C.C. Angelica

@Being - I beat mine by 28, but this puzzle absolutely delighted me, so no complaints here!

@Max - huh... right up until I read your comment I thought OTC meant "off the cuff."

@Esmerelda - Wow! My husband is a chef, so I am well familiar with the term as used here. But I managed upscale salons (in the US) for quite a few years in my younger days (decades ago), and I've never known it to be used in that context. Thanks for offering me a linguistic thread connecting the eras of my life. 🙂

Should also have mentioned, I loved this one. Fun solve!

@Nora - This is what I like about it. The puzzle isn't divining the solution, it's the "how do I get there from here" part. It's the mechanic that's tricky, and (for me) that makes it fun.

@Kerry JK - and I came to the comments to see whether I was the only one who didn't care for it, and found here the full spectrum of perspectives (which is always fab!).

@Whoa Nellie - not plastic, but I have an entire drawer full of ELASTICHAIRTIEs. A fact which has, over the years, caused me to be reluctant to cut my hair.

@Nancy - I agree with the need for a visual cue indicating the "trick" clues. A simple asterisk would have made this much more pleasurable and charming for me, rather than the slog it was.

@greyeyes - I, too, am finding this a source of frustration. Not quite to the degree of throwing in the towel on subscribing, but pretty darn close.