I thought I would kick off my “Adulting is Hard” series with my #1 issue – I have no clue what to do with my hair! Like, seriously, how do women (and I guess men?) learn how to do their hair? Do they have Moms that teach them? Do they all just watch YouTube videos? Or are they just magic?
I adore my Mother, she’s amazing and taught me many, many lessons…but doing hair was not one of them. When I was a kid she had a perm (just typing that word brought back the home perm smell – anyone else?) and now she keeps her hair pretty short so….not much help in the hair department. My older sister wasn’t much better, also did the perm thing and then she used to cut her own hair – being “girlie” wasn’t big on her list – which is cool, but…I liked being girlie and could never figure out what to do with my own very thick, very heavy, very straight hair.
Hair History
As a kid, I had the bowl haircut and bangs that my Mom used tape on to cut straight. Then in college, it was longish and I used to pull half of it back into a ponytail. Then I moved to NYC and started auditioning for things and pretty much had to keep my hair looking like my headshot – layers. And I would wash it, dry it, and use a large round brush-looking dryer to flip the ends either under or out and that’s it. Here’s the thing – I like my hair – even now, that I stopped dying it and it’s getting quite silver – it’s healthy and shiny. But it can also be boring to do the same old, same old all the time.
I tried crimping my hair….once! My sister-in-law bought me one with I was about 12 maybe and helped me crimp it, which took HOURS…and didn’t really look like what I thought it would and didn’t last very long. I had friends in college try various curling devices with equal results – very little. When I was in shows and needed “different” hair I would wear wigs, or beg others to help me – which worked – I’m cute and can be quite persuasive!
Current Hair
Ponytails aren’t really my thing either because pulling my hair back causes headaches…and my head is very tiny compared to the rest of my plus-size body. This is why I always said God gave me lots and lots of hair, to balance my tiny head (seriously, I can wear kid sized hats…it’s weird) – so when I pull my hair back I just feel…off, somehow.
My hair is very straight and the layers do help give me movement but does anyone out there know – is there anything I can do? Would YouTube be helpful? If so….what would I search for? Seriously…help a lady out! Thank you…because, Adulting is Hard!
P.S. – The Art of Lying
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I’ve never been satisfied with any one look. When I was little, my mother curled my platinum blonde locks like goldilocks or braided like Heidi. Then came Toni home perms, and yes, I remember that smell… awkward looks and awkward hair that was curly on the ends and coming in straight. Then there was hair color. Red, blonde, auburn, all for periods of time. Pixie cuts, page-boys, flip, Italian-look, pony-tail, the Bob. Too many to remember. Now, do I stay blonde or go natural? That means, find out what God really intends. It looks sort of silvery and dark-ish. I’m sort of curious. What to do? Jennifer, you’re not alone. At least there are choices. ????