Photos Courtesy of Glow Hair Co.
You show up to one—or let’s be honest, ten—ZOOM meetings looking a little rough, and suddenly you’re attracting all kinds of attention. Not necessarily the good kind. Clients start texting things like, “Umm I will literally pay for you to have your hair done because this ain’t it.” Or, in my case:
“Hey Katie, I have an appreciation gift for you. It’s with Glow Hair Co. downtown. You can get a blowout, a cut, a style...whatever you need.”
Translation: “Please stop scaring the camera.”
And this, dear readers, brought sweet Morgan Sanders into my life, who might be the cutest thing ever created. Before we even met in person, she sent me a text that said, “Send me your inspo!”
This took a few seconds to process (old people unite) but after a quick internet search, I discovered “inspo” is short for “inspiration.” It’s a Gen Z word used in trendy, confident sentences by people who don’t need caffeine to survive.
I was ready. I texted back:
“Oh my gosh, this is easy. Google Kim Kardashian.”
Morgan: I thought you had brown curly hair.
Katie: Oh, I absolutely do.
Awkward silence. Then it occurred to me that she doesn’t need to meet me to assume that I’m not 5 '0, 100 pounds and/or ½ Armenian. She was definitely looking for a realistic idea that would be attainable for a 40-year-old divorcee clinging to her final shreds of dignity.
So I did what any adult woman in crisis does: I consulted my teenage daughter.
Me: “Cambri, she wants inspo. What do I send?”
Cambri: “Just send her your Pinterest board.”
Me: “I literally overcooked and then still served Ramen noodles for dinner last night. You think I have a Pinterest board?”
Cambri: “Just shave your head and start over.”
Isn’t always being surrounded by Gen Zers just the next level of heaven?
But since I didn’t have any “realistic” inspo, I just arrived at my appointment with just my messy hair. When I walked in the door, I thought I had left downtown Idaho Falls. The salon is so beautiful and classy that it felt like a much bigger city experience. The hair dryers were like little robots, a far cry from the plastic helmets of yester year. When she went to wash out my hair, there was a LITERAL SHELF for me to put my head on! And the custom foot ottomans for the washing station looked so nice, I had to ask if I could put my shoes on them. It was the nicest salon I’d ever been into and it's right here in Idaho Falls.
This is not the Ashton, Idaho hair experience I grew up with. Back then, your cousin’s grandma’s neighbor took a two-hour class so she could do perms in her laundry room. You got sprayed in the face with what may have been hose water coming from a utility sink while being told to “sit still or you’ll go blind from chemicals.” Man, the 80s were a wild time.
Glow Hair Co. is, to put it mildly, ONE BILLION times better.
Morgan was so talented that I immediately felt at ease and just chatted the whole time, with no regard to having to pay attention. Since I knew she was dating a Spud King, I took it as my mom place to ask the “So is he nice? Does he listen well? What kind of person is he?” questions. Spoiler, DJ MacLeish is an A+ boyfriend, which I think we could have all assumed.
After my hair transformation, Morgan spun me around in the chair and I gasped. Like, actual gasp. I blurted, “Oh my goodness. I look like you!”
And I, of course, immediately regretted saying this because I realized I sounded insane. I’m sure every 19-year-old is THRILLED when a midlife woman compares herself to them in any way, shape, or contour. All I meant was—we both now have brown hair with blonde on top. But Morgan, sweet as ever, just smiled and nodded, probably dying inside.
When I left that salon, I swear my hair had never looked better. Those days are behind me. I’m officially bougie-haired and proud of it.
About Glow Hair Co.
Glow Hair Co. is a hair salon located in the heart of downtown that specializes in color and styling. Owner Amanda Mitchell describes the high-end luxury salon as a long-awaited dream of hers that came to life in 2022.
Beyond hairstyling, Amanda's vision for every individual stepping through the doors of Glow Hair Co. is to depart not only looking radiant but also feeling truly luminous from within.
The talented team of stylists at Glow Hair Co. all share the same passion—to celebrate their clients’ confidence and help them glow inside and out. Their friendly nature and relaxed setting of the salon make clients feel right at home.
For more information, head to www.glowhairco.net.