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HAIR AFFAIRS
BY BECKY BRIGGS
America is a large and diverse country that consists of a mixture of people and cultures, while the people in the United States are quite diverse, so are the places that they choose to get their hair cut, styled and/or washed. When traveling across the U.S., one may encounter various hair shops.
Most hair institutions would surely fall under one of the following three generalized categories: a southern, Small town beauty shop, an ole' time barber shop, or a big city fru-fru salon. Whatever the category may be each has its own little eccentricities.
A ritual for many blue collar women in the South is having their hair done on Saturday morning in the small town beauty shop. "Darlene's Hair" was the most popular shop in Corinth, Mississippi. Women who care about their hair would go see Darlene. She knew her stutt! As one of her regulars, Mary Jo Patch, strolled in. Darlene smiled to show her capped teeth. "Hey honey," she said with a twang. "Come let me fix you up." She took a dcag off her cigarette and began to work. Because her shop was attached to her house, one could hear her screaming kids in the background. Don't mind them," she exclaimed. But sometimes it was difficult to block the bickering out. As she began to roll Mary Jo's hair, perm solution permeated the air. The obnoxious but familiar smell triggered a sense of security for Mary Jo. When the whole head was completely doused with solution, Darlene walked Mary Jo over to the turquoise colored hair dryers. Here she handed Mary Jo "Women's World" magazine to look at. Darlene then walked over to the mirror and applied her frosted pink lipstick thickly on her lips. It matched her mauve outfit almost perfectly. The timer went off and the infamous "poodle perm" was in effect. It was a sight for sore eyes. Only the finishing touches were left before the job would be complete. The trusty Auqua Net and Dippity Do were used to sculpt the hair. It was just how Mary Jo liked it. She walked out of the shop leaving Darlene and the screaming kids. She felt like a real women.
As southern women have their Saturday rituals at the beauty shop, many men also enjoy their times at local barber shop. It is a time for these men to get away from work and their wives! It is a time when they can be boys again while they tease each other. An example of one of these barber shops might be "Bubba's in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Homer walked through the door of his very masculine shop and inhaled the smell of "cowboy juice". Cowboy juice is the cheap hair tonic that Bubba splashed on every man's neck after giving then the basic buzz cut. It was a smell that lingered for days. Honet sat in the chair in the extremely small room and adjusted his overalls in order to be more comfortable. Today he would get his hair buzzed and his nose hair clipped for the price of five dollars! Included in the visit was a complimentary cup of coffee from Bubba. Talk of race cars, fishing trips and occasional dirty jokes filled the room as Homer's hair was being buzzed off. The room seemed very 1950's with all the flat tops and outdated equipment. It made tlomer feel quite nostalgie. After Bubba brushed the hair shavings ott Homer's shoulders, he carefully dabbed rose water on his neck. ile preferred rose water over the "cowboy Juice. Though he didn't ever wear "cowboy juice", he sure felt like one when leaving Bubba's.

On the other side of the spectrum, there is something a slight bit different from one's typical small time beauty shop or ole' time barber shop. This is the fantastic frufru hair salon in New York City. Here, one is pampered with luxurious treatment. At the previous other two shop, the treatment one received was more basie. "What's wrong with being a little decadent?" Victorial Ellen wondered as she entered the hair palace. Here Alexander greeted her with chocolate truffles and herbal tea. New age space music played softly in the background adding tranquility to the atmosphere. To make things even more relaxing for Victoria, Alexander began to give her a back massage. "You must have done a lot of shopping today." After giving victoria a body rub, he washed her hair with an all natural peppermint shampoo that tingled the scalp. It was an intoxicating experience! Victoria closed her tired eyes to shade them from the bright track lighting above, and she fell asleep. She was later .awakened by Alexander as he peeled a cucumber mask oft her face. After she had been butted, scrubbed, and softened from head to toe, Victoria left Alexander with a dramatic kiss and a big fat tip. Alexander did a flamboyant trot across the studio-like salon and waited to greet the next customers.
Whethet a person prefers an extravagant visit to a new age salon or a visit to "Bubba the Barber, each person will come out feeling refreshed and somewhat gorgeous. Everyone likes to treat himself or herself whatever the extent of pampering may be.