Tajik Hair Cut

Well done Tajikistan!!!! I KNEW you could pull it off! It's only a haircut but the hair is some people's prize and they don't want it screwed up because people have to look at it!

I have been sizing up the Tajiks haircuts for about 6 weeks now and I decided to take the plunge since their haircuts looked really cute. The girls in Khujand are much more cutting edge and have cuter styles in EVERYTHING than in Dushanbe and other parts of Tajikistan. There's a lot of Russian influence here and you can see it in fashion and hair styles. I did it! I took my Russian phrasebook and went to the hairdressers and explained (in Russian) that I wanted it layered and NOT TOO SHORT!! The lady understood and did her thing. There was certainly no ecomonic crisis in that hairdressing place. Women were getting their eyebrows plucked (with dental floss! ouch!!) and getting hair cuts and their hair styled. It was a happening place and it was for women only. Women working there and women clients. Tajikistan NEEDS its women to be working and there should be MORE places like that to cater to female clients. They could even do make-up and nails if they wanted to. It seems that even in the U.S. during tough times the salons are still busy with people wanting to do something to make themselves feel good, whether it's a manicure, pedicure, or a haircut. I only paid 20 Somoni for a cut and style which is $4.57. I was so ready to pay 100 Somoni when I walked in because the place looked like a REAL salon, but when she said 20 Somoni I wanted to beg her to let me pay her more, but the Tajiks absolutely will not accept more money (except taxi drivers). With the Tajiks I've met, if they tell you a price, that's the price they want whether you're a Tajik or not. I like that about them. It's a good thing the people are so nice otherwise I would have been out of here. I like the Tajiks...they're good people.