Make the Most Blog

November 4, 2014

Maxine Salon Braids!

'm really bad at doing my hair. Pretty much the more effort I put into it, the worse it's going to look. The more hair tools I've had to plug in, the more likely I'll be walking out of the bathroom overruled by frizz. It is what it is.

When I put "learn how to braid" on my 25 at 25 list, I knew it would be a tough one, but I'm about to label it as impossible. It's funny, every time I tell someone I'm trying to learn how to (it comes up in conversation more than you'd think/I'm a terrible conversationalist, I've realized -- at a party on Friday waiting to use the restroom I noticed after five minutes that I was actually rambling about the weather, ugh) they ask me if I've tried this video or assure me I'll learn if I become a mom. I've watched the video so many times, it's not worth being a mom for right now, and I just can't do it.

Luckily, there's Chicago's Maxine Salon, home to braid expert Cliff Freeman, who turned my locks into something much more glamorous than I ever could.

A few months ago I booked an appointment with Cliff a morning before a wedding. I washed and dried my hair, thought it looked good/great/better than usual (*see selfie), and then Cliff proved me wrong and fixed it (*see after).

Cliff studied crochet, wig making and sailing knots to dream up unique style braids, and he can make any Pinterest dream come true. Pick anything (cord/twist, French, waterfall, herringbone/fishtail), and he'll create a custom design and finish it in about 30 minutes. Because I know next-to-nothing about hair, especially braids, I sat down in Cliff's chair and told him to do whatever he wanted. The result (two fish tails knotted into each other), which took 15 minutes, maybe, made me feel so pretty and sophisticated, without being old-ladyish.

I felt so good all day, I can't wait to go back. You're a wizard, Cliff!