Hair It Goes...
Does your hair get revenge? Mine does. Frequently. I have fine hair, and even though I have a lot of it, you’d never guess because it’s, well, fine. And it bends easily, so if I sleep on it, I get this attractive Medusa effect with snake-like hanks poking out in all directions. As long as I have access to hair appliances, I’m fine, because in addition to misbehaving while I sleep, my hair dries funny, too. It swoops off in odd directions when left to its own devices. None of this running a comb through it and letting it dry naturally for me. My hair has be beaten into submission through the use of electricity.
My hair doesn’t like being cut much, either. When I decide it’s time to make a hair appointment, it starts behaving, lulling me into a false sense of security before it turns on me prior to some important social function. And then after I do get it cut, it pouts for days before behaving (kind of) again. If it was thicker, I’d just grow it out and pull it into a ponytail, but no such luck. I do not have ponytail hair. Or maybe I don’t have a ponytail head. One of the two.
Thankfully I’ve found two people in this world who know how to cut fine, bendy, misbehaving hair, which allows me the greatest possible chance of victory when attempting to look presentable. One is a neighbor and she is a fantastic stylist. Once when coming to visit me, she killed a rattlesnake in the driveway with a rock. No wonder my Medusa like hair behaves for her. She is, however, now officially retired from hair styling, so I had to find someone else, and after a long and frustrating search, I found him. Brad takes a no-nonsense approach to styling and my hair seems to respect his boundaries. I can actually make my wayward tresses look almost as good as he makes them look in the salon, and a couple of times I’ve combed my hair out wet and it didn’t go too nuts while drying. Possibly from fear of what Brad will do if it doesn’t behave.
In spite of all the trouble it gives me, I do like my hair. I appreciate having hair, for one thing, and on a good day, when we’ve come to an understanding, I like the way it looks. It hasn’t grayed yet, and I don’t believe it is going to, judging from my mom and my uncle, so when I grow the color out, I have dark roots, which is tacky at a younger age, but kind of fun at my age. For that alone, I forgive my hair for drying in odd shapes when left untended.
I know this has probably made me sound hair obsessed. I’m not. It’s just that teaching junior high makes me very aware of anything that could be made fun of, so I try to look as normal as possible. And showing up at school with Medusa hair just gives an adolescent too much ammo for my peace of mind.
So do you battle your hair? Have you made a truce? Or are you one of the lucky ones who have never had issues with your hair? Inquiring minds want to know.
OMG
I am in the same boat -- fine hair, lots of it and...curl. You think you are in hair hell? LOL Add humidity into that mix, and well... I usually check with Mike to make sure I don't look like Crusty the Clown from the Simpsons on a hot day. I love swimming in the ocean because when I come out, my hair is coated with salt and actually dries in place, LOL.
I've tried everything over the years, and I have had some wild hair. Mike met me when I had what I call my "country music star hair" -- big hair, curls and bangs -- and I've had it shorter with long layers and finally found shampoo and mousse that keep it relatively where it's supposed to be. I also haven't brushed my hair in about 5 years -- I'm not kidding -- for my hair, brushing is just an invitation to creating a big bush on my head. A very good hairdresser said finger comb with wet hands only, and if I want to brush it, with a wide tooth comb in the shower, and it has worked wonders. Now I have better curl, less frizzing, etc.
Hairbands help. Many control devices. Shoving it all up under a Red Sox hat is really my favorite thing to do with it, and if it wouldn't make my face look like a bowling ball, I would cut it all off, boy short, but even THEN I have curl, it just ends up like little half-curl spikes all over my head.
I am greying, but it doesn't take much color to solve the problem. Once every 2 months or so keeps it looking mostly normal, and I only do salon color, no boxes. I did learn the trick for good color, they said to find a picture of yourself a about ten years old, and use that color, and it's true -- it works. That's my best color.
When you have hair like ours, you have to obsess...
Sam
Another of the Afflicted
I also have fine, thick, curly hair. It's less trouble when it's long, so even though I lose my mind and hack it off every so often, it's only when I forget that I then have to invest in electrical implements. Otherwise, like Sam, I hardly ever touch it with a comb or brush. Just wash and put in some "smoothing" (let me pause for a hysterical cackle) product--and brazen out the day.
My daughter has perfect hair. Always shiny and smooth and easy to style. She thinks it's too thick--the strand itself--I think she hit some long-hidden genetic jackpot!
