My hair has had a tumultuous life. First there were the lopsided pigtail years of childhood (one pigtail in a perfect spiral, the other a big poofball). Then there were the oh-so-scary middle school years, when no one told me that brushing and blow-drying curly hair will make you look like a mushroom-headed idiot. I tried to get it right in eighth grade, when I followed the advice of a magazine and braved a haircut with layers. But the layers were way too short, and I ended up looking like Mozart. I wore my hair in a ponytail for almost a year until the layers grew back.
In high school, I started to get it right. I stopped trying to make my hair straight. I put the hair dryer away for good. But I still had not learned the oh-so-important lessons regarding hair products. I mostly used gel, and I usually ended up with slick-looking, crunchy curls. When Dan first saw my senior photo, he commented that I looked Hispanic (I couldn't help but agree and laugh).
In college, I learned to do a little more experimenting with hair products, but I never found the right one. Creams didn't have enough hold. Mousses didn't keep my hair from getting frizzy. Gels and hairsprays were still a sticky disaster. I usually ended up using a combination of products, hoping each morning that I would magically stumble upon the perfect recipe for soft, bouncy curls. It never really happened. Each morning, I just did the best I could.
This continued for many years, along with my continued ignorance of the fact that it might be time to graduate beyond $15 haircuts. I finally shelled out the dough for a salon visit while I was living in Nashville, and I was thrilled with the results. Yet another important hair lesson learned, but the search for the right hair product continued with no end in sight.
My first semester in graduate school, it finally came to me. After a cut, my stylist used Pureology Power Dressing on my hair, and I could tell that I was in love. It gave me good hold, but wasn't crunchy. It kept my frizz under control, but wasn't sticky. On top of that, it made my hair shiny. It was more than I was used to paying for a hair product, but I remembered the lesson of the get-what-you-pay-for haircuts, and took a bottle home with me.
I've relied on this hair product for almost five years now. I still don't have perfect hair, but I feel confident that I'm about as close as I'm going to get (which is still far from perfect, but I've learned to love my hair for what it is, on most days). I order it in large quantities (to simultaneously stock up and qualify for free shipping), and I placed my most recent order on May 3.
After I placed my order, I waited. And waited. I checked on my order status and learned that the item was on back order. Nervous as I watched my product supply dwindle away, I decided to wait, reassured with promises that the order was expected within seven days. A week passed. Then two. Then three. Then came one of scariest hair moments in recent memory. . . I was out of hair product. Silly as it may seem, after my years of searching for just the right product, this put me into a minor state of panic. I felt silly visiting a salon just to pick up a bottle, and I knew better than to start the search for a substitute, so I gave in, bought a $4 hair product at Target, and mostly wore my hair in a ponytail while awaiting the arrival of my product of choice.
Yesterday, I was thrilled to find a package waiting for me when I arrived home from work. I tore it open, grabbed the bottles from the box, and spun around in happiness. When Dan got home from work, I ran over to him, exclaiming, "My hair product is here!" I even insisted that he look at it, shiny and new in the box.
I realize how silly all of this is, but I couldn't believe how lost I felt in the weeks when I didn't have my favorite product; it was like my hair security blanket was gone, and I had to resist flashbacks of being the awkward, frizzy-haired, can't-quite-get-it-right wonder. I'm sure one day I'll look back at pictures of myself and decide that my hair looks ridiculous and that the product I'm using is totally wrong. I don't know what I'll do when they inevitably discontinue it. But for now, I am so very happy to have my good-hair-day potion in hand once more.
Now I just need to work on scheduling an embarrassingly overdue haircut. . . .
3 comments:
Everyone adored your hair even in college, even before you found the current hair care love, so that must be some good stuff! I use Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious for Fine Curls (even though I wouldn't call mine fine curls; stylist put it on, and it works!), and I love it. It is hella expensive in my book, but since I only use a dab of it, it lasts me a long time. And we're worth a little splurge at this age, you know?
I laughed aloud at the Mozart hair thing. I wish I had photos of the only time I ever came home from the hair salon and got teary. I was like a cross between Mozart and Billy Ray Cyrus. Fortunately, my mother had good enough scissor skills that she could heal it up decently well for me.
I've heard good things about Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious but haven't been willing to fork down the money just to try it (if only a stylist would try it on me first)! :) Maybe I'll give it a shot sometime.
love this post and I wonder how Dellaina will fare with her curls. Right now, just a bath and conditioner do wonders. we also have some detangler spray that helps the curls come back out without becoming sticky or dry. But, I'm sure there will be many, many experiments and much turmoil to come. *sigh.
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