El Andalous - Haircut

 

The Haircut

I’d been deliberating for a while about getting my hair cut. It’s a trip into Hurghada, which always feels like a huge effort. On top of that, I have to decide what I want done with it. It’s easier to have it short for swimming, so I was thinking of a new short style or perhaps returning to how it was for my passport photo.

Another thing holding me back was my eczema, which I still have at the side of my head. It just won’t go away. I keep on thinking I’ll wait for it to go before having my hair done, but that day never arrives.

And there was yet another problem. I’d done something to my shoulder. I’m not sure what, but it hurt. Maybe I slept on it wrong? I was still able to swim (so I didn’t think it was the swimming), but I couldn’t lean my head back. And you need to lean your head back if you want your hair washed at the hairdressers. However, looking online, it seemed that it would take around six weeks for an aching shoulder to recover. And I only think about getting my hair done when it’s already pretty desperate. I wasn’t sure I could wait six weeks.

In the mean time, a hairdresser opened up in El Andalous! That was one hurdle out of the way (the trip to Hurghada). Stephen told me he’d been and recommended it. But he’s a guy. Women’s hairdressing is something else. I’d heard some people saying it was a European hairdresser and she was very good. The prices were also reasonable – the same as in Hurghada and not inflated due to being in Sahl Hasheesh. In a moment of enthusiasm, I asked for an appointment the next day.

The man serving spoke good English (he turned out to be the owner) and I explained to him what I wanted. He then explained it to an Egyptian lady (the hairdresser) in Arabic. This wasn’t the European lady I was expecting, but never mind.

She took me to the mirror and I showed her my passport photograph. She started cutting. I asked her if wanted to wash my hair first as it’s easier to cut hair when it’s wet (so I believe). The man translated and she showed me her water spray and indicated everything was fine. Okay. Maybe they’d decided not to wash it after I’d explained that I couldn’t rest my neck back. If I’d have thought about it, I’d have washed it under the shower before coming in.

Many hairdressers are scared to cut hair too short. Not this lady. Snip, snip, snip. I’m usually told it gets shorter after it’s dry, but this was already shorter than I wanted. However, the man had exited and the woman didn’t speak any English. I was scared that if I said anything, she’d just make it shorter. But my fringe needed correcting. I pointed to it with a heavy heart and explained that I wanted it feathered, thinner. No way was she going to understand that. I was right. She translated it as me wanting my hair yet shorter, so she grabbed a whole chunk of it and lobbed off a good further inch. I tried not to scream when I said “No!” but I fear my voice was a little high pitched.

I repeated again, pointing to the fringe (as I had done before). Somehow, this time she understood, gave a big smile, and showed me the right implement. Phew. It thinned out nicely, just as I wanted. I felt it was a little slanted to one side, but I wasn’t going to ask her to correct it in case I ended up with no fringe at all.

I thought we must be finished, but then she decided to wash my hair. Bizarre. I had to lean forward over the basin, so it was a bit awkward, but that wasn’t her fault. Then back to the mirror. She dried it and then trimmed some more. She didn’t appear to check that both sides were the same length (which hairdressers usually make a point of doing). As it was, one side was slanted and the other side was straight. But asking for corrections was too risky.

Anyway, finally I could leave. The man came back in and enthused about how great it looked. “Wow!” he said. I hate that self-conscious feeling after having my hair done. Being British, I smiled politely and nodded. It was too short, but it wasn’t horrendous, and it would grow back. And the lady was very nice. I even gave her a tip.

Reactions to my hair have been mixed. Some people love it, others really don’t. It’s probably better than I’m making it sound here. I will try going there again as it’s handy and I believe the European hairdresser comes in twice a week, so it’s probably a matter of making the appointment with the right person. Live and learn.