Day 108 Hairy Times

March 27, 2015

(This is part of a 365 project during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on each day's gift.)

The average number of hairs on the head is around 100,000 and humans pay a lot of attention to these hairs. I started out as a blonde, about 12 years after Shirley Temple had begun her career. Her influence on my mother, besides the song “On the Good Ship Lollipop,” was to re-create the child star’s curls on my head. With sink water dribbling to help, my mother used to sit on the closed toilet seat in the bathroom and attempt to create Shirley Temple curls on my head with a rat-tail comb. It was hard as a child to stand still during this process, especially when my hair did not want to coil that way.

By the time I was in high school, my hair had darkened and I was wearing a short proper hairstyle. When I was in my mid-20’s, my hair reached down my back to my waist in hippie style. During the hair-teasing days, I backcombed my hair and was quite a sight when done with long hair! In the early 80’s I got a perm and a poodle cut, something I’d rather forget. Now I am back to a medium length and lighter color which half covers the gray.  I’ve noticed that the older I get, the more natural curl I have. My mother would have loved this.

Now I go for the natural look—except for the color. I’m not ready to let the gray take over because I don’t feel gray inside my head yet. Today I got a haircut from my hair artist, Scott Ferguson. He is a sculptor who understands his tools and materials, knows how hair behaves and can sculpt it the way the hair is wont to go. Today was a treat for me to have my hair cut and shaped so I can fling my hair back and forth in a carefree style.

Maybe next year, I’ll go au naturel and gray.

My gift today was my hair artist.

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You can read my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html