As the winds get stronger and the air gets colder, Thanksgiving is just around the corner.
The University bustles with activity and many students are anxious for a much-needed break.
While some are looking forward to mom's home cooking and laundering skills, others have something else in mind -- a visit to their favorite hair-stylist.
"I'll drive home just for a haircut," fourth-year Architecture student Jeremy Maloney said. "I don't trust anyone with my hair."
Stacked and wavy, Maloney's hair needs just the right touch.
"I don't really have a haircut that people could clip. Not a buzz," he said. "It would take some major skill. I don't want a bad haircut."
Third-year College student Melissa Looney doesn't take her chances either.
"I've seen people walking around here who got their hair cut in Charlottesville," Looney said in all seriousness. "I didn't want to take the risk. It wasn't worth it."
Looney said she goes back to her Richmond stylist whenever she needs a cut these days. This was not always the case, however.
"My mom used to cut my hair when I was little -- in the garage," she said. "I used to cry because I wanted to go to a salon, but my mom said I didn't need to go because I was only five."
Fourth-year College student Julie Young said her mom used to cut her hair too.
"My mom trained to be a hairdresser," Young said. "She cut [my hair] till I was 12 years old, but then I was like, 'This is not happening anymore.' She would cut it to be an inch difference in the back and front."
Nowadays, Young says she likes to go to Bristles. Compared to salons at home in Northern Virginia, she said, Bristles is a lot cheaper.
Although some students are very particular about who does their 'do, sometimes going all the way back home isn't worth the drive.
Fourth-year College student Bobby Jamison found a new stylist when he came to Charlottesville.
"I have a barber at home that's been cutting my hair for eight years, but it's kind of ridiculous to drive home two hours for a 20-minute haircut," Jamison said. "I started getting it cut at a local barbershop off of Preston last semester. You've got to look good for spring break, and I couldn't get it done [at home] beforehand."
Despite his flexibility, Jamison won't let his friends get anywhere near his hair.
"I had a friend cut my hair once," he said. "Biggest mistake of my life. It was uneven, and if one level is shorter than the other, you've got to go with the shorter level. Also, he didn't edge me up correctly."
For third-year College student Ben Miller, bad haircuts are old news.
"I go to the good old Haircuttery in Newcomb," Miller said. "But wherever I go, they screw up my hair. Maybe I don't pay enough for my hair. People just seem unable to effectively give me a quality haircut."
Like Miller, fourth-year Commerce student Michael Standiford stays on-Grounds when he needs a trim.
"I go to Newcomb Hall all the time because they can't screw it up," Standiford said. "I think Newcomb Hall is underrated for guys' haircuts."
Fourth-year College student Stefanie Baker went to Haircuttery for the first time earlier this semester.
"I don't think I would have gone if it was anything drastic," Baker said with a flip of her straight, dark brown hair. "I've only had four people cut my hair in my life."
After a bad experience in seventh grade, Baker said she's only trusted her hair with a few stylists.
"My mom's only cut it once, and she'll never do it again," she said. "In seventh grade, I had bangs. When my mom went to cut them, she pulled my bangs down and cut them. Then when they went back to their original level, they were half as short as they should have been."
Fourth-year Commerce student Erin Bailey had a bad experience with bangs too -- except she was the perpetrator, not the victim.
"I cut my mom's hair one time," Bailey said with a laugh. "But I cut her bangs too short. She had to go to the salon and get it fixed."
Perhaps Bailey's own slip convinced her to stick with her tried and true shop in Richmond.
"I only get it cut at home," she said. "I like the salon at home where this lady's been cutting my hair for years."
Although fourth-year College student Ellen Alford, like Bailey, always has been a loyal fan of a hair salon back home, last month things changed forever after a friend recommended she try Bubbles.
Judging from her neat locks and radiant smile, the trip was a success.
"The girl who cut my hair was really nice. She sat me down before wetting [my hair] and asked what I wanted done," Alford said. "I thought that was really nice. She was really friendly and kept asking if it looked good."
In general, Alford said she was pleased with the haircut and plans to go back next time she needs a trim.
As for her own snipping skills, she added, scissors are better left to the experts.
"I cut my mom's hair once," Alford remembered with a sheepish grin. "I got in trouble because I went behind her with a pair of scissors. She wasn't too happy. I was playing beauty shop or something. She just didn't know she was part of the game."
So this year when it's time to eat turkey, don't forget to thank the cook -- and maybe the one who didn't take too much off the top.
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