Hair Salon Magic at Matthew Morris in Denver

The Four-Handed Blow Dry at Matthew Morris Salon Denver

I don’t know how I ended up having long hair for so long. Up until the time I moved to Colorado–now over thirteen years ago–I mostly had short hair. I’m talking about super-short, pixie-cut-like hair. My shortest was from a top stylist in Paris who once said, “Very few women look good in long hair.” Mon dieu, tell that to all the American ladies from New York to L.A.

The Very Dapper Alan la Noue

Mom and Alan

Alan and Me

My first short haircut was from Alan la Noue, my Mom’s stylist of the past forty-five years or so and owner of Hair by Alan. Yes, he’s like a member of the family and I’m  thrilled when I’m able to see him and have him do my hair on trips back home to upstate New York. He christened me with a short “do” when I was nine, a cheeky little cut complete with a widow’s peak à la Liza Minnelli in “Cabaret.” I’ve often been told I have a face best-suited for short hair yet in the West, long, almost hippy-like hair takes center stage.

Mom and Me Meeting Up with Alan for Lunch after Being Coiffed

So here I am a not-so-young lady anymore with locks long enough to donate to Locks for Love, or a similar type of organization. We often have Locks of Love events here in Telluride, so I think the next time one happens, I’ll step up to the chopping block. For now though I struggle with the maintenance required of long hair, the lengthy shampoos and conditionings as well as all the exhausting contortions required when I decide to step it up and smooth my hair with a long, arduous blow dry. No wonder the French call it un brushing.

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