Friday, February 17, 2006

Under the influence

I blame the Pantene commercials.

You know, the ones with the perfect, straight, shiny sheaths of hair, that the models twist and turn this way and that way, sometimes, into a smooth, not-a-split-end-in-sight knot?

I'm obsessed.  I want hair like that

Pro-V, shmo-V, does that exist anywhere in nature? 

My hair has always been really short.  Gosh, since before Nolan was born.  The last time I sported a sheath of long, beautiful hair, I think I was in the fourth grade.

I cut it short because I wanted to be different.  Aside from sidetrips mimicking Dorothy Hammill and Lady Di, it's always been a little different from my peers.  My Mom is lucky I didn't start messing with the color until after I left the house.  

Well, not if you don't count the high school disasters Jen and I put ourselves through  courtesy of Sun-In.  Oh, my, God--what a bad idea...brunettes, with wannabe blonde highlights that were actually just this side of cockroachy red-orange.  At least our tans were fabulous.  I've even endured a couple of bad perms, but who hasn't?

Never again, I swore, the last time I got all that mess out and finally got my own color back.

Enter the hairdresser. 

A good hairdresser is like your best friend, sister, family.   She knows of your hair's sins; has seen your true, unmadeup visage squinting at her from the chair; and still, she convinces you that you are, indeed, beautiful, if only for a moment.  Part confidante, part magician, you can't help but be seduced by her charm into believing it.  You don't ever want to lose her, once she's found.  Really.

Some of the greatest traumas of my life have involved finding a new hairdresser.  (Ladies, you know I'm not being melodramatic.)

The one I'm seeing now I've been going to for not quite a year.  We're still getting to know each other.  She is nice, dependable, and adorable.  We even share the common thread of our husband's professions.  By some strange coincidence, they work for the same city and their paths have crossed a couple of times.

And when I leave her capable hands, I feel fantastic. 

I told her a while ago that I wanted to grow out my hair.  She's been encouraging, which is helpful, because I was prepared this time to go in and beg her to cut it off.  I was this () close to going back to the short-short. 

But we talked about it, and she trimmed it up instead.  ("You look younger with it longer."  Sold!)  I had some Hair 101 to go over, as I was having some trouble styling it.  It's got a wave that doesn't cooperate that I have never had to deal with before. 

It is fab-u-lous.  I love it.  Oh, it's still short, but I can see it going somewhere from here. 

While it may not look like the Pantene commercial, it feels like it when I'm driving with the window down and the wind is rushing through it.

I'm ready for my close-up, Mr DeMille.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your sun in hair would have looked great with a little QT tan...but you do have a nice natural tan.

I've grown my hair out for the last year and it is now in the middle of my shoulder blades...I love it.  I have VERY straight hair and would kill for some of your wave!

Anonymous said...

I have naturally curly hair, almost kinky.  In the early-to-mid 60's, long, straight hair was "in".  People were even ironing their hair to get it as straight as possible.  So I let my hair grow and had it straightened via a perm, in a beauty shop.  It didn't straighten all the way, though, so I never did manage to have hair as straight as Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul and Mary.  Looking at pictures of myself from back then, I realize long hair doesn't flatter me at all.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I can so relate to your comments about finding/keeping a great hairdresser. My hair is super thick and wavy/curly, so finding a hairdresser that understands it is NOT easy. That's why I've been going to the same guy for nearly 25 years now!! He has moved several times and his shop is now 30 miles away....but I still go to see Dennis and only Dennis. Oh, I've TRIED to stray a couple of times, but the results were disastrous. One time, my then 6-yr old daughter came with me to a nearby shop to try a new hairdresser I had spoken with at length about my hair over the phone. Believe it or not, this guy used a RAZOR on my hair -- found out later that you should NEVER, EVER cut thick wavy hair with a razor! When he was done, I looked like I had stuck my finger in an electrical outlet. On the way out, my daughter goes, "Gee Mommy, you look worse than you did when we came in here!" EVERYBODY in the shop heard her...and heard me laughing my butt off!

That was more than 10 years ago now. I learned my lesson and will not stray from Dennis again!

Glad you like your new do...

:) Carol

Anonymous said...

There ought to be a congressional ruling against the Pantene commericals. That hair belongs to aliens.  Mrs. L

Anonymous said...

Just don't let the glare off hubby's head ruin the shot.

Anonymous said...

Pantene is my fav shampoo/conditioner, but i have very curly and short  hair i would love long curly hair but my hair when grown looks like a frizz ball. Its funny you are on the subject of hair. Myself and daniel went in to town today.While there we saw a young college lad with massive  massive hair, one hell of a jackson five look.I swear people in the town just stopped and stared at this lad.lol. oh goodness if i had been his mother i would have shaved every last frizzy lock of hair off his head lol. Any way we walked by and i looked at daniel he was walking and staring at this hair. I tapped his leg  and said dont you know its rude to stare. He just said everyone else is staring are you going to tell them off lol. That guy had one eck of a bad hair day lol.
love and hugs.
katie xx

Anonymous said...

I had Pantene hair, and didn't use Pantene, lol. I say go with what your hair wants to do naturally and work with it. If only our gyns or dentists would start doing hair, we could eliminate the need to find one more person we really, really have to trust and be comfortable with. I am still waiting for the longer hair pictures! (I bet it's still shorter than my new shorter hair, lol!)

xoxo

Anonymous said...

I too have hair with a little wave that doens't do anything!!  I wish it was straight or curly but the wave drives me crazy!!  Stick with it!  I am sure you will like having long hair!

http://journals.aol.com/ekgillen/Gillie/
Gillie

Anonymous said...

I grow my hair out and then cut it .

Then I grow my hair out again, and cut it again.

Then I grow my hair out, and then cut it again...


Can you see my pattern here? LOL

I have figured out that I look like a fat 15 year old boy when I have short hair though. So now I don't cut it any shorter than my bra strap. But I am now in the growing out stage once again...Sigh, it's a never ending cycle for me. :o)

Lets see some pics!

***Monica

Anonymous said...

ooooh this entry is so true... it is so hard to find the 'perfect' hairdresser.  I think I just found mine... I'm 35 and I JUST found her.  The others... despite "saying" they can cut curly hair (yep it's curly... like Shirley Temple curly... except, curlier) they butcher it... and I have brown hair with a lot of red in it... when I say... don't put ANY blonde in it, or I will look like Carrot Top... I REALLY mean don't put any blonde in it!  

So, I'm glad you're going to let your hair grow out.... it's so hard... especially in the in between stages... I think it'll be cute :)  

By the way... my new, fabulous, wonderful hairdresser said that Pantene is the WORST hair product out there!  

Trace~

Anonymous said...

    Dontcha just love the way you feel right after you get your hair cut?  It's like you wanna go and spend money on a new outfit, and then go out for dinner to some great romantic candle-lit place, and then go dancing and then .... Yup, it's the best feeling in the world!  Glad you are happy with your new gal, and your new 'Do.
     Now, enjoy it before you have to wash it and try to style it yourself ! lol       Take care, Tina