Free Haircut!

Is a free hair cut a good thing?  I'm still trying to decide.  There's a hair salon just down the road from me, it's been through multiple owners & names and I've visited at least once every time.  It's where I actually met my favorite hairdresser in the Netherlands, her name is Razia, and she is coincidentally the daughter of an old colleague.  Unfortunately Razia doesn't stay at one salon long, since using her I've had to visit her at 3 different locations, she was last at Salon Lenie (and I was definitely was the youngest customer in the place!)  I actually dislike going to the hair salon, probably because of all the years I colored my hair.  I have extremely long hair and for them to highlight it blond & trim it, I was usually stuck at the salon for about 2hrs, which is more than I can handle.  Despite loving the trash/gossip magazines the boredom of it all was too much.  A couple months after having my daughter I decided to be bold and stop coloring my hair, I had been blond since middle school and wondered what my natural color looked like.  Plus, like I mentioned I wanted to cut back on the time spent at the salon (and the money I was spending - around €100 per visit).  To be honest I had to dye my hair dark brown a couple times to get the ball rolling, but now it's mostly my natural color (you can see a bit of a difference near the tips.)  Anyway, this has cut my visits down to 30-60min depending on wait time, and if I go to the right salon I only spend about €25 on a cut.  In this quest to find a reasonably priced haircut it has taken me full circle... back to my old hair salon in Best (Imitch) then back to the salon down the road from my apartment.  Like I said, the salon has been through many owners and I noticed there was now a man running the place.  And the name changed from Scissors & Nails to Necmi Hair Design.  Walking by I wouldn't say I fit in there, it was always full with groups of Middle Eastern women who appeared to be getting ready for events.  I saw that often there were two hairdressers to each woman, I thought maybe they were in a hurry.  (It turns out he has at least 3 hairdressers-in-training that he teaches on a weekly basis.)  Then one day a sign appeared on the window, one of the hairdressers-in-training was looking for someone to practice on... every Tuesday she offered a free haircut to those willing to let her cut their hair.  Being frugal (aka cheap), this spoke to me.  Everyday as  I passed on the way to the shops or the school I saw the sign.  Considering I only cut my hair about once every 3 months, I had plenty to spare.  After dropping my daughter off at school I built up the nerve to call for an appointment.  I had to go then and there or I was going to chicken out.  Unfortunately she was busy that day but told me I could come in the following Tuesday for a cut (of course I had the girl herself on the phone and I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I made the appt).  For a week the thought of the appointment popped in and out of my head.  I went through many emotions; I told myself... you have so much hair she could make a mistake and it'll be o.k... she needs to learn... you're crazy... you're so cheap... you have to back out!!!  I called and called to cancel but there was no voicemail and no one picked up (of course not, they're closed on Sun. & Mon.)  I had the 1st appt of the day Tuesday, there was nothing I could do... and to top it off there was no school this week and my 2 yr old was going to have to join (and she's never sat through something like this!)  When I arrived at the salon I told the girl how nervous/excited I was and she told me how nervous/excited she was, GREAT!  But to be honest, she was nice enough and put me at ease chit-chatting.  Sure there were things she did that screamed she was new at it, but I was already in the chair, hair washed, ready for the damage.  She took her time, really, really took her time.  But we did get to chat during the 45-60 min and it turns out the man that runs the salon is apparently a Turkish hair genius, she said he can work miracles with a blow drier, and women come from all over to have him work wonders on their hair.  According to her she was being trained by a genius, it was nice to hear how proud she was.  At times as I sat in the chair I just smiled, wondering how I ended up in this situation, I still haven't decided if it was brave or crazy.  She didn't do half bad, I still have long hair (no need to turn it into a bob due to damage), but I can't say it has the layers I expected.  She cut it quite thick at the bottom, she repeatedly mentioned how nice thick hair is, and when I think about most of the Turkish women I have ever met they do have a lot of thick hair.  I doubt I'll go back there, but it was fun, it was thrilling.  And if there are any other brave (crazy) souls out there willing to get their hair cut by a hairdresser-in-training, her offer for a free cut on Tuesday's stand, just make an appointment with Sema.
In this blog I included a pic of the inside of the salon, it's looked basically the same since the 1st owner and a pic of their business card (I wouldn't say the business card would sell anyone on the salon, luckily word of mouth is a great marketing tool!)  And for anyone curious about salons in Eindhoven/Best, I've tried out quite a lot and I'm always willing to dish out my opinion!