How do you rate your beauty shop experience? What is it that draws you to go there? Is it the personal attention? The peace and quiet? The “new look”?

As with almost every event in Mexico, this one differs from what I, at least, have experienced in the States. In general, I am not that fond of going to a beauty shop and have it categorized as a once every 6 month “necessity”. My family story (it may be a myth) is that my grandmother first gave me a permanent when I was only 9 months old. And ever since then I have made the trek to a beauty shop with some reluctance. I do, however, like the anticipation of a good scalp scrub and massage, and an extended period of peaceful time in which I can let my mind wander and savor a period of uninterrupted thoughts.

Going to the beauty shop in Mexico is not a relaxing experience nor a pleasant process, rather it is an ordeal. Imagine this scene: a crowded space with both a TV and a radio blaring at the same time, beauty chairs that have seen better days when the stuffing was not coming out and when the springs were not sprung, traffic noise so loud that you cannot hear the beauty operator as she talks to you. This is probably not the way it is in all the shops in Mexico but it is certainly characteristic of the shops I have been in in Oaxaca, Jalapa and Mexico City. Some of these shops were run out of the owner’s home and I had no real expectations of comfort but others were owned and operated by stylists who had traveled the world and who had received advanced training in Europe! The Mexican tolerance for noise is indescribable.

Being uncomfortable does not stop here. Next you are gowned and deposited at the wash sink if, indeed, a hair washing is included. Incredibly many times I was to be given a permanent without shampooing my hair, a practice that, with conditioner previously applied, is a sure fire way to end up without any curl. I have learned to ask for a shampoo. Of course, that usually means a shampoo in cold water. Water is a real issue in Mexico these days...or the lack of it or the heating of it. Cold or tepid water is used instead of warming it by lighting the gas water heater. I have learned to tolerate this although my usual preference is for fairly hot water! In many places the city water is not delivered into the houses continuously. In Oaxaca, for example, I could expect city water to come into the house only every second or third day. Most homes have holding tanks to store the water for use when there is none. Also, the water in Oaxaca comes out of the pipes totally brown with mud. So, due to the lack of water, a shampoo becomes a luxury. It is amazing to me how little water is really necessary for an adequate shampoo. One or two scoopfuls is all that is doled out. And the doling out is often done with a small plastic bucket dipped directly into the garbage can where the water is stored. Primitive but functional. Only once have I experienced a relaxing, full head massage as my hair was being washed!

Now to the permanent. I am usually conscripted to help with handing out the papers to wrap around the hair ends. By the way, the paper is crinkled since it used over and over until it finally disintegrates. The permanent has the same awful smell that it has everywhere. A new twist to applying the lotion was demonstrated the other day. It was applied with a spray bottle. The official reason being that it penetrates the hair more quickly although I suspect the real reason is that a little goes further. Spraying it on, however, almost asphyxiates the client. I had to hold a towel over my face the whole time trying very hard to not breathe at all! This lasted about 5 minutes.
As I waited a popular Telenovela (soap opera) came on the TV and all work stopped while both clients and beauticians alike stopped to watch what was, for them, the most real moment of the day. During all this, children were running around unsupervised. This is school vacation time which means that children accompany their parents to their workplace since there are few other options (the extended family in Mexico now has most members working).
Actually I chuckled to myself as I sat in the midst of this barely controlled chaos. This was life. This is how it is lived, not only in Mexico, but in many parts of the world. I realized that my desire for peace and quiet was being interrupted by life and that made it all worthwhile.