Today the littlest member of the household reached an important milestone: her first hair cut! That’s right: Sula, born with a full head of hair that has been growing strong ever since, had never had her hair cut in all of her three and a half years. The time had come; the ends were brittle and unhealthy-looking. And honestly, my own hair wasn’t looking so great either. So I made appointments for the two of us at a Ouidad salon, where I had my first successful haircut in years last October. We headed out the door at 7:30 a.m. in order to make it on time to our 9 a.m. appointment, trading a day of preschool for a special girls’ day out.
Now, it’s important to note that there is no way in hell I’d let just anyone with a pair of scissors and a cosmetology certificate touch a strand of Sula’s precious ringlets. Back in the 80s, a curly-haired woman by the name of Ouidad opened the first salon in the country devoted to curly-haired customers. Now, Ouidad is a network of salons, a line of products, and a unique method of cutting and styling hair. You can read more about it here. You might not know this about me, but I actually have curly hair. I used to have really curly hair, and had great success following a simple routine of using cheap conditioner and gel and air-drying to bring out the best in my hair. But after giving birth to Bo it changed dramatically, into a stringy, frizzy mess that I didn’t know what to do with. I subsequently had a series of disastrous haircuts that left me sobbing in the privacy of my car in various salon parking lots around the state, along with stylists who tried to convince me that it’s no big deal to wash, blow dry, straighten, and use a curling iron (!!) every day to look presentable. Finally, about six months ago, I got sick and tired of looking like crap and/or straightening my hair every day. I started researching curly hair salons and came across Ouidad. I read every review of all the Ouidad-certified salons within a hundred mile radius (there aren’t that many, unfortunately) and settled on a decidedly unpretentious salon whose loyal clients who drive across state lines to get their hair done by the decidedly unpretentious salon owner, Maria, with whom I made an appointment.
The Ouidad salon experience is so unlike any other. The stylists working there actually have curly hair. The clients come in with curly hair and leave with curly hair, too. They cut your hair in a way that works well both straightened or left curly, and teach you how to style it at home to achieve the same results. Maria is a no-nonsense, middle-aged Portuguese woman who- unlike many, many stylists I’ve encountered- will tell you straight-up that you don’t need to get your hair cut every six to eight weeks. The cuts are expensive (as are the products, but I find that I have just as much success using cheaper products with the Ouidad styling method) but if you aren’t stripping your hair with sulfates and frying it with a blow dryer every day, you only need two or three per year; Maria fully expects Sula’s to last over a year. Bottom line: these people know what they are doing. If you or your child have curly hair, get thee to a Ouidad salon, pronto. They work with every type of curl from loose waves to tight kinky curls. I promise that it’s worth the investment.
Okay, enough with the Ouidad promotion. I just had to put that out there for those seeking help for their or their child’s curly hair. On to the fun part: pictures!
Too short for the sink even with the booster!
Sula took the whole thing very, very seriously
Sitting patiently under the dryer while Mom got her hair done in the other room
Leaving with a bag of free goodies from Maria
Closeup of the results
