I’ve posted about cultural differences many times, and please add this to that list: going to the hairdressser. Fun fact: France has more coiffeurs per capita most other European countries.
Which is why, when I see young French women with long flowing locks, I wonder why their hair often looks a bit stringy and, well, dirty.
We just watched a long French TV series, each with a different leading lady. All of them it seemed had gone quite a while without a good wash, and they certainly didn’t appear to own a comb. Vogue describes the current French look as "bohemian, poetic and soft" and even suggests that you go to bed with your hair wet and do nothing when you wake up. But they add: "There is nothing natural about “natural”; messy and we look like we don’t care; too controlled and we can appear too prim. There will be nothing quick or easy about this dishevelment." Hence, the proliferation of hair salons, to acheive messy yet poetic hair.
I found another answer to the stringy hair look from the many French hair salons I’ve visited (at least a dozen, over the years). They alway ask how often I wash my hair, and they are invariably appalled when I give my very American answer: every two or three days. Mais quel horreur! Never, ever more than once a week, I am admonished, and even longer is better. Over-washing will dry your hair out.
In the (politically incorrect) ad below, you see the French look: what we might call "beach hair", unwashed and uncombed. (And ladies, don't you always dress like this when you're using power tools?)
Then there are the haircuts. You can tell the stylists exactly what you want, but that may not matter much. Once, after having told a new hairdresser that I am tall so I never wear my hair short, and please just trim it lightly, I left in tears with what was nearly a buzz cut. Just this past week, I asked my stylist to tone down my summer-blonded hair just a bit. He proceeded to dye it a deep, dark brown.
When I asked a French friend why my style frequently varied so dramatically from my instructions, she looked at me like I had just fallen out of a coconut tree. “Why because they are French, of course. They do as they please.”
But after 20 years here, we’ve just learned another astonishing difference. Ron noticed that his coiffeur always tries to part his hair on the wrong side. I’ve noticed the exact same thing, with mine. So Ron asked him: is there a reason you always try to part it on the other side?
Monsieur’s response: “In France, women part their hair on the right, and men on the left”.
We knew the French had rules for most everything, but hair parts? This was news.
I have just googled this and I discovered that through the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance period in Europe, left-side hair parting was associated with nobility and sophistication. And so it continues, I suppose, but for French males alone.
So now we are both experimenting with reversing our parts to the French way. For me, it’s a bit hard to get used to the right, after a lifetime of left. Ron wonders, if we visit the States, will we go back to our usual parts, then have to flip our parts back when we land in Paris?
I discovered this week, when I posed the "part" question to a couple of other French coiffeuses, that there is no agreement on the subject (that too, is to be expected from the French). One said, it all depends on if you are droitier or gaucher (right or left handed). Another sniffed that it depends on which side "opens up your face" the best.
Dear Readers, I would love to hear your experiences with French hairdressers. Any tales for us? Or maybe you've had bizarre encounters in the States as well. Do tell.
In the COMMENTS: Emily and Francine, un grand merci à vous aussi. And also on Facebook, to Sandra, Joan, Linda ,and Ali. And of course to Natalia who has great books for us as usual. Ellen, you are right, Antwerp has more of a human scale than Amsterdam, and is imminently walkable. Anne Marie--ha! I wondered what Bunny Bowling was too.
Favorite READS: Natalia has two books for on the subject of art, and the art of the table: Renoir's Table and Monet's Table.
In the bad news department: Hurricane Milton followed close on the heels of Helene today, and our hearts break for those in their paths. I've been reading about the best way to help--which, unless you are close by, is to send money to the pros who know how to deal with this.The American Red Cross, and United Way are working hard. And don't forget all those poor lost and abandoned animals. The Humane Society of the US has teams in the south, and are helping shelters. (Natalia, your quote about animals is one of my favorites!).