Hair, Embrace The Change…

I’ve been thinking about hair lately. Supposedly, it’s our crowning glory. Whether your hair is long or short, thick or thin, straight or curly, sleek or frizzy, or balding on top, we all have or had it at one time, or still do. I think of this song as I write this. It tells it like it is.

Salons and Barber Shops have been shut down for so long that in the past few months I’ve seen wives wielding scissors and sculpting their husbands hair as though they think they know what they are doing. Clippers have come out of storage and heads have been shaved. Women are chopping off their bangs frantically so they can see underneath the fringe. Mothers are shearing the curly locks of their children.

Jessie was tired of having to pull Pierson’s hair out of his face with barrettes so out came the scissors. Andrew has never had long hair, but when he came to visit a couple of weeks ago, I was surprised at the length. He said he was going for that Ben Mankiewicz look. You know, the guy on Turner Classic Movies. He may be able to pull that off! I, for one, have not had a haircut since November!

Before lockdown began, sometime around the middle of February, I decided I was forgoing anymore dye jobs. Of course I color my hair. Doesn’t everyone? I don’t know when I started coloring it and I don’t believe it was because of graying, but because I wanted it to be a little brighter. And once you start, it becomes addictive!

I did not run this by H first! I knew what he would say and I knew he would notice eventually. By the time he did, I was three months in. Too late to turn back now.

After the first month I decided I didn’t have as much gray as I thought I did. But three months later – yep – it’s there. I’ve been following a Facebook page, Going Gray Gracefully. Women are embracing their grays and loving every minute of it. Some are very brave, and not wanting to go through the demarcation line transition, have buzz cut their hair, leaving nothing but a 1/4 inch or less of gray stubble. Once growth occurs, the natural color will shine. Do I dare? NO!

Others have taken the pixie cut route and shorn their tri-colored locks in a cute cut with most of the dye job falling to the floor. Most can pull off that short haircut. Not me.

Some, like me, have let it grow until they can’t stand it anymore and then cut off a few inches themselves, giving it some life. Without hair salons open, the results could be catastrophic.

I have a hair appointment tomorrow. I can’t wait. It’s been scheduled for six weeks! I’ve been tempted to bring out the scissors and trim a little here, a little there. After all, my scissors are close at hand most days as I sit at my sewing machine.

My bangs have taken on a life of their own. Not wanting to look like a elderly graying chicken, instead of pulling them straight back off my forehead, I let them flop and push them to one side when I need to see.

Should I go shorter than I ever have or cut a few inches? Bangs or no bangs? Cut so I can straighten it or let it go curly? Layered or cropped? Time is running out. My appointment is at one pm tomorrow. I must decide. The clock is ticking.

No matter what happens, I can always pick up a box of hair dye and return to the past if I hate it. That’s my decision- no one else’s!

~Elle