Innocents, get lost

Not too long ago, I was sitting in Frederic Fekkai getting my hair highlighted when a seemingly innocent towhead skipped up and stared at me, suspiciously.

“What’s in your hair?” she asked of the foil cornrows that lined my scalp. I explained that it was a magic potion to make my hair caramel blond.

“Why?” she asked. I debated about whether to start a dialogue about self-esteem issues and the objectification of women and how blonds have more. . . . She started fidgeting. Instead, I told her that I was covering gray hairs.

“Why?” she persisted. Hmm. I opted for honesty and blurted that I wanted to look a little younger.

“Why?” she asked. Did I sense some judgment in her lisp? I smiled thinly and told her that I was 129 years old and my pet big, bad wolf preferred me youthful.

Now, it’s my turn to ask, “Why?”

Why are children allowed to roam hair salons and accost innocent customers? Because, apparently, some moms mistake a room full of stylish people wielding sharp scissors and hot irons for a day-care center. I have even seen a child try to push one of those trolleys that holds bowls of hair dyes. Choo-choo!

The heated debate over kids-free zoning is typically reserved for areas in which kids disrupt a peaceful environment like first-class cabins on airplanes and hotel lounges. This summer, a beach in Lake Forest, Ill., relegated 25% of its sandy surface as a no-child zone. An upscale Chicago restaurant recently opened an adults-only room. Clearly, some folks would rather not engage with the next generation or get peas spit their way during a romantic dinner.

But at hair salons, the issue is a matter of safety too. Moms can’t very well mind their projectile toddlers when being shampooed. Nor can they reprimand or soothe a screaming child over the heady drone of a Super Solano dyer. A local stylist once confided in me that a client asked her to tie her 3-year-old son to an empty chair with an extension cord. She refused.

Too bad.

Here in Los Angeles, salons always claim to be family-friendly. I just called Prive on Beverly Boulevard and asked if I could bring in three children (ages 3 to 7) while I got a cut. The receptionist said it would be fine if I could “contain them the whole time.”

The same goes for John Frieda on Melrose Place, which happens to have a swimming pool in its center. “I don’t know of any kids jumping in,” said the receptionist. “But that would be your responsibility as the parent.”

I would like to propose an addendum. How about the “No Child Left Behind Unless Mom Goes to the Hair Salon” bill?

--

Read All the Rage, Monica Corcoran’s daily blog on the culture of appearances, at latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/.