Chapter 17.4
The door pinged as I pushed it open and entered the salon, tentatively walking up to the counter, I cleared my throat and concentrating as hard as I could said I was there for an appointment. My voice still sounded scratchy, but also somewhat convincing, I had to tell myself this was a safe space, they’d been lovely before even if I had Ellie with me back then to push me through.
Sensing no obvious reaction from the receptionist she took my jacket, asking if I would like a drink, as with my throat still sore I was quick to accept, gesturing to the seated area she scurried off to a back room as I sat down, Kelly, the stylist would be over shortly. I sat and fretted with the mask, I wanted to remove it, but felt too exposed, as the seat was near the window by the street.
I grabbed a magazine and started flicking through the pages absent mindedly, “Here you are, let me know if it isn’t chilled enough” startling me slightly, she was standing there holding a glass of prosecco. “oh!” I exclaimed “I was expecting water”. Hidden behind her mask her expression changed a little “I can take it back if you like, or maybe a rosé?. “No!” I interjected a bit too quickly, “prosecco would be great” my voice lifting automatically into the higher pitch.
I could feel her smile through he mask as she set it down “just let me know if you want a top up, I’ll be right over”. Alcohol was exactly what I needed, my hands trembling as I reached for the bubbly. I was really doing this, in a moment I’d have to ask for Lazer hair removal and start the process of permanently removing my body hair, crossing in imaginary boundary down a path I wasn’t fully sure where it led to.
Pulling the mask down conspicuously I chugged half the glass to help calm my nerves, bubbles instantly rushing up my nose, making me cough a little. As I regained my composure Kelly approached the seat and greeted me. I was glad the receptionist told me her name since I’d totally forgotten what it was, the last time I was here was such an intense experience.
She led me to a consulting area towards the back of the salon, there was much more privacy here and I didn’t mind removing the mask so she could see what she was working with. She rattled off a long list of things, far too many to remember and I really just wanted to start with sorting my body hair.
She examined me, and did express a concern my hair was fairly light, and the laser didn’t typically work that well, the small saving grace was my skin was naturally very pale. My underarm hair, crotch and face was darker so she was confident that would be fine. We talked about other treatments, I guessed the fillers would probably be next, but I also expressed hesitation, I didn’t want to rush things, and even though they were temporary, the risk of an adverse reaction wasn’t something I wanted to do.
Undeterred she showed me a few customers before and after and I was surprised at how natural some of them looked, you would probably never guess. Of course there were also some easily recognisable trout pouts, and cheek bone enhancements which were definitely too far.
There was also botox, which I scoffed at, given I was only 23 and thought my skin was pretty decent. Sensing I wasn’t going to go for any of the more intrusive options she moved onto products I could apply at home. A vast array of serums and lotions, infra-red lamps and a few massaging gadgets. She showed me a couple and it was hard to deny the immediate results, my skin seemed to glow and I was totally sold.
Like the consummate professional seller she was, we switched back to the laser hair removal and she explained that if it did work, the number of sessions I’d require and the cost breakdown. It was quite a lot, but at the same time, never having to use the stinking cream or a razer again was worth every penny and I agreed without hesitation.
Looking at the clock on the wall Kelly said she could probably do a test now, maybe even try a few of the darker areas to see how it took and I eagerly agreed. She applied some numbing cream and it didn’t take long before I had some very unfetching orange glasses on, and an industrial looking machine was wheeled in. I didn’t know what to expect but it was certainly no more unpleasant than what I’d been doing at home.
Happily my underarms showed immediate promise, my short hairs fizzling with each blast of the laser, moving to my leg she fired a small patch on the back side of my calf. It did something, but was visibly not as effective as before. Kelly explained that it might work, but could be unreliable, she’d had one other client that showed a similar test, and they’d seen a big reduction but it hadn’t left them totally smooth. To be honest, I would have been happy with anything.
Agreeing there and then that I’d go ahead, she checked with the receptionist and then informed me she had time to do both underarms and maybe my face. Since I didn’t have much growth it was far from ideal, and she’d have to use a lower intensity which wouldn’t be as effective, it would also mean I would be less likely to have redness. Which was obviously very important to me, I didn’t want to be all sore and puffy infront of the camera.
Kelly zapped away, with the occasional flinch on my part as it stung, my face seemed much less sensitive, but then the power was turned down. I’d be back again next week to do my body, and in the meantime I’d have to let the hair grow which didn’t sound that good. Of course if it didn’t work, I’d need to go down the electrolysis route which was more expensive and much more time consuming. Fingers crossed I wouldn’t need it and every four weeks I’d come back and in six months I’d be permanently hair free, the thought alone had me giddy.
Seeing and feeling the immediate results from the laser had me very excited, even if my face was now a little red and when Kelly looped back to the serums I’d tried on earlier I forgot any semblance of restraint and bought the lot. While I had a decent selection of creams before, I now had several hundred pounds worth of the finest elixirs and balms. No doubt aided by my prosecco glass seemingly being bottomless despite me never noticing anyone topping it up.
She threw in a quick face and head massage and applied a few of the products to help with recovery. Without makeup my skin was glowing and looked incredible, a little touchup of eyeliner and I was set. She quickly fixed up my mashed nail, and thankfully didn’t ask any questions about the bandaid covering the cut and stitches. Although I could see her eying up my eyebrows and made a note in my next booking to give them a trim.
