What Hairdressers and Writers Need
Yesterday, I went to a hair salon for the first time in about 400 million years.
That's a lie. It's been about four months at most.
Although I actually want to go for a haircut once a month.
Thinking about the cost, or that it's a hassle to find the time, or that the stylist who usually cuts my hair is on maternity leave.
While I was listing reasons not to go, four months had passed. It really shows my lazy personality.
That said, I have a natural tendency to go gray, and it is a fact that I want to dye my gray hair once a month. I've been getting by with store-bought gray hair dye for these past four months, but finally, the underside of my hair when I sweep it back has become completely white.
This lazybones finally gave in and decided to go to my usual salon without requesting a specific stylist.
The stylist I met for the first time had started working at that salon this May. Apparently, she was at a different salon in the same prefecture before. She introduced herself by saying she performs over 100 treatments a year.
By the time you're 35, most stylists are younger than you. She didn't look like a fresh graduate, but she looked quite young. She had her light brown hair, which was close to blonde and curled into vertical ringlets, tied up in a half-up style. Her curled hair swayed with every movement as she worked. Her apron, stained with dye, looked incredibly cool.
After consulting with me about my hair, the stylist began dyeing my gray hair with practiced hands. While she was cutting my hair, I suddenly thought of this and said:
"If you do 100 treatments a year, assuming one day off a week, that means you handle about four people every day, right?"
"Well, I suppose so. It depends on the busy season and the day, though."
"If you talk to that many different people, don't you forget who said what?"
She thought for a moment and said,
"I don't really forget! I usually remember when I see the customer's face! Oh, but sometimes I do start by confirming things like, 'It was like this, right?'"
The stylist said that and laughed.
I think that's true. Even in interviews, just because I conducted them on the same day, it's impossible to mix up the content of the conversations with different people. Still, since she does four sets of that every day, hairdressers are truly amazing.
"It's fun to talk to people when you do this job. I get to hear about professions I would never know about otherwise."
"Oh, like what?"
I couldn't help but dig deeper due to my occupational habit.
"Like school teachers. The behind-the-scenes of class assignments or stories about preparing for school trips. I've only ever experienced it from the student's side, so it's fun to hear those kinds of stories!"
She said that and performed the treatment with a smile the whole time. She put plastic wrap over my head and left the seat, saying, "I'll leave this on for a while."
The stylist who usually takes care of me, who is currently on maternity leave, also said right before she went on leave:
"I love listening to people, so I love this job! I want to come back as soon as possible!"
Hairdressing certainly requires skills in cutting and dyeing hair. However, it might be a profession that you can't continue unless you have the quality of "loving to listen to people" just as much.
This is probably just as important a quality for a writer. If you can't take an interest in other people's stories, you surely can't conduct good interviews. I felt a sense of kinship with her.
Next time, I'll try telling her that I'm a writer. Perhaps I might be able to tell her some "stories about professions she would never know about."
This is also recommended.