Rapunzel, Rapunzel

The other day Burg blogged about her 'hair through the ages'--this after she got a cute, new, sassy haircut. Never letting an opportunity go by to steal an idea from someone else, I decided to do a post about my own hair. And I guess it didn't hurt that I had my monthly cut/color done today to motivate me, also.

When I was a child, my hair was so white that it was almost translucent. And it was fine and wispy: fine, Finnish, fairy fur. Most of the kids with Finnish ancestors that I know have the same kind of hair--it is as we get older that things can change.

In high school, my hair was a pretty color blond--not too light and not too dark. It almost was an ash blond, I guess. I wore my hair very long and straight--as so many high school girls do/did. I wasn't able to do much more than that with the hair because it was so thick--enough for two people, actually. When I put my hair in a 'pony tail,' the description was VERY fitting! This was when I really got used to taking a bath/shower at night, because it took all night for my hair to dry. I REALLY didn't want to go to school in below zero weather with a wet head--NOT a fun activity.

I began wearing my hair shorter when I was pregnant with my first. My hair was about waist-length and I got it all cut off to chin-length--I figured, rightly so, that it would be much easier to take care of with a newborn around. Not only did my hair continue to get shorter as time wore on, it also began to get darker. Don't know why--but The Mother had the same thing happen to her, too.

For the last several years I wore my hair in a short bob--just about earlobe-length. It was a flattering cut for me and easy to take care of--my hair just naturally bends under, so I only have to blow dry it and it falls into place. (Of course, if my stylist wasn't as talented as she is, NOTHING would work--thanks, Barb!) Then one day I took a good look at myself and realized the short hair really wasn't the best fit for me. Over the years, I have added a little too much weight to this short, stubby body of mine and having too short hair just isn't right. I realized that having too short hair would cause me to look just like a beach ball with a ping-pong ball balancing on top--NOT a good look! So, the decision was made to let it grow out. I now wear it longer--several inches below the top of my shoulders. Definitely a better choice--now the top and bottom balance out a little better. :)

Unfortunately, my hair has not retained its thickness--and I'm not too sure why. I suppose some of it has to do with age, but having thyroid problems and psoriasis has taken it's toll, also. I probably could get used to having less hair, it's the thinner texture that I can't handle--I ALWAYS had such thick, heavy hair that it is hard to accept the thinner, finer hair I have today. I keep telling the oldest--who has even MORE hair than I did--that her day will come, too. The mother's curse--it will work once again. :)

I have always wanted to have short, spiky hair. I figure that would be about the easiest to take care of--but, alas, that can't happen before I drop about 3000 pounds! The friend I go to see when we do road trips has the short, spiky hair and it looks so good on her. Of course, she weighs about 65 pounds--AND she is about 5 inches taller than me--so she HAS to have short hair so that she won't look like she's about to fall over! (This is the same friend that 'bloated up' to about 75 pounds when she was pregnant--for her twins! I think I hate her!) It looks as if I will be sticking to the longer hair for a while.

As I said, my hair has gotten darker over the years. Now, this WASN'T the reason I started to color it--the reason was the grey. Before I go any further, I MUST say my grey hair isn't ONLY because of age: one of the favorite activities a group of us used to participate in during boring lectures in school, was to see how many grey hairs could be pulled out of my head. Yep, I started getting grey in high school. And, actually, it is VERY slow moving--I don't believe I am any more than about 15% grey under the dye. And if there is more than 15% going on, I don't really want to know about it. I wouldn't mind going natural if my hair would be a pretty color, but it won't. The Mother has unattractive grey hair and I know mine would be just as sad--salt and pepper, but NOT in a good way.

Right now my hair is a very pretty blond--my stylist outdoes herself every time I go in. However, I LOVE to go VERY funky with color whenever I can. These days we have to stick with the blond because I am frequenting the tanning booth--for my SKIN, not for the color--and any color other than blond wouldn't last more than a week before fading. My preferred color is red and I can't wait to get back to it--but I will live with the blond just as long as I have to be under the 'hot lights.' I would have very crazy things done to the color, but my stylist is MUCH more conservative than I am. My motto when it comes to color: I don't want anyone to think this color is real! We have managed some funky things and it always is so much fun.

My whole attitude toward hair is this: it should be a fun accessory. Do whatever you want to my hair--if I don't like it, change it. If the color is wrong, we'll change it back. If the cut is wrong, the hair will grow. It's not worth getting upset about if it isn't right--time will fix anything.