“What is the intention you’d like to let go of?”
This is not a question I’m used to being asked by my hairdresser when I sit down in the salon chair. But Jaclyn Smith (who goes by Chand, a name given to her by her spiritual teacher) is no ordinary hairdresser. She describes herself as a ‘hair priestess’ and she’s about to give me a ‘hair ceremony’ featuring a ‘conscious cut’.
Even though she’s giving me the treatment in a private room of Errol Douglas – the Knightsbridge salon she works at – it’s instantly clear this is not a normal haircut. There is incense in the room, spiritual music playing in the background, and I’m sitting in front of a mirror with a selection of crystals, wooden wands and a candle in front of me.
Chand asks me to breathe deeply before we begin, guiding me through a mini meditation so I can find the intention that we’re going to let go of whilst she cuts my hair. It’s such an unusual start to a haircut that I’m momentarily thrown – I have no idea what my intention is – but when I finally surrender to the exercise, listening to her calming words and breathing deeply, I realise that I know exactly what my intention is: to let go of unnecessary guilt I’m holding onto from my past.
It's the first time Venus has passed through Taurus during Taurus season since 2016.
‘That will be because of the Saturn in your birth chart,’ says Chand knowingly. I’d sent her my time and place of birth when arranging our appointment so she could include an astrology reading in the hair ceremony, and as she gently brushes my hair, she explains how the planet placing in my chart means I tend to take too much responsibility for things, which has resulted in me feeling unnecessary guilt.
‘Light the candle to cement your intention,’ she says. I do what she says, feeling a sense of peace I never normally feel at the hairdressers. She’s still brushing my hair, but there’s also a new burning smell, and I look up in alarm to see her holding burning sage frighteningly close to my hair. But it smells so good that I choose to stay silent and just trust Chand. This might be my first hair ceremony, but it’s evidently not hers.
‘The idea of the hair ceremony is to incorporate a more cleansing sort of ritual into a haircut,’ explains Chand, who charges £200 an hour. ‘It’s more intention-focused and nurturing. The current culture of salons is quite fast, but this is a relaxing service, to invite you to have an intention into what you’re cleansing – something you’re letting go of – that we can weave into the service.’
Plus, your mantra for the month ahead.
She explains that hair is sacred because it’s where we absorb energy – ‘each hair is like antennae that picks up energy around us’ – so it’s also important to cleanse and purify our hair. That’s where the brushing sage ritual – the first stage of the cleansing ritual - comes in. ‘By brushing with intention, we can release and move energy that’s been absorbed by the hair, and we use the sage to transmute whatever is freed up.’
After brushing and saging my hair (a sentence I never thought I’d say), it’s time for my hair wash. Chand uses this as an opportunity to give me a head massage, working with energy healing, and places crystals in my hands and on my third eye. I feel mildly ridiculous sitting like this, especially when I realise the pot of herbal tea I’d spotted is not there for me to drink – it’s to pour onto my hair after she’s washed it (it contains nettle for protection, horse tail for strength, and yarrow for spirituality and connection.)
But somehow, it all works. Because I feel a deep sense of peace inside me as Chand washes my hair. My mind has been busy all day – I’m throwing a party that night and keep worrying about details – but everything slows down when she massages my scalp and pours tea onto my hair. I enter into an almost meditative state, barely even noticing when someone knocks on the door, and the guilt I’m letting go of already feels further away.
When Chand guides me to my seat to cut my hair, I’m too zen to speak. This is not ideal as she’s asking me how many inches I want off and whether I want layers, but I manage to tell her I just want to keep it long, and she can do whatever she thinks best. When she begins the cutting process, we stop talking and I close my eyes.
I’ve never done this in a haircut before even though I’ve always wanted to – having someone touch my hair is so soothing, it makes me want to sleep – but I normally feel the pressure to do typical hairdresser chat about recent holidays. Yet with Chand, knowing this is a hair ceremony not a hair cut, I feel the permission to stay silent, eyes closed, simply enjoying the sensations without speaking.
I’m only semi-aware of the gentle snipping sounds as Chand ‘releases’ my hair and my guilt. By the time the cut is over, I’m as relaxed as if I’d had a full body massage, and I can see the difference on my face. Chand asks if I’d like to have an Ogham wand reading while she blow-dries my hair. I have no idea what this means but obviously, I say yes.
She hands me a silk bag full of twigs (Ogham wands, made from different trees) and asks me to pull one out. While she’s drying my hair, I connect with the wands and pull one out. ‘That’s the gorse,’ she says. ‘The guidance there is for you to engage with your lightness of being and creative spark. It’s about being playful.’
She explains more, linking together the sticks with my astrology reading, and it’s the most illuminating blow-dry I’ve ever had. By the time I leave the salon, I feel a million times lighter – and I’ve only had an inch chopped off my hair. I know that this definitely won't be my last spiritual haircut, and I might even try to incorporate some of Chand’s rituals at home, starting with some brushing and saging…
