April's Hairography

From Beach Hair to Boss Hair: End-of-Summer Transformations
By the end of August, I can read a whole summer in somebody's hair before they say a word.
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The Quiet Before the Rush: Why August Is the Best Time to Book
There's a particular quiet to my studio in August that I've come to love. The lake crowd is still at the lake. The summer travelers are squeezing in their last trips. School hasn't quite started, so nobody's in panic mode yet. For a few weeks, Stony Hill Road feels even more peaceful than usual, and my book has a little breathing room in it.
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Back-to-School Hair: Low-Maintenance Color That Lasts Until October
Every August it's the same conversation in my chair. A teacher sits down, looks at me in the mirror, and says some version of: “April, I don't know when I'm going to have time to come back. School starts next week and then I disappear until Thanksgiving.”
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Sunburn on Your Scalp Is Real. Let’s Talk About It.
Every July it's the same conversation. A guy sits down in my chair, leans his head forward, and I see it before he says a word. Red scalp. Flaky in spots. He tells me his head's been itching and he figures it's dandruff or dry skin or something he ought to buy a special shampoo for.
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New to the Valley? Here’s Your Sign to Stop Driving to Northern Virginia
I've been doing hair for forty years, and I'll tell you what I've noticed lately. A lot of new faces moving into the valley. Folks coming down from Northern Virginia, from the DC and Baltimore side of things — retirees, people working from home now, couples who finally got tired of the traffic and bought a place out here.
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Sun, Chlorine, and Your Hair: What Nobody Tells You
Every July it's the same story. Somebody sits down in my chair, the color we worked so hard on back in spring has gone flat and a little orange, and they swear they didn't do anything different. And they didn't, really. They just went outside. They went swimming. They lived their summer.
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Your Summer Reset: New Season, New Chair, New You
She sat down in my chair the first week of June and said, “April, I'm just tired of looking at it.”
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