It’s a common truism that going to the salon is a substitute for therapy. “The salon is a rare, special time when you can sit quietly,” says Andy Scarborough, owner of Framed Salon in Santa Monica, California. “It’s in this space that problems often arise.” In other words, “If you’re having a midlife crisis, why not cut your bangs?”
What I’ve endured over the past 15 months or so could be described as a three-eighths-of-a-life crisis — an early divorce, the illness and subsequent death of a parent, and mounting work stress — has me seeking therapy wherever I can find it. And, blaming California circa 2016, I’ve recently found new age treatments like Reiki and flower essences to be far more effective than medication or talk therapy. Still, one setback persists: my hair loss, which has manifested in the loss of about half the volume of my once lush, well-hidden long locks.
And during a recent consultation trendI booked an appointment because licensed stylist-turned-shaman Colleen McCann described my friend Scarborough as “the wigwam chiefess of spiritual hair salons.” After all, what better way to get your head in order than to literally focus on your head for a healing session?
Tucked away on a quiet corner of Pico Boulevard near Trader Joe’s and the 405, the salon doesn’t look or feel like a witch’s lair; it’s bright, cheery and a little old-fashioned, as is the red-lipped Scarborough, a Texas native with a master’s degree in a field called spiritual psychology. (It’s a program for “therapists, coaches, doctors, people from all walks of life,” she explains.) When I arrive, before we’ve even discussed color or a cut, she places her hands on my head and states her intention: “Space and open your crown chakra.” listen Scarborough treats me with empathy and nonjudgment, with the goal of “giving me a sense of well-being that lasts long after the blow-dry.” She then asks me to take a few deep breaths and then asks me to do the same (a calming decision). Next, she spends 30 minutes listening to my grievances, after which I feel significantly lighter. “Healing comes from being heard and witnessed, not fixed,” she explains.
Of course, my hair itself do My hair is in need of a touch-up; the summer sun has faded it from chocolate brown to a reddish bronze, and a growing number of grey hairs are marring it at the top of my head. (I declined a haircut, but I was intrigued by Scarborough’s description of how she does it: a meditation inspired by “shamanic cord-cutting rituals.”) “The crown of the head is where you connect with spirit,” she explains. “It’s an energy center at the top of the head that accesses energies that foster deep peace, self-confidence, and inner wisdom.” When this zone is out of sync, the result can be “confusion, self-doubt, isolation, and depression,” she adds.
