My hair is straight, and I have never been very adventurous in my hair styles. It’s either a bob, shoulder length or longer, and, except for henna, I’ve never colored it. I go to my hair dresser 4-5 times a year, and she always makes sure she gives me a cut that will last well. Basically, I save all my hair adventures for Lydia McKenzie in my book Posed for Murder. She changes her hair color and style quite frequently, and not every one suits her.
But I did have one major hair disaster when I was four. My best friend and I got a hold of a pair of scissors and decided to give each other haircuts. We knew we weren’t supposed to, so we hid behind a door in my house. We cut big chunks off each other’s heads, and thought it was so much fun. I don’t know if we even knew how terrible the haircuts were until some other kids laughed at us.
Luckily a family friend was visiting who was a hairdresser. He did his best, but we basically ended up with matching crew cuts. I don’t remember the boyish cut bothering me too much. It was summer and I probably liked not having to have my brushed and washed very much. I have no idea what my great-grandmothers made of my hair cut when we visited them in Missouri that summer, but I’m grinning in all the pictures my mother took of me. I was clearly oblivious to my hair disaster.
When I was 13, visiting my aunt in Wales, I decided to cut my long hair short. I went to a hairdresser and I remember them asking me several times “are you sure?” It made me nervous. Did they think I would look good? The result, with my freckles, was cute. And the rest of the summer, traveling with my mother in Europe, I was frequently mistaken for a boy. It wasn’t just the short hair, but I was already five foot eight and still flat as a board. Is it any wonder I let it grow again?
I occasionally see a woman on the street with truly adventurous hair. Bright pink or red, an interesting short cut, an asymmetrical style, thick curls or thick bangs, and I think—hmm. How would that look on me? But instead of trying it, I just give the haircut to Lydia and see how she likes it. Because I know from experience that some hair disasters take longer then others to undo. So I just save my hair adventures for the page.
See, I guess I’m the opposite. I gave Alexis pink hair–at a time when I never would have considered it for myself–and now I’m like, “Hmm, maybe pink…?” One good thing about hair that’s a max of two inches long is that it refreshes itself every four months. There are never split ends to worry about.
I can’t believe how many of us were scarred by our early short haircuts!
I’m not sure Meredith is qualified to write about bad hair days – I’ve never seen her hair looking anything but fabulous, even after she gets out of a pool. I won’t say that I’ve given up on my hair, but I can’t figure out what to do with it. It just grows and every once in a while I cut it. I said that to my new stylist and I think she was horrified. The other day I had a last minute work thing and was forced to blow dry my own hair..I thought I looked like Tina Turner, on a bad hair day.
Someday, someday, someday–I’m going to have the nerve to cut my hair two inches all over and go platinum!
You have very nice hair, so I don’t blame you for not wanting to experiment! I colored my hair and for years it was a nice auburn, or so I thought. Though I requested the same color every time, it gradually lightened over the years until I was described as blonde and I thought, huh? Really? When I got it cut short I also had them dye it to match the roots and let the color grow out. Since it did not grow out gray, I’m keeping my plain old brown.
Katie–I think you should try pink sometime! (See how I encourage other people to be adventurous?)
Rosemary–my hair is fabulous?!! You’re so sweet, even though it cannot possibly be true. I always wanted thick hair like yours, and I dreamed of ringlets as a child…
Rebbie– I think you would look fabulous as a blonde! Let us know if you ever decide to try it–we want to see pix!
Kristina–You have a very pretty natural hair color, so I’m glad you went back to it. I henna mine with red/auburn to keep mine from being a blah muddy brown, and to cover up some of the gray.
It’s been nearly 20 years since I set foot in a salon, but I’m going to have to soon as research for a book.
Alice Audrey–what fun! That’s the kind of research I could get into (as opposed to visiting a morgue or something).
I remember my mom buying me some plastic scissors that were on my first grade school list. One evening, while sitting on the toilet, I decided I should try the scissors out to be sure they were sharp enough. Since no paper was available in the potty, (t.p. wouldn’t do) I took a whack out of my hair. Yep, they were sharp enough.