Coupe de cheveux

I went seeking for an adventure this afternoon. I looked for – and found – a place to get a haircut. Now, there are hair salons every other block or so. But most of them have been in the 40€ or more range and I didn’t want to pay more than about 30€. So we set out to explore some of the streets in our section of the 15th and see if I could find one reasonably priced. Actually, when walking home from the Isle of Swans the other day, I thought I saw one for about 22€, but when I checked this morning, it was for men. It is quite nice that most of the salons have their prices posted, either in large letters across the window or on a smaller sign near the door, but either way it makes comparison shopping a cinch. I finally located one that advertised 32€ for a shampoo, cut and style. I was standing across the street from the salon with Roger, who accompanied me on part of this quest, and we were trying to decide if anyone was in the salon (it was about 2:00 – still early from the lunch break), when a motorcycle pulled up, parked in front of the salon, and the gentleman on the cycle dismounted, approached the salon, then bent down to unlock the glass door and entered. A moment or two later Roger and I followed him in and I asked for a coupe de cheveux (in French, one asks for a cut of the hairs, not of the hair). He asked if I wanted an appointment or did I want it done now. I elected the latter and he led me to a shampoo bowl while Roger went on his way home. The shampoo bowl was higher than those I have encountered in the U.S., and I was in much more of an upright position with my head tilted back somewhat, but not in the semi-reclining position to which I am accustomed. He only lathered my hair once rather than the twice I expected, and he used no conditioner, gel or any other product on my hair until the very end. I told him I wanted 4-5 centimeters cut off, and he nodded and went to work. At one point he asked me if I usually pulled the front to the left or to the right, and I indicated straight back. After the cut, he partially blew my hairs dry, then used a round blow-dry brush to complete the effect. The shop differed greatly from those of my experience in the U.S. in that the countertops were almost completely bare. I could see no curling iron, and there was no assortment of gels, sprays, crèmes, and various and other sundries cluttering the counter. After he dried the hairs, he finger-combed them then picked out the front a bit. This is where he needed spray, and he went to the far end of the counter (past two other unused styling chairs) to get the spray, which was in the very corner. It was a spritz, and he spritzed about 8-10 sections and was happy with them. When he was through, he asked me if it was good, and I replied “c’est bon.” He held up a mirror for me to view the back, and it looked quite nice. I gave him two 20s for the job, told him to keep the coin change and left with a 5€ bill. Not too bad, and the haircut is quite sufficient – shorter in the back than I really wanted – I think he took of more like 5-6 centimeters – but it will grow out. It is not Paris Chic, but neither am I, and that is not what I was looking for.