Do you have a signature style?

A friend of mine confessed via Facebook today that she'd had a perm. A perm. Seriously? First, I laughed and put a sarky comment on her status update. Then I posted a status update on the Fibro page, asking Friends of Fibro to share their own perm stories.

But even that wasn't enough. And so I'm blogging about it. Partly, I think, because I am in awe.

I am the most boring person on the planet when it comes to hair. I've had essentially the same hair for 20 years. Long, red, curly (okay, frizzy unless drenched in 1001 lotions and potions).

Prior to that, I had ... the same hair. Oh it was shorter when my Mum was in charge (because I wouldn't have wanted to deal with my mop either). There was a fringe. There was a moment of asymmetric madness in the late 1980s (all the better to show off my button earrings). A bob.

That's it.

I've never gone blonde, or brown, or black, or pink. I've had it straightened once or twice and it was nice for the 20 minutes it lasted but, really, not worth the effort to do every day. I wear it up every day and wear it long and curly when I go out. I colour it now to cover the greys, but I've finally found a colourist who can make it look close to what it looked like naturally about five years ago.

As I said, the most boring person when it comes to hair.

I put some of it down to being a redhead. The colour was pretty good, why muck about with it? The rest I just put down to me being boring.

The big problem, of course, is what happens next. It's probably time to cut it off. But if I cut it off, it's harder to deal with (much curlier and frizzier - no perm required). I'll continue to colour but at what point do I decide that I can't be a redhead any more?

Who knew that a lack-of-signature style would throw up such conundrums?

What's your hair history? Have you ever had a perm?

[image: if all else fails, I'm getting me one of these Rapunzel hats from Evermicha/Etsy]

Boys and haircuts: the good, the bad and the Bieber

I'm on a bit of a roll this week with the boy posts, but one must go with what one knows and all that. Today I took the Misters for their annual regular haircut. I use the word 'regular' in the sense of 'not very often'. I am hopeless with haircuts. Just ask my Mum. She'll tell you. She calls Mr7 Margaret Pomeranz, not due to his overwhelming knowledge of film and ability to say 'you must be joking David' in a very polite manner, but due to his fringe. Which is spectacular, it's true, and not in an intentional Justin Bieber kind of way.

Mr7 has a double crown, enormous amounts of hair and just enough curl to make things go horribly wrong on a regular basis. His teen years are not going to be easy. Mr4 has a double crown, enormous amounts of hair and no curl to speak of - his hair hangs like a sheet or sticks up like a lion's mane, there is no in between.

The right haircut makes a big difference.

Despite my instincts, which are to put a number three trimmer over the lot, we persist in our quest for The Right Haircut. The Builder, with fond memories of his own Pat Rafter locks of not so long ago, likes a bit of length. I just want something that will sit right and not result in tears in the morning due to knots (Mr7 is a wild sleeper with coarse hair, not a great combo).

My conversations with hair stylists go something like this: "Blah blah double crown, blah blah sticks up, blah blah dragged through a hedge backwards." They seem to hear only the last bit and both boys end up with haircuts that would make a hedge dweller proud. Fortunately, this look is on-trend. They can be cool, despite the fact that their mum has no idea.

So far there have been no requests for 'product', but this can only be a matter of time. Never Say Never, and all that...

In the meantime, I'm off to study whatever it is that I need to study to get an idea of what to do with boys' hair before their next haircut (next school holidays, in case you were wondering). Anyone got any ideas or inspiration?

[image: mymovieposter]

February: Hair today, gone tomorrow

As far as months go, February is a bit of a bust as far as I'm concerned. It has none of the hope and optimism of September, none of the frenzy of December, none of the laidback appeal of January. It is a hot, sweaty, humid, frizzy chore of a month. A month of over-priced love statements, detoxing, back-to-schooling, dragging ourselves from holiday mode to oh-no-this-is-real-life mode. There is a good reason why magazines run all their money and careers stories in February - people's minds are on the nitty-gritty. And, frankly, it's not helping anyone's collective temperament.

Today was a classic February day. Steam rising from the ground, sun burning on my neck, moisture in the air turning into sweat on my arms, hair standing out in a Rhea Perlman-like halo (don't remember the barmaid from Cheers? look her up - she never met a hair straightener she liked). Yep, I'm channelling Sideshow Bob. Charming.

Over the past 25-odd Februaries, I have spent more money than I care to think about on de-frizzing hair products. Serums, mousses, oils, waxes, glosses - you name it, I've gone there in lightweight, heavyweight and superweight strengths. Guess what? None of them is a match for February. Not one.

The only thing that February has going for it is that it's short. Always look on the bright side, that's me.

{image: SimpsonsTrivia}