Hairdresser Karen Chassie Benedict rinses out the colour from a client's hair. These pre-holiday days are busy ones at the salons. - Michele LeTourneau/NNSL photo

Woe to those that don't heed the sign.

"But we still have disappointed people," says hairdresser Karen Chassie Benedict.

Those disappointed people are those who, like me, weren't paying attention. The big Christmas party, the New Year's event - they're shockingly, dreadfully close at hand. You take a look at your hair and know without a doubt that something needs to be done. You call the hairdresser. Alas, she's all booked up.

The disappointed ones are those who wait to the last minute, says Chassie Benedict. And make no mistake, they will try to wheedle their way into a last-minute appointment by using all sorts of methods.

An exception: If you happen to be a regular client and fate has decreed that you must attend a funeral, Chassie Benedict will come in after hours.

Northern Flair doesn't have extended Christmas hours.

"We work nine hours a day anyway. We work Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. We do have lives," she emphasizes.

The far-thinking, smart woman is the one you'll spot at the party with a complicated, eye-catching up-do.

An up-do alone, never mind the cut, can take an hour.

"Maybe even longer," says Chassie Benedict.

Christmas is a time when people do want a new look, and they expect their hairdresser to come through. Chassie Benedict says many women will come in with a photo, likely from a magazine, and demand an identical look.

The hairdresser says right off the bat that identical is not possible, because of different hair types, a pre-existing haircut and the fact that it's hard to tell from a small picture just exactly what hair dye was used.

"It not like they include instructions (with the picture)," she says.

So if you're planning on cutting out a much admired postage stamp-sized photo of your favourite star's new do, don't expect miracles.

"You can have something like it," says Chassie Benedict, heavy emphasis on "something like."

And what if it doesn't turn out? Can you drag the hapless hairdresser through the courts? No way.

Chassie Benedict consults with her client all the way through the cut and/or style. She expects the client to cut in.

"If you're sitting in my chair, make sure you speak up. I'm not responsible if a client doesn't talk. We need clear English."

As the interview concludes, and I've buttered her up with the promise of fame, I ask the one question I really need to ask.

"Uh, Karen, do you have a free space in the next couple of days?"

She's not stupid, she knew what was coming from the get-go. Looks like I'll just have to make do.