Every girl knows that in order to judge the quality of one’s prospective haircut, you judge that of the lady who’s got the scissors in her hand. If her hair’s a mess, chances are yours will come out looking quite similar.

In search of a low-budget and much-needed haircut, I saw only two options. I could have my sister do it for me, or buckle down and head to Supercuts. After hearing my sister tell me about her anatomy lab and how she mangled an already dead cat with a scalpel, I figured that my chances of surviving a haircut would be better at Supercuts.

On a Saturday afternoon two weeks ago, I headed over to the salon only to find that I’d have to wait an hour just to get a trim. With work starting in an hour, I didn’t have the time to wait. The receptionist told me to return the next day, and that I probably wouldn’t have to wait as long.

I did as she said and came back the next afternoon. To my surprise, I had to wait for an hour. Any salon that makes you wait, I figured, should be decent. Then again, I noticed that most of the clientele in queue were men. The most awful haircut on any man would take a maximum of two weeks to heal. Unfortunately, women aren’t quite as lucky.

I went home and took a nap, and arrived back at the salon just in time for my turn at the chair. I let the receptionist know what I wanted done, and she asked me if I wanted to have my hair washed. Prior to this, I thought that hair-washing was a standard when it came to getting a haircut. Evidently, it does not at Supercuts. To get one’s hair washed before getting a cut costs an extra $4. I opted for the luxury because every girl knows that the best part of getting a haircut is the scalp massage during the shampoo portion of the treatment.

Before easing down into the neck rest of the wash basin, I took the opportunity to have a good look at the woman who would be washing my hair. Granted the fact that usually the woman who washes your hair does not do the cut as well, I figured it would help me to get a better understanding of the salon chain whose reputation scares many girls away.

My shampooist had a short red bob that was half pulled up. The color job was great; however, her sense of fashion was not. I got a little nervous when I saw a baggy tee-shirt under her apron and construction boots peeking out from under a pair of ill-fitting jeans. However, she’s only the shampooist, I thought, and my actual hairdresser would be someone different.

The wash lasted a mere couple of minutes. I felt a bit cheated out of the best part of getting my hair done but for $4, I probably shouldn’t have expected much. However, the shampooist did a pretty good job. My hair was smelling good and I was feeling relaxed and ready for the trim.

She walked me over to my chair and the first thing I noticed as I eased into the seat was the mirror area just in front of me. At that point, the word salon didn’t seem fitting for the place. The place seemed more like a glorified barber shop. There was hair piled in little clumps all over the floor and all over a ragged-looking towel that sat on the counter. It seemed as if no one in the salon had any sense of decorative style because the showcases alongside the mirrors displayed faded-labeled shampoos and other various bath and beauty products that didn’t seem to have anything to do with d