Freshly washed and styled with John Frieda Frizz-Ease Take Charge Curl Boosting Mousse I look like Albrecht Dürer the 15th century artist, unfortunately I also have slightly sticky hair and if I touch it with wet hands I need to rewash my hands. Once it dries and gets flung about a bit with daily activities I look like Weird Al Yankovic. If I comb or brush it when it's dry I look like Chaka Khan circa 1984. I tend to wear it pulled back as I don't really like any of these looks and don't like hair in my face.
I've thought about hacking it all off and starting over. Then the realization that I will need to maintain a short style with regular visits to a salon sets in and I pass. Finding a good hair dresser takes time and cash which are in short supply lately. Another problem with finding a stylist is that I have to trust a total stranger with my hair, I can't make comments as s/he goes because I am so near sighted that I can't see what the heck is happening to my head as it's being worked on, it's nerve racking.
When I went to school I wanted to look like all my classmates and most of them had string straight hair ala Marcia Brady. My hair was straight until puberty hit and my hair turned to something akin to rotini made from straw. I would fuss with my hair, brushing it, combing it, trying to make it "do" but when I emerged from my room my father would ask, "Aren't you going to comb your hair." It was frustrating and infuriating for both of us. In the 8th grade I had had enough and had it cut short.
I remember someone commenting that I looked like Rizzo from the movie Grease. I wasn't sure if I should take that to mean my hair was cute or I looked like a "bad" girl. I decided it was cute. Finally. It grew in high school and was cut short in college because there were more important things to do than fuss with hair — being able to sleep late after pulling an all nighter chief among them.
In my late 20s I came to grips with the natural curl and decided God would be my colorist and nature would be my stylist. There was a certain peace to not feeling the need to control the uncontrollable. I don't blow dry it, use irons or staighteners or even use many products on it. [I hate it when stylist say, "you should use product in your hair." Well motor oil is a product, eggs are a product, I'm not putting either of them in my hair — be specific damn it.]
I have a long hair cycle of letting it grow to the point of being a bit unmanageable or not quite cute enough then cutting it short and waiting for it to grow out again. Each time I would cut it a gentleman I used to work with would quote 1 Corinthians 11:15 at me: "if a woman has long hair, it is her glory." Way to be supportive.
The last time I cut my hair super short was when my son was born thinking that I would not have time to wash a long mane of think curls. The reality of being a single parent was that I didn't really have a lot of time to go get it cut with a kid in tow so it grew. It grew and it grew and it grew. Three years ago I donated 10 inches to Locks of Love and told myself, "never again" because curls that long were a real hassle. Also when my son saw me after the hair cut he said, "I don't like it. Put it back"
Well here I am again with a longish mane of unmanageable curls and it's time to take control or go for the big chop as my friend Cynthia calls it. Cynthia is obsessed with hair and writes a blog on the subject, The Mane Event. Which is why I thought to write this entry. She is advised me to give up shampoo and do a condition washing. This didn't work for me. I am considering trying Wen - the product Melissa Gilbert hawks on TV infomercials. If you have tried this product and have any advise or a review for or against please let me know.
Images of Albrect Dürer and Weird Al Yankovic from Wikipedia.com. Image of Chaka Khan from chakakhan.com. Image of Maureen McCormick aka Marcia Brady from eonline.com. Image of Stockard Channing as Rizzo from flixster.com
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