Hairy issues

I walk into my bathroom and sigh. And stoop. And sweep … the hair that seems to fall in greater volume as I go to greater lengths. And the big question rears its ugly head. To chop or not to chop?

I tend to be bipolar with my hair. I think it’s my sister’s fault. Up until I was five years old, I had relatively long hair. Which my mother would comb into precisely parted ponytails or braids, and even curl on special occasions. However, when my sister arrived on the scene, I suddenly found myself a shorn girl … a la Dorothy Hamill. Apparently taking care of three children took precedence over my personal beauty issues. Anyway, Hamill-esqe hair is cute and fine as long as you’re doing tightly spinning turns on the ice, but not so much for those of us more cement-bound people. Although I do have some vague memories of spending a lot of time spinning around … whether to get the most out of my haircut, or to get that delicious, almost-falling-to-the-ground-unbalanced sensation, I don’t remember.

The intervening years have been a confused cycle of growing my hair out, then chopping it off on a whim (or when I got tired of sweeping ... or pulling it out of my vacuum's rollers). Not that I’ve ever gone to extremes … never past the mid back, or shorter than a typical boy haircut from the 80’s. Sometimes I think I just like figuring out ways to adjust to it as it grows out.

I spend an embarrassing amount of money on my hair (but Shears is really talented). I figure it’s worth it to get it cut well … good cuts last longer, and grow out better. Plus, it’s better for my ahem personal beauty issues. I go back and forth on the highlights. Every few years I tire of them and go completely dark. And a few years later I start wanting the variegation, and get them back. Probably not a good thing, but it keeps some of the hair demons at bay. Then again, my hair has seen years of peroxide (junior high) and pool chlorine (high school and college) abuse.

And really, I’m LM when it comes to everyday hair wrangling. Every once in a while I’ll get out my steam rollers and do it up in a 1940’s style, but that’s a rarity. Mostly, it’s just there … pulled back in one of those plastic clips that have become ubiquitous since the 80’s. I generally blow dry my bangs, especially after a long conversation with Perky and Charming on the bonuses of bunning (drying front hair only and letting rear hair head dry in buns to give it a little wave for later … a point which had totally passed me by for the first three decades of my life).

I like the feel of my hair. I enjoy running my fingers through it and having it brushed or stroked. Especially when I have time to just let it air dry. There’s a magical point where it’s mostly, but not completely dry, when it just feels like silk. Aaaahhhh …

So, what to do? Chop? Not chop? I’m not sure. It’s a hairy question …