SIGHTS
A front desk (with a computer and cash drawer, a debit machine, a display case with hair accessories), a trendy waiting area (couches, a coffee table piled with fashion magazines, a cart with glasses and a pitcher of water), glass shelving holding designer products (shampoos, conditioners, hair repair oils, gels, waxes, hairsprays and mousses), a selection of wigs and hair pieces, a wall of sinks with dark towels stacked in cubbies, large shampoo and conditioner dispensers, garbage cans, reclining chairs, hair stations (mirrors, antibacterial washes for combs and tools, a hair dryer and irons, a padded swivel chair that can be raised or lowered, a collection of products, a water bottle sprayer, different sizes of scissors, electric shears, brushes and combs), hair scattered over the floor, industrial hair dryers, a broom leaning against the wall, posters of models with designer haircuts, a display of hair extensions, books of hair color samples, bowls and brushes for mixing colors, a movable storage tower (with clips, combs, bands, rollers, and a foil dispenser for highlights), stylists dressed all in black or wearing a company apron, a restroom in the back
SOUNDS
Hair dryers blowing, the snip of scissors, music on the radio, water spraying in the sink, sheets of tin foil being torn off, customers laughing with their hairdressers, the phone ringing, aerosol spray hissing, foamy shampoo plopping into the sink, the hiss of a hydraulic chair being lowered, the chunk chunk chunk of a chair being raised with a foot pedal, supply drawers sliding open and closed, heels striking the tile or wood floor, stylists chatting with each other between appointments
SMELLS
Shampoo and conditioner (mint, eucalyptus, floral, citrus or herbal scents), an overheated blow dryer motor, astringent cleaners and antiseptic washes, chemical hair dyes, colors and perming agents
TASTES
Accidentally getting a spritz of hairspray in one’s mouth, coffee, tea or lemon water
TEXTURES AND SENSATIONS
Hair being pulled taut and then cut, the cold slickness of water and suds washing away extra hair color or bleaching agents, the smoothness of a plastic cape covering one’s body, flipping through a glossy magazine while the heat from the blow dryer causes one’s scalp to prickle, the itch or burn of a hair chemical along one’s hairline, cold water misting one’s face and neck, shampoo being splashed into one’s eyes at the sink, one’s neck lying uncomfortably against the ceramic curve of the washing station, warm water and foamy shampoo being massaged into one’s hair, holding one’s head at an awkward angle while a stylist cuts it, heat from an iron pressing into one’s scalp, the wet ends of hair slapping one’s face at the end of a cut, the silky smoothness of hair that has been styled
POSSIBLE SOURCES OF CONFLICT
Receiving a bad haircut or color
Studio drama between stylists
The hairdresser being bumped or her heel twisting in the middle of a cut
Color that sits in too long and damages the hair
A client’s skin reacting to a chemical and being burned
A stylist who overestimates his own abilities and can’t deliver the style one requested
Having no cash and learning too late that the tip can’t be placed on a credit card
Having a stylist who speaks a different language and being unable to communicate one’s desires
A chatty hairdresser (or client) who won’t shut up about her problems
PEOPLE COMMONLY FOUND HERE
Clients, employees and trainees, stylists
RELATED SETTINGS THAT MAY TIE IN WITH THIS ONE
SETTING NOTES AND TIPS
Some salons may offer other services beyond hair care like tanning booths, dermatology services (such as electrolysis and laser treatments), eyebrow threading, hair waxing, etc. Consider also that a hair salon is a place where a customer feels a bit invisible and she has a captive audience: her stylist. This may lead to someone talking about things that are overly personal or none of her business. This situation is a breeding ground for potential conflict if the wrong person was to overhear a secret being spilled under the assumption that no one knows the person being talked about.
SETTING DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE
After an hour of pulling and poking, my soggy hair was suitably spiked with foil. Anna directed me to the hair dryers and I couldn’t get my head under there fast enough. Anna, in her mid-fifties, was prone to hot flashes and so kept the studio’s temperature somewhere around frostbite level. She dropped a hefty stack of magazines on my lap and flicked the switch. Blissful heat blasted me, sucking away the tendrils of cold and making my long, chilly wait in the styling chair worthwhile.
Techniques and Devices Used: Contrast, hyperbole
Resulting Effects: Characterization