7th grade style revisited.

Every now and then I really get the itch to change my hair. I've off and on had really long hair most of my life. Well actually, it's like this, it gets very long, and then for some reason, I don't know who's idea this ever is, it gets chopped off. Then, it takes forever to grow back and irritates the crap out of me along the way. I look back on pictures, and go, "What was I thinking?"

The most recent chop was senior year of high school. A few people I knew had recently cut their very long hair and donated to Locks of Love. I was inspired. I booked an appointment and less than a week later said goodbye to 13 inches of long, blonde, beautiful hair. I graduated high school and went off to college with my new "older" look, a classic bob, and spent the next four years wishing my hair would grow faster. I'm glad I did it, in that I know it went to a good cause, and it was, in a sense, a liberating experience, appropriate for someone entering a new phase of their life. But after a series of bad and boring hair cuts, I was totally over it and wanted my old look back.

For 8 years now (holy crap time flies!) I've been growing it back out, and I believe I may have finally surpassed the longest it's ever been. This is also the first time since 7TH GRADE that my hair has been entirely my natural color. And actually, it's the first time since 6th grade it's been entirely natural. The reason is that in 7th grade a couple friends & I decided getting perms would be a good idea, and starting in 8th grade, I did some theater and dyed my hair black (ugh) two years in a row for these shows. My hair color was still in the dirty blonde family at that time. Needless to say, blonde to black? You never go back.

After unsuccessfully having the color stripped (for the second time), I started highlighting, and eventually dying my hair various shades of blonde, then went dark for a semester in college, which turned reddish and did not exactly flatter me (at least in my opinion). The thing about going to school in the middle of nowhere is that frequent hair cut & color touch ups (by people who know what they are doing) are hard to come by. The following summer I moved to Florida and needless to say, went back to the lighter side.

Once I finished school & realized coloring (and even regularly cutting...) my hair was something I didn't exactly have room in my budget for, I've been heading back in the direction of au naturel. I went about 6 or 8 months last year without so much as trim, until I finally realized my ends were getting pretty ragged, and one of my personal pet peeves is people with really long hair who don't take care of it. So I snagged a last minute discounted appointment at the spa down the street from my store, and fell in love with a new hairstylist, who I now make a point to visit at least every 3-4 months.

So back to that thing about the perms. In 7th grade, my friend Jessica, who incidentally had (and still has) super long, thick gorgeous hair, decided to perm her hair. Although we all made fun of the initial awful smell, I was super envious. I have always, ALWAYS wanted curly hair, and not to be left behind, I convinced my mother to let me get a perm as well. My hair is very fine, and though somewhat thick, it was only about shoulder length at the time, and I had bangs. You probably see where this is going. I looked like a poodle. An older girl from my neighborhood started calling my "poofy head". Then my friend Amy followed suit with a perm of her own, and became "poofy head poser". Oh, middle school, you are so harsh.

Once the perm started to grow out & loosen up, it wasn't SO bad, but then came my stint with Seacoast Rep, and the black. What actually happened first, was that we tried to do it ourselves at home (BAD idea). In gym class later that week, a boy asked me why my hair was green. MORTIFIED. I was rushed to a friend who owned a salon for emergency hair color correction.

But again, back to the perm. So it took me roughly 13 years to get over being "poofy head" (the insult was significantly less once Amy became "poofy head poser", as of course being the original is far less offensive once there is someone new to make fun of... sorry, Ame), but I have decided to do it again.

I asked my then-stylist a few years ago about a body wave or something to just give my hair a little more cohesive, overall wave (it's slightly wavy, but not consistently, so if I don't blow dry it & "do something" it looks pretty, well, blah). She wouldn't do it, because at the time I still had color in my hair, and it's so fine that multiple chemical processing would probably fry it. I then decided I was going to grow it out to donate again (not going quite as short this time), so I needed to grow out that highlighted portion of my hair. Then, we got engaged, and even though it's a year & a half away, I will NOT be cutting my hair and taking the risk it doesn't grow back quickly enough to be whatever length or style I want it to be for the wedding.

But I've got that itch. I need a change. And a trim just doesn't cut it when you have hair so long that no one will really notice a clean up on the ends or a few extra layers. So I went to Ashley (new stylist) and tentatively inquired about how we might make my hair curly... I mean wavy... I mean, just a little more body .... You mean, a perm??? she said. Yes.... I replied sheepishly, expecting her to ask me if I was nuts, those are for old ladies (and stupid 12-year-olds). Well.... actually... I think that would look BEAUTIFUL on you! she said. I can do really big spirals and your hair is so long it will weigh it down, and mostly just have some nice wave and curls on the end. Ahhh Ashley, I love you! That is exactly what I want!

So I booked my appointment a few weeks out for Sara gets a perm, 2.0. But I must admit, I'm still on the fence. What if the smell is just god-awful (even though I go to an Aveda salon and everything is as natural as possible, with minimal chemicals etc. etc.)... and I can't wash my hair for 2 days afterward... and will it be okay to have that wave/curl in there 1 1/2 years from now or will I regret it? And what about the money? It's not exactly cheap. The whole reason I stopped coloring and worrying about my hair was saving money on something unnecessary (and I have to say, now that I know what it is, 12 years later... I actually really like my natural color!). Now more than ever, I need to be saving, though. Oh dear.

What to do, what to do. Anyone have any thoughts? Tell me your wedding hair woes and stories. And don't mind my excessive ramblings on something so trivial as the history of my hair. This is why it's good to shake things up every now & then, and not get too attached. I can't say so much for my fiancé - he is 100% attached to my long hair, the notion that I am still a blonde, and against the idea of cutting it in any significant way...EVER. What IS it about men & hair?

 

Amy & I, on her wedding day.

Perms grown out, all grown up, middle school awkwardness long left behind.