Louisa Tries to Replace Her Napa Valley Hairdresser

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on Martha's Vineyard Patch.

I haven't had a hair crisis since 2005, but I can feel one coming on now.

Back in '05, reduced to concealing my latest bad haircut with a hat, I consulted some of my Napa Valley friends who seemed always to have their looks together.

They agreed that I should give Ryan Johnson a try, though they weren't so sure how we'd hit it off.

Turns out we got along just fine: A bad-boy stylist with Sassoon training, rock'n'roll attitude and a hobby building guitars out of exotic woods, Ryan did my hair for about eight years, along with that of Napa Mayor Jill Techel and other locals both prominent and obscure.

A fan of blues slide guitar by artists like Son House and John Mooney, Ryan also turned me on to some music I would never have discovered on my own — The Cat Empire, Jim Bianco, Seasick Steve.

The only other stylist who touched my head in that whole period was the man who was Ryan's first teacher, Ross Taylor. Ross cut my hair for the six months I was living in Seattle taking care of a cousin who was undergoing stem cell therapy for cancer.

Once my patient was out of the woods and back with his family, I returned to Napa and Ryan.

He'd be cutting my hair still, every five or six weeks, if I hadn't made this recent move back to Martha's Vineyard for Patch.

So now I appeal to the community: Who on the Vineyard does a good job cutting short hair on women? Are there any Sassoon stylists here?

(Or should I just grow it out?)

Napa Patch is now Napa Valley Patch! Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for the daily email with links to the latest news | Got something to say? Start a blog and share your views with the valley.