The Mane Tamer

I scheduled an appointment with an actual salon as part of my 30th Birthday celebration.  I wanted my hair to be styled, not just cut, as a way to mark a new chapter in my life.  I've pretty much always had the same hair just at different lengths.  But I wash it, put in the anti-frizz gel, and let it dry however it wants.  This results in a natural part on the left side of my head and a general triangular shape to the hair once its dried.

I did a little research on curlygirl.com and found a salon nearby that specializes in Naturally Curly Hair.  They explained on the phone, when I made the appointment, that I would get a Deva Cut and that the owner would then style it.  Turns out the Deva Cut involves cutting the hair, while it's still dry, on a curl by curl basis.  The owner, Marty, explained that I wouldn't be able to straighten my hair after this type of cut because the hair would be all different lengths and would not look okay.  I don't straighten my hair anyway, so I was not concerned.

The entire process took about an hour and a half, with the final twenty minutes of it being the shampoo and finishing touches.  The process took much longer than I anticipated and I learned a lot about owner Marty in the process.  I was told that with this type of haircut I can go about four to six months between visits to the salon.  The reason being that the curl by curl method allows the hair to grow out with the pattern of the curl and causes less damage.

Marty styled my hair a little short and I'm not sure if I like it yet.  There are longer pieces in the front and it's shorter in the back.  The problem is that I can't see the haircut from the side and the longer pieces in the front just look like my hair would if it was a simple short haircut.  I am having a hard time seeing the difference between my regular Hair Cuttery cut and this special Salon cut.  However, I have gotten several genuine reactions to the haircut and I can definitely say it's a positive change.  Now I just need to figure out how to recreate the same look on my own.