• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • San Diego Momma
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
San Diego Momma

San Diego Momma

Sharing some humor, a bit of writing and way too much information

Home / Etcetera / Mia: The Hair Saver

Mia: The Hair Saver

Etcetera

A re-post! How weird. I never do that.

 

I first met Mia, my most high esteemed hair stylist, when I was three months pregnant with Toots. My hair — normally a nest for rats on even the best days — was a ball of frizz and tangles. My face looked like zit pizza, and my stomach wanted to throw up all the time. I was in a bad way.

 

Then there was the fact that six months earlier, I followed a stripper named “Dreamy” into a karaoke bar bathroom and asked who did her hair. I politely inquired about her nose ring first, to ease into the conversation and assuage her panic about being trailed into a one-stall bathroom, but I was really just interested in her hair. It looked strippery, sure, but classy strippery.

 

Dreamy gave me the name of her stylist (surprisingly not located in Vegas) and it took me a good many months to finally call, which I eventually did, making an appointment with “Mia,” desperately hoping for less hideous preggo hair. The best part of the first three months of my pukey pregnancy just might be that I’d sport some stripper hair. I really didn’t have anything to lose.

 

I entered the salon a few days later and Mia greeted me with open arms. Why she was not stylist-to-the-strippers looking at all! She was cherubic! And young! With zero piercings and no tan! Things were looking up.

 

I emerged from the salon on La Jolla’s Girard Avenue an hour or two later, feeling refreshed and less like a barn mule. My nausea had subsided and I thought maybe I could reclaim my femininity, having lost it a few weeks prior in an especially robust mastication of a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. My hair bounced, it lay flat, it did not look inviting to rodents. Mia saved the day!

 

All this is to say that Mia changed my outlook in those tough early days of feeling physically awful. A few good haircuts and a woman really feels rejuvenated, you know? Whatever she did to my hair, worked. I could dry it in 12 seconds and it looked bouncy and styley. Never cowlicky, never dorky, never barn horsey. I loved Mia and her magic shears.

 

I stayed with Mia right on through my second pregnancy, where she worked her secret wonders to impart hairstyles that did not suck. I thought I found my holy hair grail. I thought I’d been saved from the unfortunate perms of sixth grade and the “Auburn Summer of ’97” that nearly fried my blonde hay hair clear off my dopey scalp.

 

Then. THEN. One day I received a voice mail from Mia. She was leaving the salon where I met her. She was going somewhere else. Somewhere close, never fear! But leaving just the same and so she carefully said the digits to the number of the new salon. I didn’t write it down or anything because planning ahead ain’t how I roll — but I kept the voice mail on my phone to refer to later.

 

Until I got a new phone, forgetting all about my old phone and the errant voice mails left on it.

 

I’d lost Mia forever.

 

Oh sure I called the old salon, but they never give out numbers for stylists who leave. I pretended to be UPS, Bed Bath and Beyond, the U.S. Government, some guy, and Ryan Seacrest, but each and every time, my efforts to get Mia’s new number were rebuffed. Afterward, I languished in years of bad hair. Once again, the rats came to roost. I let myself go. I wore many sweatpants.

 

Which brings me to Christmas Eve 2010. Wearing some amalgamation of pajamas and Garanimals, I entered my local Vons to pick up a few groceries. I didn’t bother in the least to make myself even remotely presentable. My eyeglasses were smudged, my lipstick was on my teeth, I smelled like Lil’ Smokies. I dragged my kids with me, looking beleaguered and Courtney-Love-like. I saw some cute young mom with two cute young kids in the cheese aisle and thought “whatever.” I began to scurry away from the cute mom so I looked less like Keith Richards in comparison, when a dim thought took hold in my addled brain.

 

That’s Mia.

Is that Mia?

That’s Mia.

 

Despite every inner conviction that I looked like a hobo, I approached the woman with glossy hair, unlined skin, and toned everything. “Mia?” I asked hesitantly. I mean, it’d been years. She probably wouldn’t remember me. And sure enough she looked at me like one might look at Gary Busey if he escaped from rehab.

 

I could tell she was hatching a cheese-aisle-escape-plan.

Then: “Yes?”

 

At which point I threw myself at her feet (clad in adorable flats below perfectly-fitting skinny jeans) and cried out my story.

“I’ve been looking for you since 2005 —”

“My phone —”

“Couldn’t find you and tried to –-”

“I even called pretending you made American Idol and they —”

 

She shushed me, soothing me with promises of follicular salvation.

“Here’s my number,” she said, handing me a card. “Call me.”

