No-shave November

Last week with Diwali approaching I decided to go to the saloon for getting myself groomed. I went to a saloon near my house. I was thinking of only getting my eyebrows and upper lips done, but I had had a long day; hence decided to get a facial done as well. There is this woman at the saloon - she is really hefty and so are her hands. She makes me shiver with pain each time she pulls out a hair from my eye brows. Surprisingly, a guy who also works at the same saloon tweaks the eyebrows quite smoothly. Hence, I asked the woman to step back and requested this guy to make my eyebrows and upper lips.

They charge INR 40/- for each part of your face- so I was supposed to pay INR 80/-. The saloon guy asks me, “There is just one hair on your chin, should I remove it?” I replied, “No, I shall go home and pluck it myself with a plucker as I would be charged INR 40/- more for that.” He laughed and said, “No madam, that’s fine. Who said you will be charged extra for just one hair?”  I looked sideways and he understood who.

Now, it was time for my facial. That is of course done by the woman. Just as I entered the small room with her right behind me, I realized my mistake. I could see her flaring up with anger, as her nostrils were a little wider than before. Not only had I asked her to step back and not make my eyebrows, but I had also taunted her in front of her colleague. There are usually six steps in a facial. (writing this for all those curious men out there) They are a little different from what I experienced, howsoever; we began the facial.  (I think you will easily understand how a good facial is different from what I got done, so just sharing my experience)

1. Cleanse: She tied a headband to hold back my hair from my face. The headband was tight and rested firmly on my left ear which had folded over. I loosen the headband and slide it behind my ear. I took a deep breath as this wasn’t going to be easy. Then she started cleaning my skin in the most painful manner as she rubbed her hefty hands on my face. My face turned scarlet – not a rosy blush but like a red monkey’s face.
2.  Moisturise: My skin was burning due to the deep cleansing, when she put a moisturiser on my face and rubbed it as austerely as before.
3.  Steam: She placed the steamer on high really close to my face. I asked her to place it a little farther, but she said she won’t be able to exfoliate my skin if the steam isn’t adequate. In ten seconds I couldn’t breathe and started gasping for breath and coughing, when she put off the steam.
4.  Exfoliate: She applied a strong exfoliating facial scrub on my face and took two small stainless steel shafts to remove dirt and blackheads. She squeezed and pierced my skin with a fervour to make me hurt as much as she could.
5. Mask: She applied a mask with bleaching agents which creeped deep down in my skin making it burn intensely. My eyes welled up and I told her to remove it. She said it won’t make my skin glow if I don’t keep the mask on for another ten minutes. I pleaded asking her to remove it and told her that anyway my face was going to be a little reddish for 2-3 days now.
6. Hydrate: She applied a water base light moisturiser on my face and neck which she (I am sure purposefully) accidently put in my eyes. I screamed and ran out of the room into the washroom and splashed water on my eyes.

I looked at myself in the mirror and felt like I had flushed my INR 800/- down the toilet. My eyes were swollen and red and my face look tortured and wobbly. I looked like a red monkey just fallen off a tree. All men should know that they are lucky when it comes to grooming (sad movies like Pyaar ka Punchnama shouldn’t deter you from living). Women go through much worse. But we still want to look beautiful. I am sure while men would feel we are crazy after reading this, women would be lured to book their next appointment to the saloon. 

Whoever has been lured to go to a saloon, can head up to ‘Darshan- The Complete Beauty Saloon’. Mr Saleell, who followed his mother’s footsteps and trained at the ‘Tokyo Academy’, has mastered the beautifying business. Be it skin or hair, he is an expert who provides the best treatments for both men and women. I have seen his work while we worked together, hence I can assure you a great result. (Of course I would never recommend the Mumbai saloon to anyone)

Check out his website: http://saleellsdarshan.com/Web%20New%20Templates%2001.htm

With so much about grooming and all, let’s celebrate the ‘No-shave November’. The goal of this amazing month is to grow awareness by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free. You donate the money you typically spend on shaving and grooming to educate about cancer prevention, save lives, and aid those fighting the battle. I am amazed to see a lot of us are celebrating the No-shave November in India. No I didn’t, I plucked off that one strand of hair from my chin, as I am a woman and all and I just can’t be anything but perfect even if I go through pain you see :P

Let’s celebrate manhood with a blog quiz on No-shave November, a great way to win vouchers to shave off that long beard as November ends.

All of you can send me your pictures with long beards and tell me why you are growing it. Women can share their husbands or friends pictures too (don’t ask him, just share)

The best picture with the best reason behind the beard gets INR 1000/- off on any service from ‘Darshan -The Complete Beauty Saloon’ in Ahmedabad. Send in your answers with the pictures on tvara129@gmail.com 

Winner for the NYC.PIE Pizza blog quiz:  Madhuri Bhatoa  “I am 'chicken tikka masala' because i am tasty but unusual to find! ;)"