There are many awful things happening in the world at the moment and being the mother of a 4 year old, I also get my own personal daily dose of stress. And we all know what the direct consequence of stress is... Yes, you guessed it: grey hair. Not a full head of glowing white hair like Leland Palmer in Twin Peaks, more like a few scraggly ones taunting me with their greyness. Mind you, I was born with a full strand of white hair so I am normally not that fussed about those but this time it is different.
In my thirty and a bit years on this planet, I've had various struggles with my hair. I was blessed and cursed with thick curly hair - that means less time spent washing my mane, but also more time spent wondering what the heck I could do to tame the beast. I went through several phases, generally in tune with my lifestyle: long curly hair (as in down to my waist long) while I was a teenager, then a short (very short) bob when I first started University (it looked more serious and grown up - or at least I thought so), various incarnations of trendy asymmetrical dos courtesy of Toni & Guy when they first launched in Paris back when Electroclash was the flavour of the day... Colour wise, I was just as eager to experiment - from home made bleach blonde (actually more light orange, but don't tell anyone) to the darkest black, as well as slightly purple, navy blue, bright orange and dip-dyed ends, I sometimes used to forget what my natural colour actually was.
And then I saw the light. Not the halogen one on the ceiling of the hairdresser's, above the washbasin, no no... the true light, the divine hair light, my hair calling if you will. I have now embarked on the biggest hair experiment of my life: accepting my strange unruly mane as it is. It started off by growing out the various layers I had put in, then I started using my straighteners less and less... and a few months ago, I even let go of my fringe. It was my signature and for a while, I thought people actually recognised me because of my long, thick blunt fringe that made my hair look a little like a dark helmet framing my face. Well the dark helmet days are now over as I welcome centre parted hair and no fringe. I look so much younger and friendlier (which is not necessarily a good thing in my case as people now think I am 20 - not ideal in work situations).
"What on Earth is your point?" you ask... Well my point is once again about accepting yourself as you are. Hair styles are great, and your hair is possibly the best and most fun accessory but sometimes simplicity and natural will serve you better than expensive hair cuts and colours. Why not try it? I currently proudly sport mid-lenght, centre parted hair in a dark shade of chocolate brown with a slight wave and I've never felt so hot. Had someone described my hair to me 10 years ago I would have possibly deemed it "impossibly boring".
If you want to follow my hair-story, visit me on MademoiselleRobot.com