You will be surprised just how much the salon and your dinner table have in common

We’ve all been there before.  You leave an expensive salon with a cut and/or color that you are less than thrilled about. You’re upset, you’re disappointed and you vow to never go back there again.

And we’ve all been here before too.  You leave brunch with a few of your girlfriends feeling bloated, jittery, and tired.  You had an ambitious day planned but now all you want to do is pop a few Advil, lay on the couch and watch Netflix.  You’re pissed at yourself for wasting the afternoon and you vow to never order the french toast again.

Cue the constant disappointing salon and culinary experiences that so many women can relate to.  And here’s the kicker: it happens ALL. THE. TIME.  It’s happened to me more times over my hair styling and brunching career than I care to admit (and trust me, I have a long history).  Plus, the likelihood that we’ll be returning to that same restaurant or salon, in a few months, is relatively high (excluding any major mishaps, of course, i.e. purple hair, extremely rude staff or a fly in your soup), because change is hard (damn it) and our grief from the last experience is often short-lived.

Here’s the deal:  The attachment many women have to their eating habits is very similar to the attachment we have to underwhelming, over-priced salon experiences.  Whether it’s coffee and a bagel or some blonde highlights, we have become accustomed to feeling pretty ‘blah’ with the results.  We are so conditioned to stay stuck in this wheel of ‘good enough’ so we grab the first option available or stick with what’s familiar, even when it’s not serving us, rather than striving for optimal results. 

So often I hear women say, caffeine has no effect on me.  I drink two cups of coffee every morning.  It doesn’t affect my sleep or my nerves.  It’s a non-issue. Perhaps. But perhaps, since you’ve been drinking two cups of coffee now for the last decade, you no longer a reasonable judge of how it affects your system because you forgot what it feels like to operate without it?  Unless, you eliminate or significantly reduce the culprit (in this case, caffeine) from your system for a period of time (at least 2 weeks) and reintroduce it back in, slowly, then you will never truly know it’s effect on your mood, gut and productivity.  Same goes for dairy, gluten or anything else that has become a regular sample in your diet.  We have NO IDEA how much better we can feel (or our hair could look) if we embraced the fact that change is necessary, change is good and change gives you perspective.  

The one key point I think we’re missing in our society today is food is energy.  Yet, how often do you finish a meal and feel truly energized?  If your response to this question is a big fat, “HA!”, then you may want to reconsider what’s on your plate, day after day, meal after meal.

Lately, I’m all about getting some perspective.   I’m trying a new salon in my neighborhood next week (fingers crossed!) and I’m going to eliminate gluten from my diet for the next few weeks in an effort to better manage some gut health issues.  Both, I am HUGELY resistant to doing, because a new salon gives me anxiety and gluten-free requires me to overhaul my grocery list and my meals, but I expect the payoffs will outweigh the effort.  And, honestly, what do I have to lose?  The alternative is frizzy hair and feeling pretty crappy.

Imagine a world where women left the dinner table AND the salon feeling better than when they first sat down.  It’s possible, people!  One simple, savvy step at a time.

What's one step you can take this week? Share in the comments below!