my PG-13 salon

I don't afford myself the pleasure of getting my hair done as often as I'd like (or should) because it's hard for me to justify paying that much money for something usually categorized as vanity.
Though I have come to realize vanity is not the only factor involved; my sanity holds some weight in the reasoning as well.
Funny how they rhyme.

My sanity is based on numerous factors but feeling confident about my outward appearance plays its rightful role. (If you're a guy reading this then don't feel like you have to understand that part.) When I have good hair and face days (another thing guys have no clue about) I find myself more outgoing, more social, nicer to my husband, and more positive about life itself. And right after a good hair cut I'm usually loving the whole world and wanting to buy it a Coke.

I like to say, behind every good hair cut is a good hair cutter, and about 4 years ago I found myself sitting in the retro green vintage swivel chair of exactly one of those. I learned of the famed Clara through a friend and after a few conversations realized her client base was mostly my friends of friends of more friends and then some. So I had not uncovered a secret but only discovered I was the last to know and wondered why no one had told me sooner. Like before my wedding day would have been helpful.

It's not an easy task to find someone who “knows your hair.” I've been to many a hair stylist, celebrity photo in hand, describing every detail of what I want, only to walk out thinking they should be paying me to look like this! Not the case with Clara. She knows what I want better than I do and there have been appointments where we barely talk about my hair, she just reads my mind as she combs through my stringy tresses. Amazing.

I love going to my hair appointments. I pay more than I would somewhere else, it usually takes all of 3 hours for cut and color, and I can never expect to book an appointment any sooner than a month and a half out. But it's all worth it for the entertainment.
An appointment with Clara is always an event to be experienced. And it never happens on purpose. I used to think it was a funny coincidence how interesting things and people always happened on the day of my appointments, but that's just how days are at Clara's salon.
Clara is that person whose opinion you always want to hear on something 'cause you know it will be honest, twisted or outright blunt. She says things everyone else is thinking but not gutsy enough to say. She also says those things no one else is thinking, which contributes to the unique experience.

It's a salon so everyone and their mother is talked about, and for some reason you kinda wish you could hear what she'd say about you 'cause you know it's probably true and hilarious. You hear more gory details about her life than you probably need to, but she listens to (and actually remembers!) your crazy life so it makes for good conversation. Her sporadic crass humor can be alarming at first but if you can get past an occasional F-bomb she really grows on you and you forget you're not in the audience of a stand-up comedienne.

A lot of the conversations and stories shared at Clara's cannot be repeated on this blog – partly because I don't want Blogger to flag me, but mainly because there's no way to tell a story like Clara tells it. She is one of a kind and has me LOLing sometimes to tears.

She often threatens to move away but I think she is aware of the great responsibility she has in helping to keep our city beautiful. And I don't think her talent could be used to its extent and appreciated as much elsewhere. I know I alone would suffer with an untamed, mis-colored afro and possible mullet which we simply cannot have lurking around, scaring innocent children. So I do what I can to support her and remind her of what a wonderful city this is.

I love watching Clara be herself and do what she loves, even on bad days (which could possibly be rated R for strong language.) She makes hair-cut days fun and interesting as well as educational at times. She genuinely cares about her hair people and the way we look and that's why we keep going back to her.
That and all her original stories.