Being a Hair Model

About a year ago I signed up to be a hair model for a local salon only they had too many people and I didn’t get called, much to my disappointment. Last week the same place, Goldwaves in Fort Worth, TX ran another ad in the Fort Worth Weekly asking for hair models again so I quickly called.

Much to my excitement, since my hair hasn’t been cut in several months and needed it badly, I got called the same day to come back in a few days and get a free haircut as a hair model.

I’ve been to various salons through the years and even used to go to the local beauty school and get the $8.50 haircut from students which were actually pretty good.

But the Goldwaves experience was something else.

These people are serious, and I mean serious about hair cuts. I heard words I never heard before like “A line” and “shark fin,” directed to the student who cut my hair overseen by Lindsay, a salon stylist who is as enthusiastic about hair as she is knowledgeable.

When I walk in I’m asked if I want something to drink and as I wait Boston, the student, watches a video on how to cut hair with a razor.

I know ahead of time this will be how my hair will be cut and I know that at least two inches will be taken off my shoulder-length hair and my bangs will be trimmed, which is fine by me because my bangs have gotten way too long again.

I have always kept my hair as shoulder-length as possible because on the few occasions I got talked into having short hair it was a big mistake.

Already I know this salon is different than all the others I’ve visited in the past and I feel lucky, like a celebrity being attended to by two stylists at once, one learning, one teaching.

Boston is open and friendly and she cuts with care and precision, taking direction from Lindsay and commenting more than once about how thick my hair is.

“Hope that won’t be a pain for you,” I say, apologetically and she assures me it’s not.

Lindsay stays with Boston through the whole two-hour procedure which I liken to hair surgery, gently guiding her through each section as she pins and clips various strands out of the way to concentrate on her razor-precision skills. In the beginning since I can’t feel the razor hardly I think that hair is being cut and it is only when Lindsay tells me they’re just “mapping” the area that I realize the cut has yet to begin.

In the end I love my cut and I understand why a haircut can take two hours with the finesse of these two who, I observe, view hair in a whole different realm – something to be studied and perfected instead of just chopped up and swept away.

Fort Worth Weekly named Goldwaves Best Salon of 2005.

And in two weeks I get to come back for free color with these hair architects.