This could only happen to me

The Brazilian Blowout! These three words have literally changed my life. I've always had puffy hair - not curly, not straight. Just big. My stylist told me about this thing that certain salons are doing called the Brazilian Blowout. Basically it is a temporary way of straightening your hair which removes all the frizz and makes it look like you were born with great hair, which I, unfortunately, wasn't.

After I hear of this miracle process of course I want it as I'm the perfect candidate. I hopped onto Yelp and picked the first salon that popped up which displayed some positive reviews. Which was my first mistake.

I trekked from downtown all the way to the Outer Sunset - which is a good 45 minute trip including the wait for the train. When I finally got to the salon I was pretty worried. From the outside it looked like one of those chop shop nail salons you would skip because you are worried you would get athletes foot from the foot bath. The inside was no better.

The above is an actual picture of the front of the Salon, thank you Google Maps.

I walked in to some loud Russian pop music, a couple of older Chinese gentlemen squatting on the floor over a hole in the floor. A hole. There were dirty towels piled up in the corner, hair all over the ground and the stylists were yelling at each other in Russian. I was a bit worried. I mean I'm not a total snob and I don't expect champagne or anything but I do expect some cleanliness. This place looked like a Russian mafia front. Come to think of it, I would not be surprised if it was.

Helen, the stylist, finally gruffly turned to me and asked me what I wanted - umm the appointment I made two months ago? I have to say she did a good job albeit the process is not difficult and the results are basically attributed to this miracle elixir from Brazil, which I found out was actually created by a mortician to make dead people's hair shiner post mortem.

I did get to catch up on the latest People Magazine (congrats Sandra Bullock), soap in my eye when Oksana the hair shampoo girl accidentally squirted it in my face, and a good couple hours education in Russian pop music.

Lessons learned?

1. Find a salon with more the five reviews on Yelp prior to booking

2. Sometimes there are reasons we judge books by their cover

3. Never go to the Outer Sunset for something you can find at multiple places throughout the City.