The End

This blog was once known as accidentallykle, and is now closed. The story continues over on The Pretty Walrus on Wordpress.

Thank you for reading.

Crowning Glory

I was born bald. When my hair finally grew, it was very fair. I now have dark hair. My mum often mentions that I was her fairest child and yet I am now her darkest.

But hair colour is not what this post is about.

Some of you know me as she of the curly hair. If you fall into this category, you probably went to school with me or knew me before I turned 17. Many of you have no idea I have curly hair.

My hair is curly. And very frizzy. Over the years, I have subjected my hair to several treatments in an attempt to make it less so. All to no avail. My hair remains curly, which technically I could live with. But to my horror, it has also remained frizzy.

Photobucket

Cute on a (grumpy!!) kid, not so great on an adult.

Washing my hair is a huge event. Wet hair will always be followed by approximately 45 minutes of drying time. My hair gets tugged and pulled and straightened to within an inch of it's life so that I can, until the next time I need to wash it (or the next time I forget an umbrella when it rains), pretend that it is actually naturally not frizzy. It is for this reason that hair washing needs to be planned. Scheduled. It can not simply happen on an ad hoc basis.

I could never be a person who washes her hair every day. It would eat into my week too dramatically. This has, over my lifetime, impacted things that anyone else may never think of, like exercising. There was a time when I was getting into running quite a bit. Part of me would have gladly gone out running every evening. I loved it and the time it gave me to be out, feeling the wind against my face and just enjoying my own company. But alas, a good run works up a sweat. After which I would need a head-to-toe shower. Problem.

I won't lie: it's not the first time I've gone to bed with a sweaty head. Sometimes I just don't have the energy to deal with my hair.

I hate that I am not able to walk in the rain without a care in the world. I hate that rain turns me into a fretful "must cover my hair lest it detects humidity" bimbo.

There are times when I attempt to "wash & go". Each time, I hope that maybe - just maybe - my curls have been visited by the frizz fairy and they will magically look like this once dry (that's the closest image I could find to what my hair might look like sans frizz). Or that something clicks in my head and I am suddenly able to look at myself in the mirror and not care. Each time, I regret it. The frizz fairy is about as real as the tooth fairy and my hair still thinks it's a bona fide Jackson Five hairstyle. And I still hate it.

(I should clarify at this point that "wash & go" in my case should not be taken literally. It involves a plethora of sprays, creams, lotions and potions that I have tried over the years. Some things have worked for a few weeks. But ah, my hair is smarter than that.)

Is there a point to all this? No. I simply needed to vent. Because at this point - even carrying an extra 30lbs that I am desperate to lose - if you had to ask me what I'd change about myself, I may stop to think about it, but ultimately I know that my answer would be my hair. I would give anything not to have this silent dictator seemingly ruling my everyday life. /rant

15 comments:

  1. I know exactly what you mean. Having very thick and lots of hair, drying always takes at least 1 hour. Have you considered any treatments? I've been doing the coco choco treatments and it works wonders - it's not a straightener per se, but it definitely removes frizz

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ive done lots of treatments incl a Brazilian one. Made no difference (esp the Brazilian one!). Very disappointed. What is this coco thing you speak of? Xx

      Delete
    2. The Brazilian worked well, the first time round, maybe even the second but then it stopped.

      Cocochoco is a keratin treatment - your hair is prepped using a specially formulated shampoo/conditioner at the salon and then dried. The treatment is then applied and straightened using an iron to seal it in. You must not pull back your hair within 24 hours and I think not wash it for 4-5 days. After that, you can do whatever you want. I did mine last weekend and have just washed it and it feels so soft and manageable. I can easily not dry it and step out with wet hair knowing that it will be 'normal' for once - now you know me and how thick my hair really is.

      treatment lasts as long as 4 months. I had mine done for about €100


      http://keshiadolce.com/blog/?p=373

      Delete
    3. It sounds pretty much exactly like the keratin treatment I had done, and after the huge difficulty to follow the "no pushing hair behind your ears" etc rules while taking care of a then-2 month old baby, it did sweet F-all to my hair so I'm not about to go through the hassle and expense for nothing again!

      Kristen, who's she and Joanna? I'm confused!

      Delete
    4. from what I saw Joanna is a girl who commented on the girl's blog

      What's really weird is that I had asked my hairdresser about formaldehyde and she had assured me that it didn't contain any

      Have you tried DIY treatments - i do a DIY hot oil treatment with olive oil, avocado oil and almond oil.

      Delete
  2. :-) I feel your pain Clare! I've got a lot of hair too and it's really frizzy. Plus, I'm still losing quite a bit of it every wash since Robin was born. It takes forever to wash and brush through afterwards...and I don't even TRY to dry it. I've been trying to fit in washing it for the past 3 days without success.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I totally sympathise! It's not easy when we also have so many other things to fit into the day. I am trying now to keep to a hair-washing routine of Tuesdays and Saturdays and give or take a day here and there, it seems to work. I tend to make the time for it that way, otherwise I get carried away doing a gazillion other things and by the time I remember, it's too late. Meh x

      Delete
  3. I can identify with all of that - the needing to schedule washing hair, and not wanting to exercise. Summer also royally sucked, because all of my friends would go to the beach every day and swim, and I just couldn't, but I could never share the reason why without sounding like a bimbo.

    For what it's worth, my trick now is that after every wash, I put a generous amount of intensive conditioner in my hair (like the ones that generally come in a tub) and I comb it through throroughly and LEAVE IT IN, rather than rinse it as the instructions tell me to. Afterwards I scrunch my hair with a little bit of umberto giannini scrunching jelly, and then I just go about my day to day business hassle free.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will try that! Thank you. Although I do need to retrain my brain to love curls again, which may take more than a tub of anything :( x

      Delete
  4. but darling... COCOCHOCO... brilliant against frizz!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know what this cococococococ thing you are all talking about is! I've looked it up and all I've found is that it's a professional product (ie not the do-it-yourself-at-home sort of thing). Enlighten me!

      Delete
  5. (you can even exercise, get caught (a bit) in the rain or work up a sweat in whatever way you deem fit - and it still looks decent)

    go on :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm spamming you. Think of THE FREEDOM.

    :p

    ok I'm done

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bloody Mediterranean genes, that's what it is.

    *mutter*

    You really should convert to using some dry shampoo though. Dry shampoo be my bestest friend. Alongside you :P x

    ReplyDelete