 

I have it here someplace…

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

March 23, 2012 · 4 Comments

Sure I’d love to see you again

Previous Post: « PROMPTuesday #186: Which Movie was as Good as the Book? (+Giveaway)
Next Post: I Miss My Crazy »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Birdrockfab says

    March 23, 2012 at 5:37 pm

    Love this and glad you re-posted. I’m still looking for my Mia!

    Reply
  2. heidi says

    March 26, 2012 at 8:56 am

    Deb!! You make me smile and laugh…you make me happy! Oh, how I loved this post.

    Reply
  3. julie gardner says

    March 27, 2012 at 4:37 pm

    It’s not a small testament to how badly I need a Mia in my life that my heart actually broke a little for you when you lost her voice mail message…

    Then I got distracted by the Lil Smokies and now I’m just hungry.

    With bad hair.
    Crap.

    Reply
  4. Aunt Snow says

    March 30, 2012 at 10:50 am

    Mine’s Tina and I found her!!!

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

I love words. Every one, every time. (Except “moist.” That word can go.) …read more

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Sure. I’d love to see you again.

Categories

Archives

Blogroll

  • Blog This Mom
  • Da Goddess
  • Dirt and Noise
  • Discover San Diego
  • Foolery
  • Juggling Life
  • Mama Mary Show
  • Mel, A Dramatic Mommy
  • Mom Zombie
  • Mommy’s Martini
  • Motherhood is Not for Wimps
San Diego Momma

Footer

Archives

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Categories

sandiegomomma

sandiegomomma
Back in Lake Geneva after 36 years… Circumstance Back in Lake Geneva after 36 years…
Circumstances have changed since post-Prom-picnic-circa-1986-vibes…
#WhereIsBryanAdamsNow
Dorm drop! 🏫👩‍🏫🥲💕 Dorm drop!
🏫👩‍🏫🥲💕
💫Travel poster for Saturday wine tasting.💫 💫Travel poster for Saturday wine tasting.💫
Celebrating the new 16-year-old with a quick Santa Celebrating the new 16-year-old with a quick Santa Monica trip.
And now she knows she doesn’t want to live in LA….
#LifeLessons
It’s happening….. It’s happening…..
Barely tolerating me….. Barely tolerating me…..
Beach day with my “little” one while big sis e Beach day with my “little” one while big sis explores Cal Poly…
Life transitions. Beautiful but I haz the olds.
#NotAboutMe #Whhhhyyyyy
A rare Bubbie sighting. Spotted in the wild. #HeDo A rare Bubbie sighting. Spotted in the wild. #HeDoesntLikePictures
Sunset squad. Brought a picnic and drinks to Del M Sunset squad.
Brought a picnic and drinks to Del Mar and watched the waves and horizon. Not too crowded or cold - another good hang with the neighborhood gang! ❤️❤️
Imprinting 2021 holidays on my brain (and in my In Imprinting 2021 holidays on my brain (and in my Instagram) (and in my antibodies). It’s a COVID New Year’s Eve…
Husband and I down for the count(down).
BUT. We’re doing decent and it’s cozy up in here…
Winery times! Winery times!
Guys on couch watching football; girls in kitchen Guys on couch watching football; girls in kitchen talking about everything.
Smells like a Sunday neighbor night. ;)
Line dancing lessons… My two left feet did nothi Line dancing lessons…
My two left feet did nothing right - but they did it with gusto.
Looking for a new book to read! #BookClub Despite Looking for a new book to read! #BookClub Despite the seeming divine intervention from above, we weren’t struck with the “perfect” next book to put on our list…..
Post-white-water-rafting super exhaustion. (Oh my Post-white-water-rafting super exhaustion.
(Oh my gosh you guys…! No! I’m not a sports model! But I totally understand how you might think so.) 😜😜😜
I wanted my hair to do that. #NordicSisters I wanted my hair to do that.
#NordicSisters
Dad’s hats on the people who loved/knew/laughed/ Dad’s hats on the people who loved/knew/laughed/sang with him.
Miss you Dad. Hope we do your hats justice. Lord knows we’ll have fun in them, just like you did. 😇
Paso Robles! Wine tasting beauty. It’s stunning Paso Robles! Wine tasting beauty. It’s stunning here. And the landscape is nice too ;).
Found my brother’s old ad copy. Good fun-writing Found my brother’s old ad copy. Good fun-writing inspiration...
Just in case I wasn’t feeling ancient enough, th Just in case I wasn’t feeling ancient enough, the rainbow jumper and white bobby socks oughta do it. No but wait! There’s a bowl cut. Annnnnnnddd giant gold-rimmed specs.
#CentennialFashion
Load More... Follow on Instagram
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Hello Chicky

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT