I was getting my haircut there for the first time. My hair stylist was Katey. There are two of them named Katie there that share the same station on different days but my hair stylist had short to medium brown hair. Her name is spelled with a “y”.

She took me to get my hair washed. It was a darker more peaceful area than the rest of the bustling salon. It’s the kind of area you’d hang out at before you went into the spa or to get a massage. Today wasn’t exceptionally busy as it’s a work day. But on the weekends, as Katey told me it’s crazy. Plus they serve mimosas from their “color bar” on Saturdays, so that adds to even more appointments.

But anyway, when I got my hair washed, it was a neat experience. Sometimes you know the hair stylists give you a scalp massage (the kind my doggie gets every day) but this one was slightly different. It was more the slow chakra massage and smells. The shampoo smelled like mint and was soothing on the scalp. And another one smelled like black licorice. The massage itself is supposed to hit certain pulse points where you’re more sensitive. At least that’s what I was told when I was at the Aveda store and the experiences I’ve had with chakra massages before. It was a great way to relax for five minutes.

When we got back to the chair, Katey trimmed my hair. She did something really detailed which I liked. She cut the hair when it was wet but then went back in and trimmed up some when it was less wet. That better ensures that each hair is the right cut length. That was a really good experience. I’ll be coming back. Maybe on a Saturday for that mimosa!

Oh, and besides hair salon stuff they do Chakra massages, green science peels, manicures, pedicures, waxes and the whole nine yards. They also have half day type packages.

So where was I? Oh yeah, Pe-les Salon. I was referred to Peles from the Aveda store. They are a Raleigh Aveda salon. I was told to go see Kaitlin. And that’s who I saw. She’s young, from Buffalo New York, got long dark straight hair, and is super tan…in the winter. Year round from her Northern Italian roots, she mentioned. She’s very bubbly and easy to talk with. We seem to hit it off as this was my first time there. It’s important to be able to easily converse with your hair stylist, so that #1, she doesn’t chop off all your hair. And #2, it makes for a better 30 minutes away from work.

She asked me what I was looking for and gave me some recommendations. I said great. Then after she washed my hair with about 2-3 different products…Aveda has a ton of products… she started trimming. She made me a ‘lil cocktail. Well, not the kind you drink. Lunch time is a little early…okay, maybe not but if you wanna be productive the rest of the day…well… not the best thing. So this cocktail was a mix of a bunch of hair product stuff that she rattled off her tongue. I had no idea what she was saying at the time but it sounded good and she acted like she knew what she was doing. She wrote it down for me later when I was leaving.

But so, she just added a dollop of this and a dollop of that. It was dripping from her hand onto the floor, and I smiled and told her it was dripping. And she just said in a smiling no worries voice, ‘that’s okay’. Then she mixed it all up and put it in my hair and explained why ‘the cocktail’ was better than putting one hair product in before the other. Basically the reasoning was that by making the cocktail you put the right amount in ‘cause you can see it all together at one time. So I had a cocktail with zero calories…cool deal!

She went to go introduce me to some of their product and made some recommendations. Good sales girl. When I was checking out, there was a guy in line in front of me. By the way, the salon wasn’t crowded. We just happen to be done at the same time. But so, the woman behind the counter said to him ‘do you pre-book your appointments’? He real coolly said, ‘No… I’m a guy’. HE-LLO! I knew it! That’s been my theory all along. But now I KNOW… it’s TRUE! Remember that book I told you about, “Men are like waffles”…hehe.

Raleigh Aveda Store for Balance

Do you know what chakras are?  If you look it up, the definition is ‘centers of energy that relates to each of our body’s systems and organs’.

Ayeda, by the way, is the name short for Ayurveda which means ‘science of life’.   They’re a very green-conscious store…using recycled container packaging, and taking preserving our earth very seriously.  You might’ve heard of them through your hair salon that might sell Aveda hair products.

I’m sitting here sipping on Aveda’s signature tea made of peppermint and licorice.

So I smelled a few small bottles.  I like the orange and jasmine scents best.  You get to cleanse your nasal passage with dry coffee beans in between sniffings.  But what I was blown away most with was that after I tried the scents, the Aveda shop girl I was talking to, took me to over to some sitting stools to give me a hair analysis.  Keri was her name.  She asked me a few questions like ‘what bothers me about my hair most’?  I said the frizz and kinks from humidity.  She gave me a recommendation of Aveda products that would help with that.  She also gave me a little ‘damage remedy intensive restructuring treatment’ sample I could try.  Along with a sample cup of tea.  The same tea that I’m sipping on right now.  Actually it’s the only signature one they sell.

I really did feel like I was shopping at a spa.  Keri then sat me next to the Chakra aroma test which is different than the perfume sniffing I did earlier .  This is kinda fun especially if you’re with a girlfriend to see what kinda scents you like, and are secretly drawn to.  She asked me to pick out 3 cards that attracted me most – either ‘cause of color, word, or shape.

Chakra Aroma Cards

I only picked two as the others didn’t jump out at me.  The first one I picked was ‘cause of the word ‘inspired’. And the second one was ‘cause of the orange color.  She actually let me smell all of them but I was still gravitated towards the orange one that said ‘nourished’ on it.  The aroma had orange scents in it… what can I say, I like orange.  You know the smell of citrusy orange on your hands after peeling an orange — I like that scent.  Keri, then surprised me and said she was gonna give me a one minute Chakra massage…oh, that felt so good.  She told me to chant silently on my word which was ‘nourished’.   Love that!  Chakra massages are different than most common spa massages.  They do work on your muscles but they also kinda beat on you in certain places too.  Like, with her fingers she made it feel like it was raining on my shoulder.  It’s kinda like the Homedic spa chairs you can try at Brookstone where you can set different beating motions.  Some of those chair motions make me want to vomit ‘cause they’re too hard and mechanical.  So this was a hundred times better!

When you have a day off or lunch break, go discover your chakra aromas just for fun. You may learn something about yourself..and at the very least the scents you like.

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