Does that cost Extra?

This is me serenading about the high quality of 5 euro conditioner at the hair salon.

Ok not really. But lets pretend.

It has been nearly a month since I got my haircut, apparently this blog slipped by me! However, I feel it is fair to warn you all of the haircutting process in Spain. So you can fully understand the scenario, I am recreating the scene with lines of dialogue. 

(I try to open the door, the door is buzzed open)

Me (in my head): Hmmm I guess they don't want anyone stealing the shampoo. I wonder which one smells good?

 "Hola, soy Meghan. Tengo una reserva (or some word like that I don't remember- its been a month hahahah)" 

Desk chick- "Vale. Momentito"

....She vanishes behind the corner, and appears to be looking for the person who has the fun task of cutting my mane. She returns with news.

(Translated for your enjoyment)

    "Oh, Carolina is cutting your hair, but she just left for a coffee break. She'll be back soon."

Jeopardy music plays. Ok not really, and for this I am grateful. I make myself comfortable with some random Spanish gossip magazine, and hope for the best. I notice that there are several other women waiting, one of them looking agitated. Since her hair seemed to be in tip-top shape, I assumed it wasn't because of that.. then I realized hmmm.. Maybe she doesn't really like to wait!

I turn out to be right on that one. This woman was still sitting there when the chick at the desk decides she will wash my hair. This is a good 30 minutes later. Before the hair washing begins, she puts a robe on me, and sticks my "bill" in my pocket. I thought this was strange, I figured the hairdresser would just ring me up at the end. 

There I am sitting in the chair while the desk chick washes my hair. I can't really hear over the flow of the water, but at some point she asked me if i wanted something to relax my scalp/hair. I was like sure why not! All of a sudden she is massing my scalp. This felt great and it brought me back to my hair dressers back in Harrisonburg. Man did they know how to massage!

Anyways, a few minutes later she asks me if I want some crema. Of course I do, my hair would be a mess without it! So she gets my hair nice and conditioned, and I'm off on my way. Or so I THINK. She pulls that little paper out of my robe and starts checking things off. Turns out that conditioner and massage cost me EXTRA. Oh thats right. EXTRA. How much? 5 euros a piece. Really nice of her to warn me about that!

I am then read for stage 2 of the "actual" hair cutting phase. This part goes well, we relate stories from the US and Spain. Apparently my hairdresser was under the impression that people in the US get their hair cut every week. I quickly fixed that one. I guess it must be from the movies when the ladies always seem to be at the beauty parlor. After a successful haircut, the lady asks me if I want her to blow dry my hair. This was a no-brainer. I was under the impression that it would cost extra, but I wasn't going to walk out of there with a brand-new Spanish haircut and no style. So on goes the blow dryer. She starts flipping and styling, creating that "never to be recreated ever again" look. When she is done, I am rather impressed. Despite the awesome results, I secretly hope that she won't pull that piece of paper out, but sure enough, out it went. I couldn't see exactly what she was writing, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't about how I was American. 

She hands me my little slip, mostly in illegible hair-dresser code. I go up to the desk, where I wait for several minutes. I decided that I may have attempted an exit, but I may have been stopped on the street for having clearly "just-cut" hair. I waited, and desk chick comes and types in a bunch of numbers. I grimace at the final total, 42 euros instead of 27. What a joy! I do not think all that crema and masaje was worth my extra euros. But at least my hair looked stylin' for a day in Toledo. 

However, the waiting at the beginning of this adventure nearly cost me this trip full of Mazapan. I booked it back to the apartment and then to the bus station, where I did a dramatic run-to-the-bus bit and met my friends.

Moral of the story? Leave an entire morning for a hair appointment and do not get ANYTHING extra because they charge you for it all. 

The End!