Anna
Oh Anna--My daughter has
Oh Anna--My daughter has perfect hair, too. Thick hair, thicker strand. She can go to bed with it wet and it looks perfect in the morning. She can take it out of a ponytail and it doesn't have a big bend in the back...
I guess we should congratulate ourselves (or our husbands) for somehow passing that gene along.
By the way--I love your long curly hair, but I understand the special challenges it brings.
The Hair
Jeannie, thanks! My daughter's is the same--but I'm not sure she appreciates it. And--it grows as if she fertilizes it. She's never in that "in-between" stage long. ;-) Is it wrong for a mother to experience hair envy? I really try not to be bitter! ;-)
Anna
Sam--Is it evil to say that
Sam--Is it evil to say that I'm glad I'm not the only one who has commando hair? Your post had me laughing out loud. I did the box color thing once--ended up with purple hair. I then stripped the color myself and ended up school bus yellow. My son was four at the time and loved the new color. He didn't understand why I didn't keep it.
Boxes are evil...
My mom did a box perm on me once in my teens -- I could have auditioned for Annie.
It stayed that way for a while. It was bad.
Sam
You're killing me, Sam. I
You're killing me, Sam. I once got a bona fide Ronald McDonald when I asked for a body wave. And it was only about 3 inches long, so I couldn't cut it off.
Were we...
raised by the same woman, Sam? I don't understand why my mother thought I needed that perm. (Fortunately, in the second grade.) And I could only have auditioned for Psycho-Annie. I shudder at the memory of how my friends and loved ones gaped at me on first sight after the debacle dried. Oh, the humanity!
And, Jeannie, I have a Ronald McDonald/Bozo thing going right now with my bangs because I'm in desperate need of a trim.
Anna
Second grade could be bad...
But I was about 17, working for a grocery store at the time -- I was laughed at, a lot. ;) I got used to it, which is probably a good thing. *G*
Sam
Oh, Sam! Too funny...I did
Oh, Sam! Too funny...I did a box perm once, when I was 21, right after I cut my hair short. I decided I had no "lift" on top, just crazy curls around my ears, so thought it would look better if I could imbue some height onto the top of my head (hey, it was the 80's, what can I say??). I followed the directions, but afterwards, the hair was just heavy and lank. Two days later, it all broke off at the roots, leaving me with a bald strip right down the middle of my head. A true Bozo the Clown look, LOL! I lived in a baseball cap for the next six months.
You guys are slaying me
And to think I was worried that I was the only person around with hair issues. Nothing like a home perm to really make you appreciate your natural hair, lol.
OMG!
Karen -- I think you should do that for Nationals! ROTFL
Sam
Sam--You're evil.
Sam--You're evil.
Mostly.
*G*
Hair Today...
Oh...the stories I could tell about my efforts to tame my hair, LOL! I have my mom's hair...thick and coarse. When I was younger, I wore it long and straight, down to my waist, but cut it short during my last year in college. What a mistake...I had no idea that once all that weight was gone, my hair wanted to frizz and curl in a million different directions! I use a blow-dryer and a flat iron to tame it and make it skinny. I never let it go au-natural! At least, not until I was on a business trip last month and my flat iron died on me!! I bravely scrunched some gel into my damp hair and let it go...it corkscrews and goes crazy-wavy everywhere, but to my amazement, I actually got compliments! So while I still prefer to heat it and flatten it, there are days now when I actually just let it go...
Karen--I'm a big fan of the
Karen--I'm a big fan of the crazy wave, so I'm not surprised that you got compliments. I also understand the need to tame electrically, though. My current heroine has a mass of curls, and I've decided she's going to like them, because it'll be easier for her if she does .
Another one
I also have lots of fine hair. Lots and lots of fine hair. Interestingly enough, I just had an inch taken off yesterday. But if you had looked at the floor, you'd have thought 3 people had just had their hair cut.
I wear it long and straight. I use nothing on it. Nothing. My hairstylist keeps giving me samples of things to use on it but
1) they don't work
2) they make my hair greasy even though I have dry hair
So I wash it, every other day, slather on conditioner, let it air dry only and wear it long.
I can get by with a ponytail though. And it doesn't matter if I shower in the morning and let it air dry or go to bed with it wet. It looks bad either way!
Did I mention it's stick straight? Yeah. But, in the last few months, it's decided that it's got some wave to it. But only certain parts of it and they aren't the same parts day to day. Oh, no. My hair is playing musical chairs without me.
And the other interesting twist is that the grey hairs (and they're there just not too many of them) are crinkly and have a tendency to stick up from my head like twisted antennae.
Yes, it's a lovely sight!
ani
HAIR !!!!!!
