Both Sides of the Fence
A Tosa resident since 1991, Christine walks the dog, raises kids, cooks but avoids housework, writes and reads, and works too much. A Quaker and
The Aging Maven, she has been known to stand on both sides of the political and philosophic fence at the same time, which is very uncomfortable when you think about it. She writes about pretty much whatever stops in to visit her busy mind at the moment. One reader described her as "incredibly opinionated but not judgmental." That sounds like a good thing to strive for!
Hair, no spray
By Christine McLaughlin
Wednesday, Sep 26 2007, 04:40 PM
The upscale hairdresser gingerly picks up a strand of hair and looks at me with a mix of contempt and pity:
“You have poofy hair!”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I counter.
When you are as old as I am, you have been through the Big Hair, Sleek Hair cycles often enough to know that this year’s curse will be next year’s blessing.
Still, I’m a little annoyed. Although I have a whole catalog of Parts that Need Improvement, my hair is “good hair.” It’s thick, straight, healthy, and has more color than it has gray (and that color my own, not Clairol’s).
“Let me teach you how to use a flat iron so it won’t be so poofy,” he says, ignoring me. "And you'll need some hairspray."
“I though I was paying you the big bucks to cut my hair so it doesn’t need much interference on my part,” I growled.
He never showed me how to use the iron thing, but it’s not Swiss watchmaking. And then there’s all that long-ago experience with lying down on the floor, spreading my hair out on the ironing board, and using the big clothes pressing iron to take out any minor bends I imagined my hair had.
So now I spend five minutes standing and unpoofing. But only the top layer: I’m too lazy to do the whole job the way my daughters might.
In the end, it’s all about the gear and the ritual. Each style shift creates a new anxiety and a new device guaranteed to alleviate it.
It won’t be long before he says “Your hair is so FLAT! Don’t you want a little more height and volume? It will make you look. . .” pause before saying the magic word: “younger.”
Then I’ll have to rush out and buy a poofer. If you play the stock market, now's the time to invest!
