The fairy princess hair cut

Adeline was born with a head full of hair, and had her first hair cut ages ago by a family friend who is a hair stylist. It was a wonderful, personal experience.

Soon after that first haircut, we started letting Addy’s hair grow out to make it pony-and piggy-tail friendly, which it quickly became. And was she ever cute with them…at least for the 5 seconds she allowed them to remain in her hair. For the most part, Addy’s usual look was My Head Has Been Consumed By A Misshapen Shaggy Mop.

It was time for a change. Adeline’s bangs were in her face, she had a mullet – it was a bad scene overall. So we decided to go for it and do the full-blown kiddy haircut, where they plop your toddler in a chair that looks like a floating Barbie Jeep, adorn them in a sparkling pink cape and get to snipping.

Addy did great…meaning that she didn’t fuss or complain or even move a single muscle. She didn’t even crack a smile. I’m not sure she even blinked. I think she might have been a little scared. Or, too mesmerized by the cartoons that the stylist instantly switched on, to care what else was going on.

This was the expression on her face the entire time. Indifference? Catatonic?

While I understand the need for cartoons in a setting like this – every parent knows they’re like crack for a toddler and completely captivate them (it’s the only way I can trim Addy’s nails) – I wished the stylist would’ve at least tried cutting Addy’s hair without them. To at least attempt engaging her in the experience a little bit, like encouraging her to watch in the mirror or letting her play with the hair clips. But she picked up the scissors and flicked on the t.v. in the same motion. That being said, she was very sweet to Addy, and did a great job shaping her scruffy locks into a style. Until she got to the bangs.

Addy got the straight-across-the-forehead treatment.

Happily, she’s cute enough to pull it off. And before I knew it, the stylist was done snipping, but! She was far from finished. In a flurry of hand movements and spritzing, Adeline was misted with bubble-gum scented hairspray and doused with glitter, and a big pink hair tie was shoved onto her noggin. She looked girlier than ever, and, as I stared at my baby in a levitating pink Barbie Jeep, adorned with a shimmering pink cape and hair that literally sparkled in fluorescent lights despite the pink puff on her head, I decided not to come back. And it’s not just because Addy’s not a glitter-in-the-hair kinda gal (at least not at this point in her young life), I just wanted the experience to be more fun and interactive for her. For Addy, the best part of the trip to the salon was when she was released from the stylist’s “chair” so she could play with a toy train. And the best part for me was taking her home and washing the glitter out of her hair.

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