It’s almost mermaid hair

I don’t have a therapist. I probably should. Lord knows I’ve got enough issues to keep one in the green for years, but I like to audition my therapists to see if they’re qualified to handle my level of weird, and I have yet to find one that is. What I do have though, is something far better than a therapist. I have a Hairapist, and she’s amazing.

I call her my hair boss, because she’s literally the boss of my hair. One time I told her I thought I might want bangs and she said “Mmm….I don’t think so.” That was all there was to it. She was right anyway. I’d have liked the bangs for about a week tops. I’m happy to turn over decisions like this to my hair boss. Really, I am. I have to make every other decision in my life by myself, so this sort of professional help is really where it’s at. She’s really so much more than my hair boss though.

Good hair is cheaper and far more effective and enjoyable than therapy. My hair boss is so much more than just the girl who does my hair; she truly is my therapist. She knows when my kid is being an ass. She knows when he’s done something outstanding. She’s my cheerleader when I’m doing something cool. She’s my front porch sitting, late night talking, let’s hang out on a bad day friend. When her kids see me on tv, they make sure to pause the live feed so they can take a picture of their “famous friend” and that’s how I find out that pictures from a Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event I attended are still being used in a PSA. She knows how insane my naturally curly hair is when it’s left to its own devices, and she definitely doesn’t judge me when she knows how long it’s been since I washed it last. Simply put, she’s amazing.

My hair boss is also one of the most generous people I know. She started a charity 5k on Thanksgiving day because she was going to go for a run anyway, so it may as well be a charity event to help someone out. She’s grown that in to the best way to spend a Thanksgiving morning ever. I mean, who needs shopping or sleeping in when you can get together with friends and help someone out. By the way, it’s not a freaking turkey trot either; it’s The Gobbler Thanksgiving 5k, and if you’re local, you should join us.

My hair boss and I decided a few years back that life was too short for boring hair. Since then, we’ve dyed it completely fire engine red with purple streaks, there was a purple, blue, and green phase, multiple rounds of either purple or blue, and now we’ve stuck with blackberry and a gorgeous teal color courtesy of  Pravana and Joico professional hair products. It’s a good thing we love it, because my hair loves it so much that bleaching it out doesn’t do much anymore anyway. It’s mermaid hair, and I love it. We’ve also somehow, without even trying, managed to grow it longer than it’s been in 20 years. Really, my hair is mermaid colored, almost mermaid length, my thighs touch, and I’m a Pisces; it’s almost as mermaid as it gets, and mermaids are cool.

Today I had an appointment with my Hairapist. We got to laugh, chat, and make my mermaid hair nice and fresh again without those horrible grey pieces that we affectionately call tinsel. In the middle of a rather exhausting rough patch, Hairapy was indeed exactly what I needed. Therapy is effective, but a good hairapist can help you be beautiful inside AND on the outside where it matters first. Life isn’t perfect, but with the right person in charge of it, your hair can be, and that makes life so much better.