black wires grow from my head

I was having a good hair day today so I feel like musing about hair. Vanity alert.

I've been growing my hair out for a while now... eventually I will cut it to donate to be made into a wig, but for now I'm trying to see how long I can grow it before I become my mother's worst nightmare and look like a witch with long and scraggly black hair.

I haven't coloured my hair in a long time... there were a couple brief periods where I had highlights (during a brief stint as a hair model as well as an earlier time when I had a bob and more subtle colouring done than the photo below), but my hair grows too fast for the highlights to really last and I just don't feel like myself when my hair is another colour.

Some people are more chameleon-like with their hair. The cut, the colour changes drastically over time. Not so much for me. I may grow tired of how long it takes for my hair to dry. I might get tired of it getting stuck under my purse strap or having to sweep it up around the house. My hair starts to take over.


Eventually it gets to a point where I start to look like this all the time.


That kind of hair requires some serious maintenance. This doesn't jive with me, for you see, ninety percent of the time I'm a wash-and-go kind of lady.



Although I spend an inordinate amount of time in front of mirrors, I'm often just using them for some sort of photographic purpose (or practicing my self-portrait pout). Eventually my hair will get too long and too big that I don't want the hassle of dealing with it anymore. Once I reach that point of frustration I tell my stylist to cut it off, but not so short that I look like a boy.




*Disclaimer... in one of the photos above I may be sporting a wig

I never regret getting my hair cut (well except for the time when I was 19 and I went in for a trim and came out looking like Richie Sambora. I had to cut off all my hair to look decent again. But it was the first trim that I regretted, not the second). I've heard stories of people breaking down in tears when their hairdresser cut three inches instead of two.


Such hysterics are not for me. It always grows back. Even if it takes a long time. In the interim you can always learn how to rock a hat.


Sure the growing process might be long and arduous. But think of what you can do in the meantime. Why not try to accessorize?



Of course there are those in between phases when your new shorter style is no longer quite as appealing as it once was. If I have to leave the house, I prefer to do so in disguise.


Except of course when I'm on vacation. I give my tresses a bit of a break then and let them do what they want.


And that's about as fancy as I get. I might attempt an updo or bun. I might channel my inner school girl and wear braids. If I feel fancy and particularly industrious (and have at least half an hour to spare) I might bust out a curling iron (and heat proof glove) to smooth my curls.

But basically I just let my hair get long, with regular trim every 12-16 weeks at the salon. I get it cut and then I let it grow again.


Long


Longer


Longest

That is, until it's time to get it cut again. Shall I be conservative and trim an inch or two so that I can keep growing my hair till it reaches Rapunzel proportions? Should I get a lunatic fringe? Maybe get an undercut? So many options.