Sunday, March 18, 2007

Good hair day

I know how Kate Moss must feel. Not the part about being incredibly rich or thin, or having a rock star boyfriend with a penchant for illegal substances, nor indeed the bit about being stalked by the paparazzi when you pop out for a pint of milk; my fellow feeling is for the primping and preening.

My hair is kind of straight with an occasional kink. When I blow-dry it, it is acceptably straight to me. My sister has poker-straight hair, which she makes spirit-level straight with straighteners when she goes out. When I go out, I occasionally straighten my hair. My sister usually says: “I thought you were going to straighten your hair.”

Last night, I didn’t even attempt it; I left it all to her. I ended up with poker straight hair, dressed with more products than I actually own, and a telling-off every time I touched it. “Stop it!” she’d say, slapping my hands away. “I can’t help it,” I’d reply, “I always tuck my hair behind my ears. It's a habit.” When I wasn’t in trouble for touching it, she was fiddling with it so it sat just so. Admittedly, it did look rather good.

But straight hair and me is like Cinderella and her fairy coach; after midnight it disappears. This morning, I foolishly went out into the teeth of a howling gale without tying my hair back. Within seconds, I looked like Cousin It.

17 comments:

Arthur Clewley said...

grrr- leave it like it is! while you're pouring stuff on your hair to straighten it, all the women with straight hair are covering their's in goodness knows what to make it wavy. I'm sure that what ever lucky chap you were after last night wouldn't care or even notice if you are wavy, staight or have a pink mohican on top, in fact if he does notice he's probably gay so your efforts are equally in vein. hmmm, does this all make me sound like I don't really understand women do you think?

Mutterings and Meanderings said...

Just a bit Arthur, just a bit! Women don't straighten their hair for men...

Yorkshire Pudding said...

How can a guy run his fingers through your hair and whisper sweet nothings when your sister's hovering there saying - "Mind the hair! I've spent forty minutes straightening her barnet!" It's hardly a recipe for uninhibited free love and romance! If guys wanted barbie dolls we'd go to ToysRUs.

Gone said...

Do the young farmers prefer straight hair then?

Mutterings and Meanderings said...

Young farmers, Grocer! Credit me with more sense, please!

Arthur Clewley said...

women don't straighten their hair for men? I straighten my comb-over to attract women so I don't believe you M&M

Mopsa said...

Having Cousin It hair myself, and nothing to straighten it with but lard, I just let it do its own thing, tucked behind the ears or not, depending if I'm leaning over a lambing pen. And M&M - I didnt look here for a few days and the gems I've missed....you set an example that's hard to follow.

Karen said...

My hair has a mind of its own. Red hair can be quite thick, as mine is. Sometimes I can wake up in the morning and it can look quite good before I've even brushed it. Other times I can look like a 70s prog rock guitarist because all the slight kinks and waves are misbehaving and making the layers stick out in funny ways.

My hair is currently just past shoulder length but I want to cut it to around chin length as it goes much curlier and I don't have to do much to it to make it look good. I occasionally straighten my hair but I really can't be bothered preening for hours. It's too high maintenance and I hate how my hair feels covered in products.

Plus I'm not tyring to get a mate as I already have one and as we've been together nearly 3 years I've got past the stage of making an effort for him, which is rather sad. Of course like most women I make an effort for special occasions.

Sometimes I think about having 1 inch hair all over as I used to have. It was so great to wash and go but annoying as I had to get it cut once a month.

However you have your hair always has some drawback to it.

Gill said...

My hairdresser once told me that she spent most of Friday giving people with straight hair curly hair and giving people with curly hair straight hair.

I wish that some stick insect clothes horse would bring in a fashion for hair that has a tiny kink in it, a widow's peak and goes under on one side and out on the other. Wait a minute! I could get famous and then you will have to copy MY HAIR!!

Mutterings and Meanderings said...

Mopsa - you have a new name? - you are very kind!

But why does everyone think I was on the pull just because I had fab hair for once?

Pig in the Kitchen said...

Is a widow's peak a kink at the front of your hairline where you part it? It stands up off your head like the letter n and then flops down into a fringe? I have one of those then, very trendy in the '80's, someone in Human League had a good one...

Liz Hinds said...

I tuck my hair behind my ears too. I can't help it; it's just instinctive.

My hair is more wavy than straight so I'm not sure why I try to straighten it. Yesterday Husband had the day off. At about 2 pm, I said to him, 'I don't think I've brushed my hair today.'
'Don't ask me,' he said. 'I'm used to the hedge-backwards look.'

Gill said...

A widow's peak is a descending V-shaped point in the middle of the hairline (above the forehead). The trait is inherited genetically and dominant. The term comes from English folklore, where it was believed that this hair formation was a sign of a woman who would outlive her husband.

The peak refers to the beak or bill of a headdress, particularly a widow's hood, making people think a woman was being given a mourning hood for her husband's soon-to-be passing.

Vampires such as Dracula are often depicted in popular culture with a widow's peak.

Men with male-pattern baldness develop what appears to be a large widow's peak.

FYI- taken from wikipedia.

It is virtually impossible for me to have a fringe- although I did try very hard in the 70's!

Karen said...

Some mornings before work I don't brush my hair I just run my fingers through it.

Pig in the kitchen - this hairstyle sounds more like Limahl from Kajagoogoo or Mike Score from A Flock of Seagulls!

Pig in the Kitchen said...

Gill, Ah, so i DON'T have a widow's peak...perhaps a cowlick? Or am i guessing. At least you are sure you will outlive your husband. And are you a vampire?

Anonymous said...

Hmmm..guys, help me out here. Is it me, or do you also not really notice whether a girl is 'made up' or not ?

Girls spend an inordinate amount of time getting made up, but they often looked just as scrummy beforehand!

Again, YP has hit the nail on the head - many's the time I've admired a girl's hair by gently running my fingers across it....dangerous to do that too often...

I think women get dressed up just to compete with other women anyway.

Imagine if a dozen women stood in a line from the tallest to shortest.

Now suppose the one in the middle thinks 'Hmm..I fancy moving up a few spots - I'll pop on high heels.

That works for a moment, until one of the shorter ones get the idea.

An hour later, they are all wearing stiletto heels, but they are back in exactly the same order in which they started. Perhaps they should 'unionise' and agree..


* No more massively expensive hairdos
* No more hugely timeconsuming makeup routines
* No more boob jobs [see above example on the 'height' scenario.
* No more pinching shoes

Chaps would get used to it, and you women would be much happier - but maybe the flaw in the plan is that you wouldn't have anything to talk about or complain to your mates !

Karen said...

I try not to spend more than £30 on a haircut (for a restyle) and £20 if I'm just getting a tidy. I hardly ever wear make-up (today is an exception as I have a job interview), would never have a boob job (except a reduction if they were so massive they gave me backache) and never wear pointy shoes as they hurt!

In fact I don't really do heels either as I have a condition which makes one of my toes very sore and wearing heels aggrevates it. So I just have to stick at being roughly 5'6"