what is available and clearly confirms the absence of a pleasurable read like My Hair & The Chair.
My Hair & The Chair: A Collection of Experience at the Beauty Salon consists of nine distinct parts. They are divided into parts rather than chapters to supplement the conversational approach intended for this book.
The narratives were chosen according to popularity based on topics discussed during casual conversations. Currently, there is an unknown amount of narratives that will be included in each part as this project is still underway. Nonetheless, to maintain the reader’s interest, narratives touching on the same part will not exceed four. Each narrative will be chosen based on its uniqueness and each narrative will not be the exact same. Example of the narratives that have been collected will be presented under the appropriate part.
Preface
The book opens with a warm introduction to prepare the reader for what’s ahead.
*There is no doubt that all women have manipulated their hair one way or another, whether it’s to lengthen it or change the color. Some women would prefer to do their own hair, but most would rather leave it up to the pros. Just about every Saturday, salons would fill with desperate women anxious to get their hair done....
There is a small Scientific description of hair to emphasize the profound affect it has on its owner. It briefly touches on the affects hair has no its owner.
*…Those tiny micrometer strands that wildly sprouts from the scalp has the profound effect to generate all kinds of emotions. Generally hair is like a blank canvas only displaying what it has been genetically given, but when early adolescence begins, so does expression of originality.”
Lastly, it ends with a transitioning paragraph to smoothly lead the reader to the first part.
*Some women would leave feeling beautiful and ready to take the world by storm, but some leave disappointed and angry. I want to focus on those experiences. So, let’s begin with a woman that trusted a stylist to do her hair, but left highly upset and dissatisfied.
Part 1: Stressing the Pressing
The first part of the book will entail narratives about stylists that have over-pressed a client’s hair resulting in ultra-thin bodiless hair. This part includes four narratives.
…She made my hair super straight. People was like “what is all that smoke?” because she put a shit load of oil in my hair and the pressing comb. She was burning out my hair! I swear by the time I got out of that chair my hair was super thin. My hair was super thin and I was just so upset!
This paradigm represents how the narratives will be presented in each part. Its contents will define each part creatively and will be presented as if it were said during a conversation.
Part 2: Perms Gone Wrong
This section will depict narratives concerning a stylist leaving a perm in a client’s head for too long resulting in burns and scars.
Perms are well known and cherished. They create an ease for styling. But, they can also have some devastating effects to the hair and scalp if the procedure isn’t properly carried out. Narratives in this part will uncover these effects.
Part 3: Edge Free
This part will discuss incidents in which the client’s edges were broken off as a result of a stylist’s careless mistakes. Narratives will also highlight insensitive stylists that just simply don’t care about their client’s tresses.
… Well as the perm was being put in I’m thinking to myself “is it in here too long?” So, I said well you know, am I ready? He’s working on someone else’s head and he goes “well no because I’m looking for the wave pattern in your hair, that how I know if the perm is ready to be washed out.” Anywho...my hair is being washed out I feel some stinging going on and I’m like okay well now my scalp is kind of burnt. My hair is wrapped and at this point it’s taking way too long. I got so upset I just said look I’m gonna pay and then I’m out of here because this is ridiculous. After that I went over my friend’s house. I took the wraps off and all of my edges were missing! It was like I had a receding hair line in a 360 degree circle. I was furious! Just really furious!
Many of the narratives will be similar to this paradigm. Still, each narrative will contain some differences that makes each different from one another.
Part 4: Overbooking
This part will feature narratives about what happens when the stylist don’t schedule accordingly. At times stylists will overbook to avoid losing out on money and they aren’t keeping track of their schedule. There are times when a stylist is so overwhelmed that they forget about other clients. This causes clients to wait an extensive amount of time which creates negative impressions, angry clients and may result in a reduction of clientale.
I waited and waited and waited and what happened was, I had to ask when was my time coming up because I had already been there like 40 minutes and no one even recognized me or asked me any questions or who am I, who I’m coming to see or anything. So I had to go to the receptionist desk and introduce myself as a person that was there waiting to get my hair done…then they decided to wash my hair… my turn didn’t come for another hour and I’m just sitting there with my hair wet and I didn’t want to leave. So of course I was fuming by that time… Finally it became my turn. They did my hair, it was okay… I was really upset just totally fuming, burning anger… When I looked at my watch I had been there 6 hours!
Some of the narratives in this section may touch on subjects related to other parts, however its content will emphasize the amount of time it took to get styled.
Part 5: Late Arrivals
This part will contain narratives concerning hypocritical stylists that refuses to style late clients, but they themselves arrive late without prior notification or the courtesy of apologizing.
This topic is very unique because it doesn’t occur as often as the others. However, it has happened to some clients and their story is worth telling.
Part 6: Gone Cut Wild
This part will entail narratives when a client’s hair is cut shorter than what they requested. This happens to be the most popular mishap. Stylists often misjudge how much of the hair they have clipped resulting in very upset clients. This incident has caused great devastation to clients that results in emotional breakdowns while still in the shop. This part will not disclose such narratives in that this book is intended to be produce laughter and entertainment. With that, narratives chosen for this section will disclose experiences that everyone, including the contributor, can laugh at.
Part 7: Lunch Break
This section will reveal the moments when a client unexpectedly has to wait while the stylist takes a lunch break. This incident occurs when stylist don’t incorporate a break into their schedule. While it is true that stylists also need to eat and deserves to take a break, it is also true that client’s should not suffer because of their stylist's scheduling.
Narratives in this section will disclose incidents in which they have already arrived and were waiting only to find their stylist go on break. Other incidents include punctual clients that have arrived to the salon according to their scheduled time, only to find their stylist absent, which forces them to wait for an unknown amount of time.
Part 8: Doing My Own Thing
This part will consist of narratives in which a stylist disregards their client’s request and do the client’s hair according what they prefer.
…she finally gave me a mirror, and she was like “um you know girl I made it straight because that’s how I like my hair. You know, I have a hard time trying to get my hair straight so you know, you like it? I made it super straight because that’s how I like my hair.” You cannot do other people’s hair the way you do your hair; you know what I’m saying? If that’s not what the person asked for then don’t do it! Don’t do it like that.
These occurrences are also very rare because often, clients will request a hair style. However, this incident has happened to a few individuals. On the other hand, there are some cases in which a client is satisfied. Nonetheless, contributors will express how strange and unprofessional this happening is, and even how discourteous it is for a stylist to disregard a client’s request and do their own thing.
Narratives in this section will illustrate encounters that have generated dislike and those that have generated satisfaction.
Part 9: Color Me Bald
This section will entail narratives of stylists recklessly over-coloring a client’s hair which results to hair loss. Dying hair seems like an easy thing to do. However, it requires careful maintenance and skill. If this procedure isn’t carried out properly it can result in hair loss and even an unexpected color.
Narratives in this section will cover occurrences in which, dye was left in a client’s hair too long resulting in uncontrollable shedding and baldness.