In search of the perfect haircut...

7/15/08

The title is kind of an oxymoron for me. If you known me for the past some odd years, you know that I've probably grown my hair out once. Usually I get my head shaved with a "half" or "numma won" guard, all around my scalp. Not a hard job for my "stylist". Hell, I could even do it myself, as I have clippers of my own. I just don't want to deal with the mess. I just love getting that shampoo/scalp massage after the cut. Especially in Las Vegas, I like having my scalp damp, to cool off a bit from this heat.

Anyway, I've been house/dog sitting at my cousin's house just south of the Strip. It's kind of in the boondocks. It's not like back home in San Jose, where asian salons are at each nook, cranny and corner of the city. $10.00 fades with $2.00 shampoo are the norm in the Bay. I usually went to Michelle at Hair Today on Cropley and Capitol, the northside of SJ. She would usually waive the shampoo "fee", because I would hook her up with a good tip. I miss those shampoos, a good sitting with a scalp massage was always a cure for a hard day at work. I always felt "faklempt" after my haircut/shampoo from Michelle. I'm gonna pause and tear for a while, sorry.....

Back to the task at hand...Well, I ventured into Chinatown (Las Vegas' version), off of Spring Mountain Road and Decatur. I'm driving through - dang where is an asian hair salon here? Dim sum, massage parlors, Big Lots - where the hell is one? I see one at the Big Lots shopping center area. I park and walk in - no menu selection for haircuts for men. Hmmm, should I go, if it's not posted? The owner, Sharon greets me and asks me for what I want. I ask her how much a haircut and shampoo is. She tells me $15.00 total. Kinda' high I think. Well, I'm here, I'll just test it out I guess. She wants to shampoo me first, I tell her that I want shampoo after the haircut. She says no and says it's better to shampoo first, so that my hair is clean. She will rinse my scalp after the haircut, so that it will be fully clean. I was about to walk out, but decided that it's worth a try - I don't want to search for another hair salon all day. We then go to the shampoo chair, where I put a towel around my neck and sit down. She then rinses my hair for 10 seconds, dollops a squirt of shampoo on my head, then mixes it into my hair for approximately 7 seconds, rinses it off, then we are done. This is not going well for me. She then takes me back to her station to start the haircut. I asked her to give me "half guard" shave around my scalp. She sort of protests and says that it's better to do "half guard at the bottom, and one guard at the top of my head" - I don't want to look like a mushroom. I told her just to use half guard all the way around my scalp, easy right? She completes the haircut and rinses my
head for 10 seconds and we are done. I pay her $17.00 bucks total and I leave.

I miss Michelle. That's the last time I will go there. I'm going to have to find Indy and go out on a mission to find the Lost Ark of the Haircut/Shampoo/Scalp Massage Covenant. Hopefully I don't turn up any dust...