As I stood at the reception desk making the first payment, without my mask I caught my reflection in the mirror at the back. With the studio lighting I was positively beaming at how amazing my skin looked even if there was some redness from the laser, of course my purse took a pounding, but looking good made me feel good, and I knew I could turn that into better videos and content so it had to be worth every penny
As I finished paying up the receptionist looked at me and smiled “you’ve got such incredible skin, so lucky” and I could feel myself blush a little, receiving compliments directly from other people was still a novelty for me, it just wasn’t something that ever happened to me in the past, I nervously tucked my hair behind my ear “I’m surprised you don’t have your ears pierced, there is a great place in town called Toni’s Tattoos, with an ‘I’, I worked there last summer, ask for Toni, tell them I said hi and you might even get a discount, if tattoos are your thing you won’t find anywhere better”
I thanked her, still smiling and gathered my bags of products, as I left and the warm sun kissing my pristine face, the bubbles of prosecco still tickling my throat which now felt as good as it ever had since being ill. I was positively bouncing and automatically walked further towards the shops.
Today had been a good day so far, and feeling a lovely buzz I only wanted that to continue. I considered getting my ears pierced as I walked, I had thought about it, and in this moment I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to do more, well that wasn’t entirely true, but of things I could do in a public place, this was absolutely on my hit list.
Dropping the name into maps I took the short walk there. A narrow door at street level, with a neon illuminated sign hanging above, dark and dingy but exactly how you expect tattoo parlours to be. I heard a buzzer ring in the distance as I pushed my way in and started climbing the narrow staircase.
Rounding the top the room opened out to be surprisingly bright and airy. A big leather sofa, the walls covered in incredible artworks and illustrations, loads of plants and metal playing in the background. There was a guy behind a counter, facing away from me, organising some products on the shelves, approaching I tentatively said hi.
He turned smiling, before pulling up a black mask “Hi, how can I help you today?” he asked, I took a breath, for some reason I was nervous, sure I’d been out loads of times, in shops buying things, but that was all before, when it was just to do better camming, kind of temporary, like it didn’t matter. Now I was doing things for me, taking steps to present permanently as a girl, I guess to transition properly it felt like a big deal.
I cleared my throat, hoping my nerves would calm and my voice would behave. “erm, I’d like to get my ears pierced, are you Toni? I was just up the road in a salon, they said I should come here” I’d started well, but holding that mid tone voice was hard work, and I could feel myself cringe as it dropped a little towards the end.
Thankfully he didn’t show any signs of reaction “I’m not Toni, she’s just in the back, if you take a seat I’ll go get her” gesturing to the sofa. As I sat down I could hear him shouting round the corner into another room. He came back and resumed tiding up the shelves. I’d never been in a place like this before, so took interesting in everything around me.
Of course it wasn’t long before I was checking his tattoos and piercings, he was covered. Both arms, the bits of legs not covered by his long shorts, there was one on his chest and half way up his neck. Then there were the piercings, massive ones in his ears that you could see though. That definitely wasn’t for me, the tattoos were pretty cool though, some were really colourful with incredible detail.
As I absentmindedly looked him over I sensed a figure approach and slightly startled I looked up “Hey, I’m Toni, what can I do for you today?. I was temporarily taken aback. This woman loomed over me, black dungarees without a top underneath, sizable chest and massive boots that must have had a six inch platform, hair done up in a retro style with some striking makeup and ruby red lipstick.
I stood and immediately started stammering, trying to explain I’d been at the studio and they’d said to come here as I wanted my ears pierced. Toni replied “No need to be nervous, I don’t bite, at least not for free” glancing over to the guy still busying himself with stock. “So you’ve been at Kellys place, how is she? I would still be mad at her for stealing my receptionist, but she’s always referring people to me so I can’t complain too much”
The guy behind the counter interrupted “Count yourself lucky I married you otherwise you’d be doing all this on your own” with a laugh as he carried on stacking products. “Hun, you’re lucky I let you out long enough to do any work” she laughed giving him a look I one hundred percent could read into the type of dynamic they had. He might have been taller and bigger but this woman was clearly the one wearing the trousers in that relationship and I could see his ears burning from the back.
She took me into the back room where the music was a little quieter, there was a large window which filled the room with natural light, “Take a seat so I can get a proper look at you” she instructed, her voice now friendly without the edge she’d spoken to her husband with. She pulled up on a chair with wheels, adjusting the hight so we were at eye level.
She was surveying me intently with her eyes, and I felt like I was being sized up. My heart beating harder in my chest, palms suddenly sweaty, I swallowed hard. Being on the same level as her I could take more of her appearance in. she had the most amazing tattoos, nails were short but perfectly set, she was just so striking.
“Just ear piercings you say? It’s a shame you don’t want a tattoo, your skin is like the perfect blank canvas, it’d take ink so well” she was tilting her head, measuring me up and I felt like a prized animal about to be butchered. It was a weird intensity I’d not had with anyone before and much to my shame I could feel myself become a little aroused.
“n, no just piercings today” my voice had started ok, but really broken towards the end, internally I flinched imagining how weird I sounded, I had to get a grip, fight the feelings of being intimidated and bring back the cam girl persona to get me through this. Trying to sound more in control I took a settling breath and continued “I haven’t really thought what type of piercings, maybe just studs to start, nothing crazy” my voice still wavering and my mind immediately thinking to the guy in reception which the giant hole hoops.