The Good the Bad and the UGLY!

Hair. Haircuts. Good ones, bad ones, so-so-nothing-to-write-home-about ones and perms gone oh so wrong. Had them all. Have you ever cut your own hair? Have you ever cut someone else's hair that didn't want you to cut their hair? I have, and once, my brother and sister even cut my hair together. My Morfar (Grandpa) was babysitting us and he didn't know it was happening. It was also (of course!) the day before school pictures. I looked b-e-a-U-tiful! My older brother and sister put my hair in a bunch of little ponytails and then cut off all the ponytails. I don't recommend this method because there is no proper judgement on how close to the scalp you really are. Oy, it was ugly!

Last year, when my oldest was in grade 3, and my youngest was in Kindergarten, we got to enjoy the results of a sibling haircut gone bad. My son's class had just finished reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and as a wrap-up, the class watched the video. My 9 year old came home and told his little sister all about chewing gum and then sticking it behind your ear when you want to save it for the next day. He even supplied the gum. The only problem was that she had pretty hair that flowed partway down her back. When the gum got stuck behind her ear and she went to pull it out again, they realized that it had attached itself to her flowing locks. Panic set in and big brother went for the scissors. He lovingly clipped a good sized portion of her hair right off. Clean to the scalp. I discovered it the next morning when I went to put her hair in a ponytail for school. They both came clean and they told me exactly what happened. I could see he was remorseful and it was all totally innocent, so I just styled it down to cover the bald spot and then used hair clips and gel for several months until that section was long enough to include in the ponytail. I also issued a strict warning to never take scissors to hair again. My other children have heeded this warning, but my eldest has taken the scissors to his own hair twice. Sigh. I guess it runs in the family because both his mother and grandmother before him tend to chop their locks from time to time, with varying degrees of success.

Years ago, I went to University with a girl named Mireille. We took some School of Music classes together and she was incredibly musically artistic.  She also had beautiful long, naturally curly hair. One day, as I walked from the parking lot to the school, I heard someone call my name to say "Hi." I didn't recognize her at first, but as I got closer, I realized it was Mireille. She had cut her hair to right around her ears. Wow! She was stunning. I couldn't believe the same person could be so lucky to look as good with long hair as really short hair. I said, "I love your hair cut!" She said, "Thanks, I did it this afternoon." I asked her where she had it done and she said, "No, I mean, I cut it myself, this afternoon!" That was a new revelation to me, and I tucked that thought away for the future when I would be brave enough to take the scissors to my own hair.

One tends to be daring during the university years, and I was a bit daring with my hair. It was the only time in my life that I became a redhead. It's also the first time I cut my own hair. It was about 15 years ago when I not only cut and styled my hair (quite successfully, if I do say so myself!), I also bought a box of black hair dye that I knew would look quite becoming on me. ;) I worked at a paint store at that time, and any style fit in. I was quite pleased when one gal I worked with said she loved my new hair and that I reminded her of someone. A couple of the guys came around and one guy said, "I think it's a movie star." Things were looking up! They liked my hair AND I reminded them of a movie star. Now three of them were wracking their brains to remember which movie star or TV personality I looked like when one shouted out, "I know! It's Monica Lewinsky." Not quite what I was going for, but yes, indeed, that is who they all agreed upon. I actually didn't mind, too much, I've always thought she was beautiful.

In between my own hair cutting, I sometimes go to a hairdresser to get things back on track. I've found that some think it's quirky and fun to cut your own hair. Others are totally appalled. If I go to a hairdresser and they comment on how my last cut looks like I did it myself and that I should never do that, or they hate it when people cut their own hair... they don't get a tip. But, if they say, "Whatever, it's your hair and I think you look great, I'll just give you a trim, you already have a great shape," then the tip with be significantly larger... I had one hairdresser, in recent years, who made me all but forget about my urge to style my hair because she gave me a great cut, every time. But, she has moved onto other things, and alas, I have taken up the scissors yet again. However, I do think that if you have hair that is more than 2 feet long, you should be allowed some liberties with the scissors. How badly can it go, really? You always have inches left to fix it, or just throw it in a ponytail!

There is a sense of satisfaction in changing your look. You go into the bathroom looking one way and emerge with a different colour or style of hair. It's kind of fun. This is all I've got to work with because I don't have any piercings (not even ears) or tattoos, nor do I have the desire for any. Hair it is. What colour of black will I pick next?! Lately, the darker the better. But summer is coming so I have even thought about brown again. I noticed on the ACM Awards the other night that Kelly Clarkson has gone blond. Hmmm... I guess that's always an option for me, too...