There are some things that men just don’t understand. Well quite a few actually but as I only get 600 words I’ll confine this conversation to one for today. Hair. Firstly they can’t understand how a hairdo can cost as much as it does or takes as long. Secondly, given the cost when we’ve just had it done, why can we come straight home and wash and dry it again ourselves? I’ve tried explaining that, especially in the case of a new hairdresser, they don’t always know the anomalies of your hair. This bit goes this way not that way and no matter how much ‘product’ they put on or how much blow-drying it won’t go the way they want it to ..and if it does it won’t stay there.

But the big thing they don’t understand is how and why we stress about leaving the hairdresser we may have been with for years and going to a new one. I spent a good hour round the kitchen table recently trying to help a girlfriend who was struggling with this problem. My husband, making a cup of tea and earwigging, laughed and said, “ Just don’t go back!”

She turned on him. “You don’t understand I been with him for 10 years. He always squeezes me in when I forget to book. We go to each other’s parties. I know all about his problem teenager. The one who lies in bed all day and refuses to do any housework. His mother-in-law who he can’t stand. Where they go on holiday. He even told me once he was thinking of leaving his wife!!! And when it comes to me …he knows where the bodies are buried!” He looked at her dispassionately picked up his cup of tea and left the kitchen muttering,

“I still don’t see what the problem is!”

So what is the answer to this ‘hairy’ problem? Cos actually what you’re saying is. “I don’t like the way you do my hair any more and want a fresh pair of eyes on it.”

When I discussed this with my current hairdresser ..who by the way I have no plans to leave ..yet… I was staggered when he said that he can usually tell when someone is dissatisfied and on occasion has suggested, no bad feelings, that they may be happier with someone new.

Hairdressing is a funny old business. Hairdressers are so much more than just artists with the brush ‘n scissors. They have it in their hands to make us feel good about ourselves. They’re almost part-time psychotherapists. My friend Mary Pugsley MBE has taken it even further. Mary is the founder of Hair at The Academy which supports young people with complex needs providing on-site counselling, mental health awareness training, allowing them to blossom, often for the first time in an educational setting. Recently the recipient of the ‘Exceptional Educator Award’ at The Collective Pride Awards, Mary is the driving force behind a new project Cutting Through the Noise which aims to work collaboratively with schools, colleges, charities, Non-Governmental Organisations and businesses in the area, showing that there is a pathway that will help get these young people into further education and paid employment. To this end, staff are going out on tour in a branded car reaching out to local businesses to help create more employment taster days and internships.

Of course, none of this helps my friend who I know will just stick with her old hairdresser. I can hear my husband laughing now!

To find out more about Cutting Through the Noise

www.hairattheacademy.co.uk

Read all about it: Western Morning News