One of the Most Special Relationships in your Life

Most any girl is protective of her hair. You don't want to trust just anybody to this head full of luxurious locks you've been tending to your entire life. For many years, my stylist has been one of my friends (technically, the younger sister of one of my best friends). It's nice being totally comfortable with the person doing your hair. There's no awkward "get to know ya" banter during the styling portion...because you of course gossip about mutual friends. And I knew what to expect when I walked out the door of the salon.

Well, new city = new stylist. And new job at a nonprofit = inexpensive stylist. I looked on craigslist and found a posting from a woman named Giti (ghee-tee), who claimed she had a salon behind her home and was offering 30% off to first time customers. I called and spoke with her on the phone -- she had a very thick accent, so I didn't catch all of it, but I did her hear say she spends her mornings doing hair on the set of CNN and NBC, then did hair out of her home. I feel like if she's good enough for Anderson Cooper, good enough for me. :) And I loved that she could get me in next day (today), since I want to get my highlights fixed up for my brother's wedding in two weeks (remember, the one I'm eagerly anticipaiting being inappropriately dressed for?).

OK, so I show up and she's got a beautiful home about 20 mins outside DC. She's basically remodeled a 3-season porch into a salon...and it looks good...not nearly as shady looking as I imagined. She proceeds to tell me again how she does hair on the set of CNN and NBC in the morning. I ask her more about it -- and it sounds like she does the hair of guests appearing on air. She said Hillary Clinton is a joy (hrmm?) and then proceeded to tell me how difficult Barabara Walters' air is to do, because it's so thin in the back from her surgeries. "What?! I didn't know Barabara Walters had surgery?! What did she have??" (imagining some brain tumor from 50 years ago that I never heard of) "Oh, she's had two facelifts," Giti says matter-of-factly. HAHAHA! Tell your friends.

To top it off, while my highlights were setting, one of her regulars (she's been doing this woman's hair for 28 years!) came in for a quick trim. They were chit chatting and the regular asks if she's hired someone to start mowing her lawn (at this point I see the schlubby looking guy outside with his pants falling down, pushing a mower around). She says, "well kind of". And the regular asks where she found him. Giti replies, "Oh, well, actually, he's the eldest grandson of the King of Afghanistan." Um, what?! And then she continues to tell us the story of how they met...and 20 minutes later, ends with the fact that they are engaged.

This woman is maybe my favorite ever. I'll definitely be back. Let me know if you're looking for a good stylist with some amazing stories. :) Oh, and my hair looks great, if I do say so myself.