Last Sunday I went to the parlor to get my hair straightened. It’s been over a year since I last had it done, and my hair’s been a mess these past few days, thanks to the heat and humidity. I was supposed to get it straightened last October, but I decided to have my hair dyed brown instead. Ate Cecil (my favorite stylist – she’s been doing my hair since 2002) told me that I couldn’t do both because I’d risk damaging my hair. She told me to pick one and to come back after a month (to give my hair time to rest), but I didn’t get the chance and soon forgot about it.
I was born with curly hair but as I grew older they slowly developed into waves. Normally I like wavy hair, but I have really thick strands, so even the slightest texture can make my head look enormous. Ever since I discovered the art of hair straightening, I’ve always made it a habit to get my hair done at least once year.
I’ve tried a few different salons in the past, but Metrohair has always been my favorite. I discovered it back in college when it was still fairly new. They had a lot of promos, so their prices were much lower than what others offered. I remember that other parlors charged about P500-P600 for hair straightening back then, but Metrohair only charged P440. Not a huge difference, but P60-P160 is still a lot for a student on an allowance.
Sadly, Metrohair’s prices have increased since it became more popular. A lot of students still go there because the price of haircuts and manicures didn’t change that much from when they first started, it’s mostly the chemical treatments that they charge a lot for these days. They still offer promos every now and then, but not the same as it was back then. Getting my hair straightened costs almost 10 times as much as it did in the past (to be fair, my hair’s much longer now). But even though it costs a lot more, I’m still willing to pay for it because I’ve always loved the results and it always lasts a long time. I’ve tried having my hair straightened at other parlors where they charge less, but the results aren’t that good. I’ve had cases where my hair ends up looking fried or stiff, and my wavy hair comes back in about a month. With Metrohair, the results last a long time and my hair’s always so much softer and silkier afterwards.
It took about 5 hours to get my hair done this time. My appointment was at 3pm, I left the parlor at almost 8:15pm. I actually fell asleep at one point. I planned on just closing my eyes (because the chemical fumes stung a bit), but I dozed off. I was dreaming about sandwiches when I woke up to Ate Cecil’s startled scream. She was ironing my hair at the time and my head suddenly dropped – I almost burned my face. I struggled to stay awake after that.
It was a long and boring process. They put a lot of stuff on my hair, shampooed and rinsed it a few times, flat ironed it, blowdried it and a bunch of other stuff. I also had Ate Cecil trim 3 inches off my hair since it was getting way too long. By the time they finished I had a stiff neck and I was starving, but the results were worth it.
Before and After
