Durbanite contributor, Udesha paid a visit to Carlton Hair. Check out what she had to say.
“As a child, I always wondered: what’s the big deal about having regular salon visits and a hair style bucket list (yes, they do exist)?
As I matured I came to realise that people’s hair form a gigantic part of their personalities, in essence your hair could be compared to a Peacock’s feathers, it is a representation of a person’s character and certainly a confidence booster. It could even translate into being remembered or not at all. Case on point: the ever famous Marge Simpson from the sitcom “The Simpsons” or what about Fran Dresher from “The Nanny”…these women have become iconic for their hairstyles, which most definitely added a certain element to their level of uniqueness.
I would like to add some perspective to my hair history or lack thereof. I always had long, wavy/curly hair from the time I was a little girl, as I grew up I longed for short hair and so one day after moping around my dad literally cut my pony off with a pair of scissors (it sounds more dramatic that it was, it was actually quite amusing). After that, it was always left at shoulder length, layered or left wild and bushy, which is secretly how I loved it. At the end of my schooling career I wanted to do something drastic so I cut my hair short (which was my (calm) version of a Mohawk)…Thereafter I let it grow and it had a mind of its own.
Last year, I shaved it all off for the CANSA Shave-a-thon and it grew into a curly mushroom pixie style (my own name)…this led me to shaving it all off again this year June, when I lost my dad. So all in all I have had short hair for a while now and have only ever tried tinting my hair once, don’t ask, it wasn’t the greatest of experiences (I only attempted to due to the grey hairs/wisdom hairs that were beginning to show themselves)…
When I entered Carlton Hair Studio, I, of course had this misconceived notion that hair salons sometimes have the snootiest of people, was I wrong or what? I was wrong…in fact I was blow-dried away with the friendly service that I received from the get go. I was introduced to one of the Master Stylists, Kim Franklin and I immediately sat down for a short chat on what we were going to do with my growing out shaved head.
Kim truly surprised me with her in-depth knowledge about all things hair, she made me feel secure in her hair throne and answered my questions with ease and delight. When she told me what she had planned with the colour, I must admit I was a bit sceptical but I was pleasantly surprised at the end of our 3 hour session.
I loved the communication part of the experience the most. I got to chat with Kim’s assistant Sibongile and we had a good laugh or five throughout my visit. It was amazing to see how Durbanites would enter the salon plain faced (after a long week that can happen) and leave with smiles and this invisible cloak of confidence; it was their hair that made them walk in confidence, they could have been wearing track pants and bedroom slippers but they looked stunning. I loved it, it made me feel like I was observing a community that I had never opened my eyes to before.
You will agree that my hairdo did its own fluffing of feathers and this was evident from the time I left the salon. I loved the way Kim and her team informed with me day to day tips and advice throughout the wash, cut, treat, and blow dry stages of my experience. It was both refreshing and practical, they allowed me to feel confident in the fact that I could walk away from the salon and manage my hair style without feeling like putting a cap on my head due to one, too many bad hair days. The team work at the salon was quite endearing and left me feeling sad in a way, that they will be moving to a larger premises soon, sad because it felt like a family with the limited amount of space and giggling and conversing.
I had a cleansing clarifying shampoo with a Vegetarian Miracle Conditioner, colour and set. It was divine… and although the cost factor is something that one would consider pricey, I found it to be a treat and would love to treat myself to a hair innovation every now and then. Thanks Carlton!”
