Saturday, January 14, 2006

My latest conversion

In preparation for my first spendy haircut and my first venture into hair color/highlights, I figured I'd better get my brows tidied up. If I were to walk into that fancy-schmancy salon next week sporting a pair of meek caterpillars* above my eyes, I can't say I'd blame them if they shoved me out amid peals of mocking laughter and barred the door. So I made an appointment for brow waxing.

When I arrived, the "technician" (is there such a thing as tech support for waxing?) asked if I wanted my eyebrows waxed or threaded. Ooh! Threading! I'd been wanting to try threading, because waxing has been known to draw blood from my oh-so-sensitive skin. The technician has her own brows threaded and she's been performing the technique for six years, so I figured I'd be in good hands. Threading, like any technique that involves ripping hairs out of one's skin, hurts a bit. But while waxing always left the area around my brows reddened and irritated for the rest of the day, I left the appointment feeling perfectly fine.

Here are the results:



Would you please remind me to do this again in mid-February when the caterpillars begin nesting again? Thanks!

*No, I can't show you a "before" photo. It would be too alarming.

14 comments:

Mignon said...

Ooh Orange! I'm in love - you have beautiful eyes/brows. Yes, tell more about threading. Waxing makes me look like Darryl Hannah in Bladerunner.

Orange said...

Thank you, ladies! *blush*

I can't find any good information on the web. And my eyes were closed, so I'm not sure exactly what went on. It felt like she was whisking the threads back and forth across fairly large areas of brow hairs that needed to go, yanking hairs out by the roots as she went. The whole thing probably took less than 5 minutes, so it's faster than tweezing. I think she tweezed a few renegades at the end, and used teeny scissors to trim a little, too.

Threading definitely hurts, but I didn't yowl, and I think I usually yowl during waxing. There's no sticky residue since no wax is used, and no skin is ripped off in the process, so the godawful mini-scabs I've had after waxing are absent.

This picture is proof that my son did not get his beautiful, long eyelashes from me...

Cricket said...

I am such a chick gadget cavewoman. I've never even heard of this. I am obsessed with my eyebrows. For many years, I plucked daily and now I just fiddle with them daily, thinking I need to pluck. Thanks. Now I have something new to obsess over, as yours look wonderful. How much did they cost?

DoctorMama said...

I'm sooo jealous of your eyebrows! I want caterpillars that can be threaded into submission! Instead I have wispy, faint suggestions of eyebrows, kind of like geriatric pubic hair.

One thing I learned with my relatively recent transition into spendy hair: make sure to wear makeup for the visit.

Orange said...

DoctorMama, oh, how I love a shout-out to geriatric pubic hair. Have you been looking at my grandma's cooch? You have, haven't you? And goddamn, I gotta wear makeup to the hair place? Yikes. The best I can do is gently tinted moisturizer and some lipstick.

Cricket, a reasonable $15, same as waxing at the place I went. It's probably cheaper if you go to an authentic Indian or Middle Eastern salon for threading.

bitchphd said...

Wow, eyebrow waxing/threading? Wow.

I'm mixed on the "wear makeup" thing. I do tend to dress for hair appointments, but at the same time, you don't want them to give you a cut that's about someone you aren't.

At least throw on the lipstick.

Orange said...

Dr. B., you're right. If I actually wore makeup (which would require, um, buying some makeup), they might think I had grooming skills or something. Stella advised me to tell them straight-up how little maintenance I'm willing to do. (Really, up to 5 minutes of blowdrying is my limit. I just won't use mousse or gel or whatnot.)

T.A.N. said...

i don't really know how to evaluate eyebrows, unless it's a unibrow in which case I know to leave. but looks good. you have the cold piercing eyes of an editor. can't you warm them up some, must you be so ... I don't know ... relentless ?

DoctorMama said...

You have to wear clothes that you feel really frickin' cool in (as opposed to really fucking cool, which would be too much). But the makeup is mostly so that you don't get disappointed at the end because your face is the same old, same old. (Avoid the Baby Jane look, of course.)
I don't know if she was your granny or not.

Mignon said...

Orange, you've got rats. Call the exterminator.

Orange said...

TAN: Sorry, relentless is the default setting for editorial eyes. My client wouldn't have it any other way. But when you see me on the silver screen in Wordplay, I'll look much more genial. You will see the movie when it's released, won't you?

DoctorMama, I'm thinking a you-look-good-in-that sweater, jeans, and my super-cozy Merrells for down-to-earth verisimilitude.

Orange said...

Hi, Mignon! I'm letting the cats kill the rats. I haven't had a chance to stop by the U-Kill ' Em store lately.

thenutfantastic said...

Ahhh, the expensive hair trip, lol.

I once walked into an expensive hair place with my hair all agog and these 2 guys were flirting with me. When I came out they were still there. They saw me and said, "Now that's much better!" I had really long think hair then (and it was brown highlighted blonde).

I remember what my comment was gonna be now: I've always told the hair people up front that I want nothing fancy because I won't do anything to it - not even blow dry. So far I've not been let down. I do need to go back for another do-over though 'cause the layers are everywhere.

Mona Buonanotte said...

Funny, I always pictured you with brown eyes. To match your breasts.