My hair has natural curls and the longer it gets the tighter it curls. When I was younger and had lots and lots of hair I just pulled it back in a pony tail and let it hang in one long ringlet. I only combed it once a day due to the tightness of the curl. Now that it is turning gray it is also getting thinner but I have the same problem (just less hair) to I keep it cut short and there is less curl to deal with.
Ellen and Ani--You're
Ellen and Ani--You're opposites, lol. Ellen, I've never heard of hair that got curlier as it got longer. I had a friend once that had such curly hair that her mother could simply form ringlets around her finger. And Ani, can you keep a regular hair elastic in your hair, or does it start to slide?
It slides
Yeah, that's a problem with ponytails--the elastic slide.
I tried to do an Alice band once but it gave me a headache.
Jeannie - I always knew I
Jeannie - I always knew I was weird. I certainly can't explain it but if I cut it really short there is no real curl in it. At one time I had the curl hanging in a pony tail down to the point where I could sit on it. I was a WHOLE LOT younger.
Hair Beast
My hair, is alive, and has a mind of it's own. It's also generally long. Right now it's just past my natural waist. I tend to just grow out my hair, then chop off about 16" at a time (yes, I donate it to locks of love) - I've been doing that for the past 6 years (so 3-4 times now?). My hair is also incredibly thick - I probably have about 3 people's worth. When getting it chopped, the stylist has to saw at it. No "snip snip" for me.
Growing up, a lot of people wanted to play with my hair, and I'm not much of a girly girl, so I didn't care and I'd let them. The determined would get about a third through braiding it or something, and give up. Their arms would be sore, and I'd be stuck with half an intricate hairdo looking stupid.
Now, I always pull it back. The reason I don't donate my hair more, is because I need it long enough to be able to pulled back *after* I cut off 14-20 inches. My hair also is temperamental. Some of it is quite wavy. Some of it is paper straight. Other parts... fall somewhere in between. By the time I cut my hair, it's generally been weighted rather straight, so the stylist doesn't believe me when I tell her I have wavy hair until small curls start popping up. Then, she'll break out the straightening iron. (Some people have also thought I was lying when I tell them I've never a) gotten a perm or b) dyed or highlighted my hair.)
I'm also a stylist's nightmare. I won't gel, mousse, hairspray, scrunch, curl, iron, or style my hair. I'll wash and condition it, but that's it. In the morning I'll grab two hair bands (one won't hold) - tie my hair back in loops, and go.
Wow, Aliquis, I'm in awe. As
Wow, Aliquis, I'm in awe. As a person with no hair to spare, I'm envious of a two bander girl such as yourself. Locks for Love is such a great cause. Congratulations on donating so often! My duaghter is thinking of doing that herself. She just started her first professional job, so it may not be the time to grow her hair out, but I think she's going to do it anyway.
Oh fun!
Jeannie, I hope your daughter does it - and that she has a good experience. I've only had one reaaally bad experience where I essentially chopped off like 20 inches of hair and ended up with a mullet type thing. I was out of the country and *furious.* I think I scared some people. But, I decided I was going to be away for a month so none of my friends would see me with my mullet [that my sister and I did our best to fix.] Awful. Since then I've gone to a salon with a great reputation and donated my hair.
It's something of a shock to lose so much hair - but I'm... not a girly girl so I get over it really quickly :).
Ack--my daughter lives in
Ack--my daughter lives in fear of the mullet, so I'll definitely have her go to someone reputable. Personally I find the mullet quite amusing--on men. I do think she's going to do it. I'll tell her you've done it more than once. :)
Still sounds fun...
To play with all of that hair! You could do the Princess Leia style! LOL
I don't blowdry or use curling irons or any of that -- blowdrying is seriously the enemy, and no hairspray, but I do love Biolage moisturizing mousse -- it keeps the frizz down and makes it look like I didn't stuff my finger in a socket, but I let it air dry...
Sam
And if I don't blowdry, I
And if I don't blowdry, I look like Severus Snapes.
Heh
I could, Sam! There's some prime minister of... a European country (wow I'm ashamed reading that. Haha I should know her name and position etc.) - but she has her hair in braids wrapped around her head. It's very distinctive.
I do blow dry my hair. If I don't, my hair stays damp/wet for 8 hours. :X I'm almost tempted by your description of the Biolage mousse- but that would require... me using mousse. :P I'm waiting for the day I grow up and start caring more about hair styles. I really do need to learn.
Loving all the hair
Loving all the hair posts!
