I had the most interesting and embarrassing experience yesterday. I met Zohar...
This all started a few weeks ago, when I realized that it was time to visit a proper salon. Seriously, we have at least 3 salons on every block. I'm not sure how they all stay in business, but I'm convinced that Israelis love their hair. Up until now, I've managed with a simple trim from a woman we know who has her own in-house studio. I was fine with this, but as Spring approaches, I was craving a new hair-do. (I also craved new shoes and satisfied that craving on Wednesday)
{Side-note: Things in Israel are so expensive that I don't spend money on fashion oriented items or services the way that I did in the US. This is not a bad thing, it just helps me to be more intentional about my purchases and I think that's a fine trait! Thus, buying 3 pairs of sandals (they were on sale) and going to the salon for hair services was a MAJOR splurge, but worth it!}
Back to the story...
Earlier in the week, my good friend Ari told me about a salon near his apartment that has a hairdresser from England. I was super excited about this fact because it meant that he spoke ENGLISH! I'm all for speaking Hebrew as much as possible, but when it comes to my hair, I want to be able to CLEARLY express my desires. Ari then shared the following facts about Zohar, as he evidently cut another one of Ari's friends - also an American. Zohar - 1. Served as a Paratrooper in the IDF 2. His commander in the army is now the IDF Chief of Staff (legendary dude) 3. Speaks English 4. Cuts hair for all the Americans in our area 5. Very outgoing aka eccentric 6. A bit expensive, but worth it and 7. His salon is called FAN-C. Okay...so off we went to meet Zohar.
Yoni and I decided to stop by the salon on our way to work yesterday morning - around 9am. I thought the salon would be closed, but that we could jot down a number and call later. Nope, I was wrong. There was Zohar with his partner working away when we walked in. Everything worked out perfectly - Zohar had an opening for later in the afternoon and yes, I confirmed that he spoke English! Thus, we planned to return after work that very same day. So exciting! Finally a real haircut coming my way. {Boy, have I missed my dad's salon in the US and how familiar his work was to me!}
Thursday afternoon comes and we return to FAN-C Salon :-) When I sit down in Zohar's chair, he starts looking through my hair and promptly says, "You have bad dandruff and hair loss. Did you recently have a baby or something?" My mouth dropped and I think my face probably turned bright red. I think I squeaked out something along the lines, of "Um, I didn't know that I have dandruff and yes, I know my hair is thin....um...." Zohar then tells me not to worry and that he can fix everything with these products *he then shows me three different things and explains the process. I'm still shocked and trying to process everything while agreeing to whatever help he can offer. You have to understand that I'm already a bit self conscious about my hair because one thing I've noticed about Israelis is that THEY ALL HAVE GREAT THINK, SHINNY AND LONG HAIR! Ugh!
The next three hours are a quite the process. My head was washed with special shampoo, massaged with special oils and soaked in purposely warm water. My poor husband was not intending such an episode, but he dutifully stayed with me without any complaints. This is the mark of a real man!
In the end, I ended up with a great haircut (it's shoulder length with a bunch of layers around my collar-bone and nice side-bangs). My hair does feel very silky and clean right down to the scalp.
More on Zohar - I learned that he is originally from Romania and then moved to England to learn all about hair. His accent is very British, which made me wonder if he was really telling the truth about his origins. He clearly loved his profession and himself....He enjoyed telling me about how people come to him from afar and how he treats his assistants with extra care - always paying them for their training periods. Zohar was loud, he smoked and had an earring. He told me more stories about his wife, his kids and freaking out the New Yorkers that came to visit. I didn't know what to make of this guy. In the end, he won my heart because when I went to pay, he would not accept a tip. He said that he was the owner and that tipping was unnecessary. I was shocked. So, I left a nice tip for his assistant who was a Russian woman named Marianna. She was the opposite of Zohar and the poor woman had to massage more liquids into my scalp then anyone can imagine.
I'm not sure what I've gotten myself into, but meeting Zohar was unforgettable. I'm sure there will be future blog posts about him...and his work on my hair!
P.S. For those that have seen the movie, "Don't Mess with the Zohan" starring Adam Sandler, well there were some definite similarities! :-)
Shabbat Shalom!
