A Story about Facial Hair (09.23.2010)

Today was a first. My first encounter with eyebrow threading. After only a little physical discomfort, my previously overgrown eyebrows are much more...managed. I like managed. And my skin was not red and puffy afterward like it gets with waxing. I do not like red and puffy. So, the end result is a definite A. However, the overall experience falls into the Needs Improvement category...

First off, I must tell you that I went into the salon pretty much straight from the shower. I ran a brush and my fingers through the wet strands, and then ran out the door. Second, I should tell you that I have not cut my hair since late March because I am trying to grow it out. It needs a trim. Bad. Plus, recent pregnancy/nursing hormones have ruined changed the texture of my hair so that if it is not blown dry, it is not a pretty sight. Seriously. Not pretty. Anyway...  You should also know that it has been more than 3 years since I have waxed my eyebrows. I have plucked them in that time, but not very often, and not very well.

Ok, so knowing all of this about myself, I was slightly self-conscious going into have my eyebrows done at this new place. It has been my experience that people who work in salons tend to think that every woman on the planet pays someone to manage her facial hair on a regular basis. (I don't think that is actually the case, but I don't know...I very well could be the only one who does not.) So, of course, the salon guy who did my eyebrows today was one of those. Not only did he have that attitude, but he also had this thick European accent to go with it, which multiplied the level of snooty by like a thousand. I only went in for my brows, but I was scolded for the condition of my hair, which, I will admit, is not great. BUT, the face he made as he pulled at it was not really necessary. It said, "Your hair disgusts me." And I believed it. So, when it was time to take a look at my eyebrows, he basically said they looked horrible and that it is going to take a lot of time and work to get them to look normal. I didn't think they were that bad. Oh, but here's the kicker! As I was paying for the service (at the front counter), he says to me, "We really need to clean up your upper lip too."  Um...thanks? I covered my apparently very hairy lip with my hand and said, "Well, that's embarrassing." And it was.

OK. So...I know I have hair on my upper lip, but it's not like it is a mustache or something. Don't most people have hair on their faces? Aren't we mammals? When he said that, I thought, Did he really just say that out loud? He did. And of course the girl at the front desk looked as if she has never had one single hair on her entire face ever in her whole life. And she just gave me this look that was a mix of pity and disgust, as if I had a disease or something. It was just weird. And a little offensive.

Needless to say, my brows do look MUCH better, and the process really wasn't very physically painful. Tonight, I watched a video on YouTube about how to thread my eyebrows myself, so I might try it next time rather than subjecting myself and my facial hair to that sort of mockery. I will let you know how it goes.