He Wayof the Scissor

孙佳慧

How to get through your next haircut

如何拒绝“办卡”，从发廊全身而退？

“Would you like to buy a membership card？”

“Y3o b3n zh`ng hu#yu1nk2 ma？”

“要办张会员卡吗？”

If you hear this infernal message more than three times in quick succession， youre almost certainly in a hair salon. The moment your hand hits the door， youll be whacked in the face by queries from your hairstylist. These creatures can take many shapes： garrulous， bossy， hateful， laconic—but always somewhat annoyed.

They usually， for no reason that can be discerned by any logical creature， have English names despite not speaking English.

Within seconds， they judge your taste， manipulate your choice， and seize on every spare moment to sell you a goddamned membership card！

Lets begin with the control freak stylist. They try to control everything， from how much needs trimmed to whether you should have bangs. You may be the customer， but they are the Emeritus Professor of Dead Protein Growing Out of Scalps， all hail.

Stylist： I dont think it would look good on you. You are really pretty with long hair.

W6 ju9de du2nf3 b% sh#h9 n@. N@ li% ch1ngf3 h2ok3n.

我覺得短发不适合你。你留长发

好看。

You： But I want to try short hair.

D3n w6 xi2ng ch1ngsh# y！xi3 du2nf3.

但我想尝试一下短发。

S： You will regret it！ It is not easy to get such long hair！

N@ hu# h7uhu@ de！ T5ufa li% zh-me ch1ng du4 b& r5ngyi！

你会后悔的！头发留这么长多不

容易！

Y： I wont. I am sure.

W6 k0nd#ng b%hu# h7uhu@.

我肯定不会后悔。

S： At least keep it shoulder-length， which is in fashion this year.

Zh#sh2o li% d3o ji`nb2ng n3me ch1ng ba， j～nni1n h0n li%x！ng.

至少留到肩膀那么长吧，今年很

流行。

Some hairstylists seem to think cutting your hair is a life or death decision—which it might be if they dont shut up. On the bright side， these are the folks that will take your hair seriously， even if you dont. But， dont argue that youre right. Try to think of a special reason for your haircut.

Stylist： Short hair isnt right for your face.

Du2nf3 b% sh#h9 n@ de li2nx！ng.

短发不适合你的脸型。

You： It doesnt matter. I want it cut because I need a new start for my broken heart.

M9i gu`nxi. W6 ji2n du2nf3 sh# y～nw-i w6 sh～ li3n le， x$y3o y！ g- x～n de k`ish@.

沒关系。我剪短发是因为我失恋了，需要一个新的开始。

Yes， thats a lie （probably）. But dont feel guilty. That person has a blade next to your head， so use whatever method of mollification you can. Other excuses include moving to another city， finding a new job， or the preference of your new lover.

The control freak is easy enough to deal with. Theyre， at the very least， professional. However， some hairdressers can just be offensive.

S： Which salon did it for you？ Never go there again.

Z3i n2 ji` l@f3di3n t3ng de a？ Y@h7u bi9 z3i q& le.

在哪家理发店烫的啊？以后别再

去了。

Y： I dont think they are that bad. Maybe its just my hairs problem.

W6 ju9de t`men h1i k0y@. K0n9ng sh# w6 t5ufa de w-nt！.

我觉得他们还可以。可能是我头发的问题。

S： Your hair needs some better treatment. You can buy a membership card here and have some hair care every week.

N@ de t5ufa x$y3o g-ng h2o de b2oy2ng. N@ k0y@ z3i w6men zh-l@ b3n y# zh`ng hu#yu1nk2， m0izh4u gu7 l1i zu7 h&l@.

你的头发需要更好的保养，你可以在我们这里办一张会员卡，每周过来做护理。

You cant even scowl because they can see you in the mirror， and if you stay quiet， you might hear：

Women shouldnt be lazy.

N）r9n ji&sh# b&n9ng l2n.

女人就是不能懒。

Lets not discuss why “women” cant be lazy and concentrate on the smooth slip of the membership card mention. Youve been insulted， condemned， and insulted again and he still thinks youll buy the membership card. The solution is very easy， when they begin to criticize your previous stylist， you can say：

I wont visit them again because they kept trying to sell me a membership card！

W6 b%hu# z3i q& t`men di3n le， t`men y#zh！ tu～xi`o hu#yu1nk2.

我不会再去他们店了，他们一直推销会员卡。

That might shut them up for a while， but remember that most hair salon staff are， first and foremost， salespeople. Youre a target the moment you step into the room.

