Monday, March 28, 2011

Wash and Wear Hair

Freedom is... wash and wear hair.  That's right, I'm an activist now, an activist for freedom from expensive, time consuming hair care.  I want to opt out.  I've been a slave to my own hair for years. 


Every night of the 60's was a ritual performance of sitting on the floor of my bedroom, listening to 45 records and rolling my wet hair up onto brush rollers (otherwise known as thistle and thorn head torture devices) then tossing and turning the night away trying to find a sweet spot on the pillow where the little plastic spikes and wires weren't poking painfully into my temples.


I woke early each morning  to tease and torture my hair into shape and spray it with a half a can of Aqua-net until it was as crunchy and crispy as a potato chip.  In later years, I spent hours having my hair rolled onto tiny plastic rods, doused in chemicals and blasted in head furnaces only to find the end result was a head full of frizzy, cotton candy like, split ends.  Nothing at all like the picture above which I found on a wonderful vintage hairstyle archive where you  can see exactly what it took to come up with a hairstyle like this one.

For the last 15 years I've had my hair cut in the classic two inch long pixie, which was the closest I could get to wash and wear hair. You'd think that would be freedom enough, but...sadly, no.  I still need product for volume and constant trims to keep the hair from shooting out at odd angles as it grows.  I want total freedom, I want to grow my hair out and put it up in a bun.  That's what the old grannies of the past always did when they declared freedom from bobs and heat curlers and Marcels.  What do you think of this classic look?


I also want that neck, those cheek bones and that creamy skin.  Anybody know where you can get that because the jars and bottles I've been buying just don't seem to be doing the trick.

4 comments:

  1. I'm chuckling........I just called a new hairdresser today to make an appointment. A 'new' style that is easy to take care of and pretty much wash and wear!!! You and I are on the same page!
    Mine is short-ish right now. But in the summer I wear a bike helmet or baseball hat alot and we camp. Hopefully this new person can do something fun and funky and still make me look young (ish). HAAAA, right! As you post said, where is that miracle that'll get rid of the 'neck-thing' and wrinkles??

    I hope you find a lovely hair-do that makes you feel fun and funky, too. The last photo is a nice style, btw!

    Hugs
    Jan

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  2. I wish I could wear your style! Mine is long & I seem to cut it every other year. But chin length is as short as I could go. When its long, I want it short. When its short, I want it long. Will we ever be happy?!! :)

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  3. Ah...your very dry entertaining wit...I just love reading about your life...good luck with the hair...mine is long. Unfortunately for me I don't have the right shaped noggin for short cropped hair..if I did I cut it super short and bleach it white..but alas, I feel sexier with long hair...and these days anything that can do that for me is worth keeping...ha! thx again for the giggles, juner

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  4. I love those shellacked hair-dos!! My mom was the queen of the bee hive!

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