My hair was never cut when I was a baby/toddler, and by the time I got to kindergarten, it was down to my waist. One evening, my aunt (mom’s sister) babysat me. She was 14. She liked to use me as a doll. She’d dress me up, put makeup on me, etc. That evening, she decided to cut my hair off! When my parents came home, my dad blew his top! He said she wasn’t allowed back in the house! He didn’t mean it, but he was fit to be tied. After that, my hair wasn’t cut until I was 15, when it was down to my waist again. Since then, I’ve had shoulder-length, short, then back to shoulder-length, and now it’s a little longer than my shoulders. When I become an oldER lady, I’d like to grow it a little longer and then keep it in a side braid.
I had 3 sisters, and we all had long hair. My dad would have to clean out the shower drain all the time and also remove the hair that was wrapped around the vacuum beater bar. When we would brush our own hair every day but couldn’t reach the back (elementary school age), we’d develop giant rat nests at the nape of our necks. My mom would spend hours untangling them. We’d scream and cry. My dad would yell from his throne (recliner), “Cut it off, cut it all off!” Those were the days!
The “rat nest’ syndrome has caused many an Elementary school age kid to have a cute pixie cut the next day.
I spent so much time brushing my girls squirrels nest hair. It could be smooth as glass leaving for school. I was always amazed at how bad their hair looked at pick-up time.
I finally figured out a pony tail or braid would keep things less tangled.
Until the dreaded hair tie that gets stuck and has to be cut out. Did plenty of that.
I guess I have a lot of hair stories. I’ll tell you the first one:
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, lived a little princess with long blonde hair. Yes, it was me. And one day, I was messing around in my mother’s bathroom and I found an odd little comb. I used it to give the back of my head a couple of licks, and then my mom came in and started to scream and cry. Turns out it was a comb with a recessed razor in it, and I’d cut a good swathe. The amusing part of the story is that my mom called her parents to tell them what I’d done, but she was so upset she couldn’t get it out. When my grandfather answered the phone, Mom sobbed something like, “Dad! Oh my god. Julie…Julie…” He thought I’d been killed.
My mother kept our hair short as children. She also sent me to my father’s barber to cut it. It would have been a bowl cut if it wasn’t wavy. She used to curl it for special occasions and she thought it looked so pretty but I wanted to be a princess with long hair but instead it looked like the King or Jack in a deck of cards and I didn’t want to look like a boy.
Since then I’ve tried my whole life to grow it but it is baby fine and thin so it just isn’t going to happen. I almost never like any haircut or style. I envy those of you with thick strong hair. Hairdressers never know what to do. They insist on skipping conditioner because it is so fine then end up spending 45 minutes detangling it. I always warn them that it is dry but they always say that fine thin hair will be weighed down by conditioner.
Have you ever tried less frequent hair-washing (once or twice a week), with a bar shampoo followed by a vinegar rinse (1-2 Tbs apple cider vinegar in a pint of water), and nightly brushing of the hair for 50-100 strokes with a natural-bristle brush?
That may sound oddly specific, but I have found it works way better for fine dry hair than trying to maintain a daily-wash regimen. The brushing (I bend forward to let the hair hang and brush it downward from root to tip, btw) removes dust and dirt while distributing the natural oils along the hair, besides all that scalp-stimulating goodness. And unless you’re getting your hair absolutely soaked with sweat or other contaminants on a daily basis, it won’t start looking or feeling “dirty” for about 4-5 days minimum. And it has a lot more natural body and bounce than if you’re stripping it down with shampoo every single day.
(Also, do not blow-dry or use more than a minimal/occasional amount of hairstyling product if you want the best healthy-hair benefits.)
Excuse the natural-hair evangelism, but I’m a lot happier with my fine un-curly hair since I started it, a few years back.
Gayle, the salon owner/stylist I frequent; (Not nearly enough according to the Lil’wrekker) says she doesn’t wash her hair fully more than 4 times a month.
She has glorious hair. Big blond bombshell hair!
I always fear this is how she wants us to look. She gets visibly excited(ehh, maybe just her business acumen) when we go in. There’s lots of hair on our heads.
Yesterday I washed my hair. I had thought I’d go see Gayle for a color correction. My hair color has settled down. It’s not quite as striped-y looking. So I cancelled.
The Lil’wrekker sez, “Hey, Ma, lemme style your hair!”
Omg! My hair was so loud, I almost couldn’t sleep with it. She has me coiffed up.
I’m much happier with the color. But a Dolly Parton hair-do is not exactly what I need.
Those were the days!