Me? Long, sometimes wavy, sometimes straight, mostly pulled up in a bun on top of my head and sometimes tamed with a flatiron.
And blue. And purple.
That's the way I wear it!
M
hair
Hey guys. Dropping to because I can't EVER resist a hair discussion. I have fine, straight hair. Thick, no body, NO curl. I've finally discovered a product called 'root lifter' AND a little mini travel pack of hot rollers. I am officially good to go! Gave up on the perms nothin' but fuzz.
Carry on and a pox on you with the perfect hair :o) Seriously, for just one day I'd love to have great hair.
Yay! Another hot roller
Yay! Another hot roller girl. My hair responds well to that particular treatment--much better than a curling iron. I'll have to look into root lifter. I used to dream of having waist length hair, and then wake up feeling so disappointed that I didn't have it, and never would. ;)
Purple and blue! Ohhh--love
Purple and blue! Ohhh--love it!
Fun!
Megan, I wanted purple or blue hair for a long time - but I think my parents would have freaked. More importantly, I don't think the color would take. I'd have to bleach it, then dye it and hope it turned out.
I do love your blue and purple hair though! Jealous!
My hair pretty much
My hair pretty much behaves.
I had long ponytail hair cut today to VERY short. My hair is also very heavy and fine.
Estella--Behaving hair? I'm
Estella--Behaving hair? I'm beginning to think you are the exception that proves the rule (hair is out to get us.)
My hair is wasted on me
It's thick and wavy and really holds a style so I'd be in great shape if I was one of those people who's into blowdryers and flat irons and all that jazz.
But I'm not... So I just wear it long and look like an extra from a late Sixties rock musical :-D It's very humidity dependent so today I have BIG HAIR. I wear it tied up in a bun-esque thing a lot too.
I don't even remember the last time I blow dried my hair (in my teens, maybe?) and even when I get it cut (maybe twice a year) I just go to the place in the mall that will cut it dry so I don't have to deal with all that hassle.
Jen-the-Hippie
http://www.jenlewis.com
Jen--Your hair sounds like a
Jen--Your hair sounds like a very cooperative life partner, lol.
LOL, you have my hair!!
LOL, you have my hair!! Except that mine is resistant to perming, resistant to coloring AND it's been completely gray since I was 30!!! That is just NOT fair!! So I have to color every 3 weeks or look like my husband's mother. Which I refuse to do since I am older than he is. NOT going to happen. My hair stylist left the business too and then I found someone but they were 20 miles away and then they moved away. So the search continues!!!
On a high note, for hair like ours, try the Katie Holmes haircut she got when she first cut it short. It's collar length and the bangs are just sideswept, not curled or anything. For me it really seems to take to this type of hair. Just a thought.
Take care!!!
Becky
Becky--The Katy Holms is the
Becky--The Katy Holms is the exact cut I got last time, and it does work! And my stylist lives 175 miles away--how's that for devotion to a stylist? Of course, living in Nevada, that's a pretty normal drive to the big city, lol.
Thanks for commenting!
Fine hair sufferer
I have baby fine hair that won't take a perm or stay clean for longer than a day (it gets really greasy *YUCK*). My best (worse) memory of trying to get a hairdresser to tame it was when I went to get a haircut.
I wore my hair in small bun (normally it's in a ponytail as it was long enough for that)and when the girl opened it out she was aghast at how much of it there really was - the bun itself was about the size of a golf ball and my hair reached to the middle of my back! Well the girl said she would give me a perm and I told her it wouldn't really hold but she said that the home ones weren't as good as theirs and this time it would hold.
I ended up walking out without paying for the perm, as the all the lovely curls she had given me fell out by the time I got from my chair to the pay desk!!
Oh my goodness, Ilona. I've
Oh my goodness, Ilona. I've never heard of a perm only lasting a few steps. I understand the golf ball bun. I had a friend who had braids that looked like mooring ropes. Mine always look like pencils.
Truce!
All your hair woes are making me giggle--so sorry! My hair's relatively thick and slightly wavy. When I was young, I dreamed of corkscrew curls, but 'twas not to be... (I tried all sorts of different rollers, slept in them, and everything, but my hair would be back to very slightly wavy within minutes of taking the curlers out.) Now I usually just pull it back in a ponytail, and chop it off every few years. Oh, and I did perm it once, way back when the whole feathered Farrah Fawcett-wings were just the thing! Hee!
Actually, Fedora, I've been
Fedora, I've been loving all the responses, too. I know hair woes are awful when they happen, but later they are so funny.