Blame It On the Barbicide

One strategy for passing time on a long road trip is to take the roads less traveled. If time allows, I like to forgo part of the interstate and take the scenic route in search of hidden gems.  You never know what Route 66-esque filling station or fun antique store you may find. On the 8 hour road trip from Charleston to Tampa a few weeks back, we decided to do just that. It was in a little speed trap town of Starke, FL that we discovered this...

While not exactly a charming portal to a bygone era, a treasure in its own right:

Hairy Business in Starke, FL

~Are you ready to count the cliches? Inspired by the crack minds featured above, I just couldn't help myself but to rise descend to their level. Consider yourselves warned.~

Not only are the creative masterminds at "Hairy Business" able to come up with such a imaginative title for their salon, but check out the innovative hair fashions created within.  A spider web buzz cut - Paris and Milan, you'd better be on notice, this truly is cutting edge fashion! Annnnd...this isn't the only business that's hairy in Starke, for a mere $15, your locks can be entrusted to Audrey and her "Flair for Hair." Is there an end to the shear genius happening in this small town?!  If these two places are a little too shee-shee for you, there's always the "Econo Cut Styles and Nails" down on Brownlee Street, fiercely undercutting the competition at $6 a do. Hey, we all have to shave costs somewhere.

We started to notice a theme among these salon think tanks. We even made a game out of it - an "I Spy: Hair Salon Edition" of sorts. After all, hair "arteests" have different aspirations and inspirations for their work. That absolutely should be reflected in one's salon name, right?!

And why should hair be taken so seriously?! After all, it will always grow back - not to worry! Save the stresses; entrust your tresses to the jovial jokesters at:

Cutt'n Up in Stake, FL                                               Just Teasin' in Summerville, SC

Then you have the mane battle between "Mane Secret" in Lugoff, SC and "Mane Attraction" in Lake Lure, NC.  Though, from the looks of it, the Lugoff location is a pretty popular spot given they have such plush seating outside. I can only guess this is to accommodate the long wait times this in-demand House of Hair must experience. Apparently, their Secret is out.

Mane Secret, Family Hair Care in Lugoff, SC                              Mane Attraction, Lake Lure, NC

A few notches further along the Bible Belt, you will find the "Hidden Hair" Salon in Old Fort, North Carolina which sounds more like a place for full blown medical procedures, if you ask me.

Then there's the Hair Color Xperts in Alparetta, GA. Given that these virtuosos can't seem to spell properly, I think I'd listen to the ominous message at the bottom of their website and "skip" this place all together. After they make an appointment with a Mrs. Merriam-Webster, then maybe we'll talk.

Who knew there were so many poets disguising themselves behind those swanky black smocks? I may be splitting hairs here, but I do hope you all save some of that sharpness for the scissors.