ND: I alternately refer to what I do as ‘hair mag-
ic’ or ‘hair party’. My Facebook page is called
“HAIRPARTy With Nancy B!”.
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LM: What’s the best hair in the animal kingdom?
ND: Lions, duh.
LM: How would you give me a lion cut?
ND: Lots of time, and lots of product.
LM: What about outrageous or bizarre hair?
ND: Those are usually not regulars. Also, there
are things that people ask for that I don’t think
of as weird cuts, but maybe they are. There’s a
person who comes in and gets an undercut bowl
cut, and I do that on a few people. Maybe that’s
weird. I do a lot of tails, and a lot of pony manes.
It all feels normal to me.
LM: What’s the key to getting a good haircut? Is
it communication?
ND: yes, I had this guy in my chair that couldn’t
tell me what he wanted, except that he wanted a
lot of it cut off. I said, “Okay, we’re going to use
free word association.” Eventually, he came up
with “swarthy.” It worked!
I’m not very literal, and neither are most stylists.
Bring me a picture of a chicken with a thing that
you like, and I can do it.
LM: Is there anything different or special about
cutting hair in Portland? you seem like a natural
here.
ND: I don’t know. I think what I like about it
most is being part of people’s lives, and being
part of the community. I like looking out into a
crowd of people, looking at their hair, and think-
ing, “Mine, mine, mine, oh… and mine!” g
Get hair magic from Nancy Dear at Bishops Bar-
ber Shop on Mississippi. I suggest that you do,
and you’re welcome to bring a photo of your fa-
vorite animal as a reference tool. Find her Face-
book page at “HAIRPARTy with Nancy B!”
lyska mondor pens In The Pink for Just Out. She is a pub-
lished poet and aspiring sci-fi author. Reach her at
lyska@JustOut.com
October 2012
JustOut.com
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