Tuesday, September 18, 2012

an italian job

I got a haircut today.

I have a hate-love-hate relationship with my hair. I hate when it decides that it is large and in charge, won't stay flat, kinks and curls funny, or sticks up in the back. I love when it holds its curl or a blowout and doesn't get greasy for three days. I hate that it takes Olympian strength to get my hair to curl or to blow it out.

every girl struggles to find the best cut for her hair type and face shape, and it's 10 times harder when you can't just air dry and go. I have a hard time explaining my hair needs to stylists back home; imagine my trepidation when, upon arriving in Italy, I realized my hair was about halfway down my back. I would have to somehow get a hair cut in a foreign country.

I did a little research and was choosing between Aveda (familiar to anybody who has ever been to a shopping mall in the US) and Elleffe (pronounced ell-effeh), a hair salon in Trastevere. although the idea of a familiar salon was comforting, it was a bit too far away to walk and I felt like enjoying the nice weather, so I decided to go with Elleffe.

I had the address written down, but I got to the street and realized none of the storefronts had names. spotting a salon chair and a window decal of hair styling tools, I crossed my fingers and walked in. I managed to get out a "ciao" before the receptionist realized I spoke zero Italian and came to my rescue. while I described in English what I wanted, the receptionist translated to the stylist. the bigger problem came when the receptionist walked back to her seat at the desk and I was left alone with the very chatty stylist who had a lot of questions about my hair, but I gestured a lot with my hands and it somehow all made sense to Maria Teresa, who was a saint.

I thought stylists in the US were talkative, but it's nothing compared to Italian stylists! not only did she want to know about my hair, Maria Teresa wanted to know about school, places I've visited, family, everything. to my surprise, I walked out of the salon an hour later to find that we'd actually had a conversation! I learned a lot about her too. maybe Italian 101 is working?

in any case, an hour later I had a fantastic haircut and a promise to keep to Maria Teresa, who insisted I come back for my next cut. Elleffe is a little on the pricey side, I paid 56 Euro (about $70) for a shampoo and cut,  but they took a lot of care with my hair and spoke English!! it's nice to tip anywhere from 1E to 5E depending on how much you loved the cut and the niceness of the salon, but in Italy nobody is offended if you don't tip at all.

so I highly recommend Elleffe! I hear they do a reasonably priced mani and pedi, too. maybe I'll go back sooner than I thought, my feet ARE looking a little jank...

if you're curious, here's my new hair.

that's like three inches off!

No comments:

Post a Comment