For me, getting the right haircut had been somewhat equal to the quest for the Holy Grail. Ok, that was an overstatement. But the fact remains the same: it was SO difficult. Somehow my facial features are such that not any haircut will be complementary to them.
Case in point: I delayed getting my haircut until the day before my wedding day. That was to make sure that I look my best on that day. But things got very hectic. I had to get a lot of things done. Not to mention I had to undo errors that other people made. It was not until very late in the afternoon that I had the chance to mind my hair. Without much deliberation, I went to the closest barber that I knew. I ended up with a hair that looks like much like that of a Navy sailor’s. Add that to my all-white wedding suit, and a glance at my wedding photos might cause you to think I WAS in the Navy.
It’s not hard to find good barbers. It’s finding those who can understand what I want for my hair that’s very near to impossible. Barbers in the same barbershop can have different interpretations of how I should look like. Even one barber can give different cut on every visit. Let alone different barbershops.
I used to give the following order to my barber: “Crew cut, but with the hair on top a bit long in the fashion that I can still comb it.” And that can come across very differently from one barber to another. Some cut my hair too short at the top that I almost looked like a concentration camp victim. Some left too much hair on top that I looked like MC Hammer.
I got so frustrated about getting the right barber, that I finally stopped hoping of finding one. Whenever I visited a barber, I sat on the chair, gave my order, and left the rest to fate. When fate didn’t side with me, I just hoped that my hair would grow fast.
Then one day, a new barber shop opened in town. It’s called Kaizen. From the name, it’s probably a franchise from Japan. It promised a 10-minute cut, hygiene, and you could bring the comb used on you home, if you like. All for a mere Rp 20.000,- (or about US$ 2). The 10-minute cut sounded interesting. I decided to give it a try.
The first pleasant surprise was the barbers were all female. Some of my successful experiences were with female hairstylists. This was promising. But that didn’t prove anything until the actual hair trimming took place.
It was funny. The girl who cut my hair was rather short in stature. She had to lean on me to get to the top of my head, even with the barber chair lowered all the way. She leaned and put her breasts on my shoulder. I was a bit uncomfortable at first, but since she didn’t seem to be shy about it, why should I be bothered?
The cut went fine, and, to my standard, was a success. Yet, I was not a convert yet. It wasn’t until much later. I came to another Kaizen shop, sat down, and gave my usual order. My ears were all up when my hair stylist say, “Oh, you mean the ‘Spike’ cut?” Spike? What’s that? But I just nodded, and waited to see what she came up with.
And it turned out to be the cut that I had been looking for! EUREKA! Now I know the name of the perfect cut! But wait, I must be sure that this name will be understood uniformly with all the Kaizen barbers. After several more visits, my hope was fulfilled. It is the standard name for the cut. No matter who cut my hair at Kaizen, the same name produces the standard result! All I need to remember (thanks to my wife’s advice) is to ask for the top to be cut just a bit shorter. Not so much for the look, but for the cut to stay short longer.
Finally, after years of searching, I found my Holy Grail of hair cutting. Hopefully it will stay open as long as I live.
