Hair Secrets?

A couple of weeks ago, I caught an Oprah show featuring Chris Rock who was promoting his latest movie.  Because I think he is just about the funniest guy on the planet, I decided to tune it.  Leave it to Chris Rock to find a way to make women and our hair traumas a comedy!

After watching that show, I got to thinking about my own crowning glory. I have spent years fighting with it, trying everything available on the market in the hopes of forcing it to act in a way that Nature had never intended. Years of trying to coax it to curl with old 1980's perms that left my scalp feeling like there were flames shooting out of my head, coloring it crazy shades when I was in my late teens.  BTW, I did this back when it was cool and there were no hair salons that could do this professionally.

We had to find our own colorants and my choice was dark green liquid food coloring which turned my natural dark brown hair a sickening olive green shade. I still remember showing up for work sporting what was considered at the time outrageous hair and having my boss ask what had happened to it.  I loved having this rebellious shade and kept it like that until it eventually faded out.

Years later when I was in my mid 30's, my stylist decided it was time to do a much needed intervention.  My addiction? Perms.  She was happy to continue the coloring for me but the combination of both processes was ruining my super fine hair.  Man that was a toughy for me.  How would I get any body in my hair without a perm?!  Well, after much persuasion, I caved in and passed on the perm.  That's when I discovered foils and highlights!

Right up until my daughter was born, I had kept up the routine of cut, color and foils every six to eight weeks after finally allowing my stick-straight hair to be just that.  So when I heard Chris Rock exclaim with surprise that he had discovered that no white woman has her own natural color, I wanted to stand up and shout, "Look over here.  This IS my natural color!"  Am I the only one out here who hasn't been to the hair salon for months?

It was January when I had my last semi-perm color and foils which would have washed down the drain months ago.  Yes, there are a few gray stands poking through my dark brown hair and it has grown so long, I have to wear it in a ponytail.

No Cut. No Color. No Foils. No Anything except me hacking at my bangs with dull scissors since January.  But guess what!?  I have made my appointment and I'm back in the salon chair next Thursday night!

Hold that Perm, but Cut, Color and Foils, HERE I COME!

So is anyone else brave enough to comment on their own hair secrets and traumas?