the hairy truth.

welcome to the second week of The Truth About linkup. this week's co-hosts are 

Myranda from Pretty Living PDX and

Rachel from The Easley Family

join us as we tell The Truth About Our Jobs. 

The Rules:

1. Be a dear and follow the host and co-hosts via GFC or Bloglovin' 

(or both if you're feeling extra kind.)

2. Remember to post the link up button on your blog or in your link up post for everyone to see.

3. Link up to a specific post (not just your main blog url).

4. Tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. :)

<div align="center"><a href="http://some-eloquentgraffiti.blogspot.com" title="Eloquent Graffiti"><img src="http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag104/scrapcakes/thetruthabout_myjob_zps99620ee4.png" alt="Eloquent Graffiti" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

it's pretty fortunate that the ombre hairstyle becoming the newest thang seamlessly coincided with my poverty level and inability to afford getting my hair done. 

but as it turns out, a lot of other people can afford to get their hair done. and i'm grateful for them. because without them i wouldn't have a job. and without a job i wouldn't be able to write in this link up. 

so here is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about my job. 

1. the truth is: i work from home. along with a cosmetology license, i earned a number of horror stories (fit for a whole different blog post) that made the phrase "i am never, ever, ever working in a salon" a sort of life motto. after being totally jaded and scared for a while, i eventually learned to love doing hair again, but i still have no desire to work in a salon. yes, i would if i absolutely needed to, but right now my license is still based in Utah and i'm doing just fine working from home. also, my car is broken. soo...

2. the truth is: i'm not entirely sure what to call myself. cosmetologist? hair stylist? hair dresser? beautician? i don't know. but beautician sort of weirds me out and makes me feel like Dolly Parton in Steel Magnolias.

                  

3. the truth is: people assume i'm dumb. when i moved to Provo (home of BYU) i met a crap ton of people. when meeting people in a college town and of college age, you always ask the same 2 questions: where are you from? and what are you studying? conversations while i was in cosmetology school almost always went like this:

person: where are you from?

me: savannah, georgia. you?

person: (insert some un-interesting place here.)

me: very cool. what are you studying?

person: (insert some academically challenging major here) you?

me: oh, i'm actually in cosmetology school right now.

person:  

      

the conversation usually ended there. if they were sort of nice they would make  some pathetic remark about life in cosmetology school (oh, i bet that's nice. no homework, right?) but most of the people i met (guys especially) just assumed i was legitimately stupid and unable to succeed in a real education. and, feeling obviously above me, they sought not to further our special chat.

also, can we talk briefly how this assumption of stupidity went so far to the point that a guy i actually DATED wouldn't hang out with me (pre-dating, obviously) until he asked me a few questions to test my general knowledge.

i will never forget receiving the text from him that said, "you have 2 minutes to tell me everything you know about the Battle of Waterloo. Go."

(yes, i dated that guy. yes, i even longed to marry that guy. let's just chalk that up to me being especially good at forgiving and forgetting..)

but lesbehonest, as shocked as i was to receive the text, i would have LOVED to have seen his face when he got the text back from me that said something along the lines of "wow. umm..well, it was in 1815. it was a Napoleonic war that was fought in Belgium by the French and some other Europeans. Napoleon and the french army lost."

the details were absent, yes, but i knew the general gist of it. and i know he wasn't expecting that.

and if anyone were to quiz me in such a condescending way now, i would end it like this:

 4. the truth is: because i work from home, people assume i also work for free.

make that 2,000 hours. thanks.

i honestly don't know why it is. i can't even wrap my brain around it enough to come up with some sort of witty comment. it just blows my mind. maybe it's because they know me that they think it's free ninety-nine? maybe because i'm not working in a salon they think that i'm  not that great at doing hair and they shouldn't have to pay for assumedly sub-par service? it's difficult to say. but i had a man pay me in oreos once. and they weren't even double stuffed. 

5. the truth is: box color sucks. stop using it. rare are the color corrections that don't begin with "well, i used a box color.."

6. the truth is: i cannot read minds. but i really wish i could. because i know people hold things back. i've done it. you've done it. we have all done it. the bangs aren't quite like you wanted but you're not going to say anything because somehow living with hair you're unhappy with for the next 6-8 weeks seems like a better idea than asking the woman to trim them up a bit more. why do we do this? i don't know. but it drives me absolutely bonkers when i'm the one behind the chair. i would much rather take a bit more time to make my clients happy with their hair than have them go home upset because i failed them. 

7. the truth is: those are extensions. since i've been doing hair i have seen enough pictures of Carrie Underwood to make me worthy of being a paparazzi stalker. 

(source)

this picture, to be specific.

but the fact of the matter is that aint her real hair, lieutenant dan! (please know that movie reference) is it beautiful? yes. would i love to have it, too? yes. but it's not her real hair. and i can style and roundbrush and smooth the snot out of your hair but unless you have perfectly thick, perfectly healthy and perfectly placed hair all the time, you are not likely going to have this EXACT same look without a little help from the extension gods. and even then it might not be the EXACT same. because come on. also, just as a side note: i wish people realized how done Carrie's hair still is in this picture. it's not a wild and crazy updo, it's not a buttload of curls. but i promise you sister did not roll out of bed, comb through her hair once and then walk the red carpet like some sort of Disney Princess. there was still quite a bit of work put into this perfectly coiffed style. and while it looks like it may be low maintenance,you will have to spend more than 2 minutes blow drying, round brushing and curling those face framing layers to make them look that good.

 and in case you don't believe anything i've said about carrie and her hair pieces, here is a picture of her natural hair.

(source)

still pretty. but much more real looking.  

8. the truth is: there's a look and i don't have it. picture your hair person. i'm sure he/she has the look. he/she is either perfectly put together with all the latest and greatest fashions and styles or he/she is just a little bit grungy- but in an intriguing, 'i wish i could pull of that weird chest tattoo' sort of way. and i just don't have either look. i remember being incredibly self-conscious about this issue while i was in school. i'm mostly over it now. but not entirely. sometimes i wish i had the look. and then i remember i can't afford the first look and the second one requires me to tattoo pistols on my chest and pierce something not on my face so...c'est la vie.

9. the truth is: people really do tell you everything. maybe they feel an obligation to speak to the person who is touching their head for 3 hours straight and they just speak whatever comes to mind? i'm not sure. but i've witness the airing of some dirty laundry in my day.

10. the truth is: i love it. i love doing hair. does it take eons to foil through an entire head of thick hair that hits below the waist? yes. does it take a toll on my back and feet to stand that long? definitely. does it get frustrating from time to time? yes. but i love it. i love the look people get when the cape comes off. they're happy and confident and i love knowing that i contributed to that. i love having a job that doesn't usually feel like work. i get to talk, listen to music, wear what i want and work around my own schedule and life. i love being able to be creative, to use my hands to create a look. i love the diversity of it. it's not the same thing every single day so it never gets boring. i hated school. i really did. it was a rough patch in my life. but i  really love doing hair now. 

and that's the honest truth.

link up and share the truth about your job with us!

love,

kate.

lyrics: your hair is everywhere. screaming infidelities and taking it's wear.