Barnets on a Budget

I have yet to meet a woman who doesn't enjoy a trip to the hairdresser for a spot of pampering.  It's really got nothing to do with getting a good hairdo, it's about the attention.  It's about the escape from everything and everyone.  It's about the pure joy of having somebody being overly keen to make you happy. It's about being brought cups of tea and biscuits.  It's bliss. 

It's also expensive.  It costs money - oodles of it.  Find a good salon and you find the need to justify the cost of a new hairdo alongside the weekly food budget.  Guilt sets in.  Is it right to be so selfish?  I can buy the kids shoes for that, I can fuel the car for a week, I can pay this month's electric.......

But is it wrong now and again for a busy Mum to want to escape for an hour or so for a bit of selfish 'me' time.  Is it wrong to want to suspend time and put the world on hold while someone asks you for one shampoo or two?  And is it wrong to insist on two shampoos and conditioner please because the head massage is sooooo relaxing and makes your spine tingle and feels sooooo good and you feel the stress ebbing away ... and is it wrong to sulk momentarily when they ask you to follow them to your seat when you'd rather have a third shampoo and a bit more conditioner because I was floating away at that point.......?

No, it's not wrong.  But it is an easier pill to swallow when you find a hair salon that offers model nights and you get that very same treatment for a fraction of the published price.

So, Mums everywhere.  Check out your local salon and ask them if they do model nights.  They are always looking for people to volunteer their heads for training.  Don't fret, they are overseen by the experts and you come out with a professional wash, cut, restyle and blow dry (and sometimes a colour if you like).  The salon I go to is fantastic.  The staff are fabulously friendly and really appreciate having the chance to help their apprentices and students work towards their qualifications.

Give it a go - you deserve it.