“Close your eyes,” Laura told me. “Now, imagine you’ve just got out of bed and are going jogging. What does your hair look like?”

As I remembered the wild pieces I had to tame this morning, Laura asked me to look at her. Gone was the short and sassy cut she was sporting seconds ago. Standing in front of me was a longhaired woman in a baseball cap, ready for anything.

“It’s all one piece,” she told me taking off the hat and the hair with it. Welcome to Laura Waites’ world. “Alternative hair offers the average woman a change without risk. She can go from black to brown to red, short to long. Whatever the weather or time constraints, I know that I’m two fluffs from being ready,” Laura explained to me, using her fingers to ruffle her alternative hair. Sure enough, it fell into place.