Beware the dreaded up-sell. A staff member may come to simply wash your hair. Theyll hold up a bottle of shampoo and ask， “Do you think this shampoo is okay？” You give it a glance and say its fine， but when youre done， youre going to notice a big， fat fee for that fancy shampoo. No one told you because you didnt ask. The tricks dont end there. Even if you learn your lesson and ask about the price， they will still be ready for you.

Staff： Id like to recommend our senior stylist Tony for you.

W6 xi3ng n！n tu～ji3n w6men de g`oj！ f3x！ngsh～ Tu4n！.

我向您推荐我们的高级发型师

托尼。

You： How much is it？

Du4shao qi1n？

多少钱？

S： The basic haircut is 100 RMB.

Ji2nf3 y#b2i yu1n.

剪发一百元。

Y： Is there a cheaper option？

Y6u g-ng pi1nyi de ma？

有更便宜的吗？

S： We also have 80 RMB and 60 RMB packages. But Tony is very experienced， especially for dyeing and perming hair. You can also have a perm.

H1iy6u b`sh！ h9 li&sh！ de. D3n Tu4n！ j～ngy3n f8ich1ng f8ngf&， t-bi9 sh# r2nf3 t3ngf3. N@ y0 k0y@ t3ng y！xi3.

还有八十和六十的。但托尼经验非常丰富，特别是染发烫发。你也可以烫一下。

Y： Then how much is it for the perm？

T3ngf3 du4shao qi1n？

烫发多少钱？

S： Well， they are 400 RMB， 600 RMB， and 800 RMB. The processing agents are different. The more expensive， the better it is for your hair.

Y6u s#b2i、li&b2i h9 b`b2i de. T3ngf3j# b& y！y3ng， yu- gu# de du# t5ufa yu- h2o.

有四百、六百和八百的。烫发剂不一样，越贵的对头发越好。

Y： I think the 400 RMB will be fine for me.

W6 ju9de s#b2i de ji& x！ng le .

我觉得四百的就行了

S： Sure. Would you like to have your hair dyed？ Color will make you look younger.

H2ode. N@ y3o r2n ge y1ns- ma？ Y6u di2nr y1ns- xi2nde ni1nq～ng.

好的。你要染个颜色吗？有点儿颜色显得年轻。

Y： So how much is it？

R2nf3 du4shao qi1n？

染发多少钱？

S： You can choose from 300 RMB and 500 RMB. The 500 RMB one has a better effect and wont hurt your hair.

Y6u s`nb2i h9 w^b2i de. W^b2i de xi3ogu6 h2o y～di2nr， h1i b& sh`ng t5ufa.

有三百和五百的。五百的效果好一点，还不伤头发。

Y： Let me think.

W6 xi2ngxiang.

我想想。

If you get this far， all they need to do is set the hook.

S： It is a little expensive， but you are not doing it every day. And if you buy a prepaid membership card， you can enjoy a ten percent discount.

Sh# y6u di2nr gu#， k0 n@ y0 b% sh# ti`nti`n zu7. R%gu6 n@ xi3nz3i b3n y# zh`ng hu#yu1nk2 dehu3， k0y@ d2 ji^ zh9.

是有点儿贵，可你也不是天天做。如果你现在办一张会员卡的话，可以打九折。

Y： Okay， Ill take a card.

H2o ba， w6 b3n y# zh`ng k2.

好吧，我办一张卡。

See？ Did you have a plan for a perm or a dye？ No， youve just been swindled. But， remember this very important lesson： you can stop them whenever you want. The best way is by telling them that youre broke.

Staff： Id like to recommend our senior stylist Tony for you.

W6 xi3ng n！n tu～ji3n w6men de g`oj！ f3x！ngsh～ Tu4n！.

我向您推薦我们的高级发型师

托尼。

You： I dont need a senior stylist. The cheapest one is fine. I dont have much money right now.

W6 b& x$y3o g`oj！ f3x！ngsh～， zu# pi1nyi de ji& x！ng， w6 sh8nshang m9i d3i du4shao qi1n.

我不需要高级发型师，最便宜的就行，我身上没带多少钱。

Once they know that you dont have enough cash， most of the scams and hard-sells will stop. Keep in mind， though， that some of that hospitality will disappear， too. Someone spending money is a customer; someone who isnt is a training doll for rookies. Of course， not all hairstylists are like this. For the nice， honest， hardworking fellas in the industry， the locks of our hair are the keys to our hearts.