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Those to whom karma has been kind will have a friend always willing to fix their hair—say, from their makeshift salon in a converted Lower East Side tenement apartment. They'll hand you a shot of Knob Creek and a PBR, put on The Smiths, and chat merrily as they work wonders with your tired old hair. If that's your lot in life: stick with it. If not, though, consider Dickson Hairshop on Allen Street the closest you’ll come—right down to that bourbon. Which is not to suggest owner Severin Dickson or his two other stylists are unprofessional; they’ve got decades of combined experience (and a successful product line launch) to their credit. Still, their informality makes for a pleasantly relaxed—and inexpensive—salon trip. Men’s and women’s cuts and coloring run well below neighborhood market value. The door may open straight onto a styling station; there may be only two chairs; those chairs may not swivel and twirl. But what the space lacks in sophistication, it earns back in styling skill—and if tight quarters bring down prices this much, this writer is not inclined to complain.