Who do you trust?

It's no secret that I'm "frugal" and I like for everything to be a good deal.  For years I've gone to beauty schools to get my hair done because I am soooo gray and color and highlights at the school are hundreds of dollars cheaper.  I found a beauty school here that I liked and I have been going there since we moved to Seattle.  They do a good job and there's always a groupon -- yippee!!  But after I returned home from PA I didn't have a "go-to" hairdresser that I could trust to cut my hair.  I have a long scar and I still have a scab that is hanging on for dear life.  I know this is gross...

  

but I can't see it so I ask Paul to take pictures of my head for me.   

 I kept having nightmares of someone brushing through my hair and nicking the scab and so I have been putting off any trace of a hair salon. My scalp is also very sensitive in many spots and I just kept imagining that it would hurt to get a hair cut.  From the front I feel like I look pretty normal and I can't see the back so I don't know what it really looks like.  When my hair is down you can see pretty clearly that there is a spot that was shaved and the scab is pretty noticeable.  When it is up you can't tell that anything happened.  

I really didn't know where to begin to find a hair dresser.  I had some great recommendations from friends here but I wanted someone who would have experience dealing with people who have gone through chemotherapy treatments so that on the other end of the treatment I would have someone who could be gentle with radiated hair.  I searched online for hairdressers specializing in this area.  As it turns out Swedish hospital here in Seattle has a beauty over cancer program and they have teamed up with the Gary Manuel Salon to offer a free haircut to anyone who is going through treatment.  They have a few stylists who get special training and have some extra sensitivity.  This made me feel a lot better about it all.  I called and made an appointment and I had a FABULOUS stylist who was very kind and attentive to me.  I couldn't have color on my whole head because a lot of my head is still very sensitive from the surgery and because there is still a scab.  She was very careful and did lots of foils over my head to blend out as much gray as possible.  It was also really the first time I had seen the back of my head (with a mirror) which was pretty shocking to me how noticeable it all is.  I teared up quite a few times during the appointment but for the most part I held it together. 

She made sure on top of the color and style that i got a neck massage, hand massage and extra conditioning treatment because she couldn't do a scalp massage.  It felt really nice to be pampered for a little bit.  You can't really tell from the pictures but there are a lot of light highlights around my face and at the tips.  

before

after

She also helped me to see that I can change my part just a little bit and style my hair a little bit differently that actually covers up the scar and the scab.  With a little bit of teasing and hair spray the area from surgery was hidden.  This also brought a few tears to my eyes.  

So after a really nice morning I headed outside in some more sunshine and walked down to the Pike Place market to enjoy a fresh fish taco and some flowers.