A barefoot shampoo by Keith

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It was 2017 while the nation was divided over brexit. I had my own crisis. My marriage (to my now late wife) was in trouble, I'd argued with my parents , fallen out with a friend and to top it all my Peugeot car was unreliable. This meant I was going grey and my hair thinning, terrific all this at 37.

So I decided to start Karate, get a Toyota, get some new clothes, re grow my mustache and re new myself. The meant the grey had to go, I would be dying my hair. Not at home my mum tried this back in the 1980s and spilt the dying solution onto the kitchen worktop. The stain never came out.

So passing a local small salon I noticed an over on a range of treatments. Dying hair being one. I plucked up the courage to go in, well I should do I'm a 37 year old bloke now. Not that naive, dopey teenager having his first salon hair wash by a middle aged woman 20 years previous.

Walked in, trying to be cocky and not succeeding. I was the only male client they had, but they gave me a test and booked me in for 2 days later. Then I noticed a pedicure service. My feet take a lot of use, what with my manual job and karate training, which is barefoot. So I booked that too. Brilliant 2 things at 33% off both. However, it was the way in which it was done and what happened that day which was amusing 😅.

I entered the salon and immediately the butterflies came to my stomach, just like they had 20 years ago. I handed them my recently purchased used dark red, leather Argintinan jacket. I was wearing my Japanese made Dior shirt jacket and my designer grey Italian bootcut jeans. I tried to look every bit the alpha male in this ladies hair salon, despite the butterflies!

I was gowned up in the largest gown they had, a black one coming down to my knees. Tape round the neck, a plastic covering and the towel. I'm 5'10 and my hairdresser, a young apprentice, was 5'2, if that.

I was sat in front of a mirror, straight myself up, looked at my Magnum PI 80s style mustache and looked cocky, try to hide the fact I was nervous as hell about being dyed😊.

My hairdresser then informed me that since the lady that would be doing my pedicure needed to leave early that she would do my feet as I was having my hair dyed. What?

I began to watch as my hairdresser prepared the dye. I think she found this amusing. Dying the hair of a 37 year old bloke while another lady performs a pedicure on him. At that moment another young lady turned up and ordered that my new trainers and black socks were to come off my size 10 feet. I was to be barefoot in the salon.

Indeed I was stribbed of my trainers and socks they were taken away and my feet were emersed in warm soapy water. As this happened the dark brown dye was being applied through my hair. I saw my greys dissappear, I looked young again. I enjoyed it as on lady massaged my head another my feet. I closed my eyes this was bliss. Then the fire alarm sounds.

What, I have to get out round the back! Everyone made for the emergency exit to the rear car park. The other ladies were just having cuts, only one had a gown on. I had a hair full of dye and was barefoot I was told to walk to the door and was given this goofy looking disposable flip flop things.

"Put these on". She looked down at my size 10 feet sticking out from under my bootcut jeans.

"Actually...your feet are to big... Stand on this matt instead".

Fortunately, for me, it was a bright dry spring day.

There I was in the back car park, standing barefoot on a matt, large gown on, hair full of dye. I just smiled, so did the 5-6 other ladies. They found this really amusing😂. After 10 or so minutes we were allowed back in, someone had tripped the alarm accidentally. Today of all days😅.

Once back inside I was taken into a private room. More dye was massaged through my hair and the lady doing the pedicure finished off. However, I had to stay barefoot for another 45 minutes to let the foot cream soak in. My toes looked beautiful, she had put a clear hardener on the. My big feet smooth. I now sat in my private room which had the only forward facing hair wash sink in the salon, the other 3 were back leaning sinks. I was told that it is better to shampoo a man forward facing, get to the back of the neck easily.

Another hairdresser asked if I would like to try on those little flip-flops again.
Myself and my hairdresser looked at my feet.

"No" we said smiling.
" He'll be fine barefoot" she said to her colleague.

Then it was time to be rinsed. The shampoo had come. She turned on the water, again splashing around the sink, again I was bundled up with butterflies in my stomach just like 20 years ago. As she tested the temperature 2 of her colleagues came in for a break, turns out this was also a small staff room as it had a kitchen area. I had an audience, I could see them looking at me from the mirror.

" OK can you bend forward and close your eyes"

I smiled and moved forward bending into the sink. The wash had started. Again I was lathered up and she started scrubbing me. Something was telling me that her colleagues were finding this quite amusing. A bloke in a ladies salon, barefooted , being dyed and shampooed by the apprentice, who was probably half his age. She shampooed me 3 times to get the excess dye out, then I was asked if I wanted conditioner and a head message :

"Oh yeah!"

I replied, enjoy it to the max. This lasted nearly 20 minutes!

After I was rinsed out and dried I got up to pay. I was still sizzling about the experience as I paid.

"Err.. Have you forgotten something sir?"

What? I just paid. I thought. Then she held up my trainers with my socks in them.

I glanced at my feet, smiling.

"Thanks.."

Sheepishly acknowledging her. 😉

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