Like a Giant, Sparkly Pin Cushion

Have you ever passed by one of those kiosks in the mall where there are usually two Asian ladies standing about with waves and volumes of long hair (sometimes not matching in color), along with at least 20 rhinestone hair pins thrown in there to make them look more attractive?! What are they selling? Well, fake hair and sparkly pins, naturally. In their kiosk cart, you will find different shades of long hair to attach to your head to make it look like you have more hair, for those with not so thick hair, or long hair, for those with short cuts who instantly want to have long, luxurious, flowy hair. You can also purchase pretty hair pins that range from little barrettes to big, bedazzled banana clips.

When these fake hair carts first started showing up at malls, those Asian ladies were ruthless. I remember them chasing people down with a clip of long, fake hair in their hands, trying to throw them onto people's heads. It was almost like if they chased you down and successfully clipped the hair to your head, you were somehow obligated to buy some fake hair from them, whether you were planning on it or not (usually, not). They tried to do this to me a few times. I couldn't understand why when I reached that part of the mall, I felt like I either had to walk the perimeter of that area so I would be nowhere near the kiosk or quicken up my pace in hopes that they didn't see me. I already have thick hair - so they weren't doing me any favors by trying to trap me into buying fake tresses (even if it is the "in-hollywood" thing to do). Plus the fact that it would make more sense to sell you fake hair that actually matched your natural hair color seemed to escape them quite easily.

Since those days of avoiding the hair ladies, I have perfected my 'death stare' and they no longer approach me. I also think they have sharpened up their "marketing plan" for attracting people to their carts without having to chase down people like a crazy game of Tag. (Not only was I embarrassed for the chasee, I became embarrassed for the chaser.) But I do have one bit of advice for these Asian Ladies with Fake Hair (aka - ALFHs) - put yourself in a real-life situation in which you would actually use fake hair and pretty it up with one of those cute little pins you're selling instead of trying to attach half your hair stock and barettes to your head - you look like one, big, giant, sparkly pin cushion.