This all started a few weeks ago, when I realized that it was time to visit a proper salon. Seriously, we have at least 3 salons on every block. I'm not sure how they all stay in business, but I'm convinced that Israelis love their hair. Up until now, I've managed with a simple trim from a woman we know who has her own in-house studio. I was fine with this, but as Spring approaches, I was craving a new hair-do. (I also craved new shoes and satisfied that craving on Wednesday)
{Side-note: Things in Israel are so expensive that I don't spend money on fashion oriented items or services the way that I did in the US. This is not a bad thing, it just helps me to be more intentional about my purchases and I think that's a fine trait! Thus, buying 3 pairs of sandals (they were on sale) and going to the salon for hair services was a MAJOR splurge, but worth it!}
Back to the story...
Earlier in the week, my good friend Ari told me about a salon near his apartment that has a hairdresser from England. I was super excited about this fact because it meant that he spoke ENGLISH! I'm all for speaking Hebrew as much as possible, but when it comes to my hair, I want to be able to CLEARLY express my desires. Ari then shared the following facts about Zohar, as he evidently cut another one of Ari's friends - also an American. Zohar - 1. Served as a Paratrooper in the IDF 2. His commander in the army is now the IDF Chief of Staff (legendary dude) 3. Speaks English 4. Cuts hair for all the Americans in our area 5. Very outgoing aka eccentric 6. A bit expensive, but worth it and 7. His salon is called FAN-C. Okay...so off we went to meet Zohar.
Yoni and I decided to stop by the salon on our way to work yesterday morning - around 9am. I thought the salon would be closed, but that we could jot down a number and call later. Nope, I was wrong. There was Zohar with his partner working away when we walked in. Everything worked out perfectly - Zohar had an opening for later in the afternoon and yes, I confirmed that he spoke English! Thus, we planned to return after work that very same day. So exciting! Finally a real haircut coming my way. {Boy, have I missed my dad's salon in the US and how familiar his work was to me!}
Thursday afternoon comes and we return to FAN-C Salon :-) When I sit down in Zohar's chair, he starts looking through my hair and promptly says, "You have bad dandruff and hair loss. Did you recently have a baby or something?" My mouth dropped and I think my face probably turned bright red. I think I squeaked out something along the lines, of "Um, I didn't know that I have dandruff and yes, I know my hair is thin....um...." Zohar then tells me not to worry and that he can fix everything with these products *he then shows me three different things and explains the process. I'm still shocked and trying to process everything while agreeing to whatever help he can offer. You have to understand that I'm already a bit self conscious about my hair because one thing I've noticed about Israelis is that THEY ALL HAVE GREAT THINK, SHINNY AND LONG HAIR! Ugh!
The next three hours are a quite the process. My head was washed with special shampoo, massaged with special oils and soaked in purposely warm water. My poor husband was not intending such an episode, but he dutifully stayed with me without any complaints. This is the mark of a real man!
In the end, I ended up with a great haircut (it's shoulder length with a bunch of layers around my collar-bone and nice side-bangs). My hair does feel very silky and clean right down to the scalp.
More on Zohar - I learned that he is originally from Romania and then moved to England to learn all about hair. His accent is very British, which made me wonder if he was really telling the truth about his origins. He clearly loved his profession and himself....He enjoyed telling me about how people come to him from afar and how he treats his assistants with extra care - always paying them for their training periods. Zohar was loud, he smoked and had an earring. He told me more stories about his wife, his kids and freaking out the New Yorkers that came to visit. I didn't know what to make of this guy. In the end, he won my heart because when I went to pay, he would not accept a tip. He said that he was the owner and that tipping was unnecessary. I was shocked. So, I left a nice tip for his assistant who was a Russian woman named Marianna. She was the opposite of Zohar and the poor woman had to massage more liquids into my scalp then anyone can imagine.
I'm not sure what I've gotten myself into, but meeting Zohar was unforgettable. I'm sure there will be future blog posts about him...and his work on my hair!
P.S. For those that have seen the movie, "Don't Mess with the Zohan" starring Adam Sandler, well there were some definite similarities! :-)
Shabbat Shalom!
