Some thoughts on my hair

My hair is about 2 feet long.  It grows fast, is thick, and has a nice wave.   I've always liked it. 

I remember, in high school, when I was in the "special program for emotionally disturbed kids" (my last 2 years), they used to get very angry if I'd show up with unwashed, depressed, hair.  They'd punish me - I forget most of them - no lunch, stuff like that.  They wouldn't let me read (that, to me, is punishment, although the worst would be saying I couldn't write).  It even got to the point of suspension.  They didn't like my cowlicks sticking out (I had short hair) and they sent me home a few times.  That resulted in me getting shoved in the bathroom and ordered to shower, every night, getting checked to see if I had washed my hair - etc. 

Hey, I still have a hard time taking a shower when I'm depressed. 

So, to start, my hair was an issue. 

However, after I moved out I could do whatever I wanted.  I decided to grow it out.  I started with a headband and moved to a ponytail.  Of course, I had no idea what to do with longer hair, so I've stuck with the ponytail.  I tried braiding and stuff but it looked terrible. 

I could have kept at it until I had expert braids, but I'll point you back at the depression issue again.  Some days, all I could to was pull clean hair back in a ponytail.  I tried wearing it down, but it got in the way.   I've always enjoyed active jobs requiring physical effort. 

Manic?  I'd try dying it, but it usually went from medium brown to slightly darker brown.  I hate it when brunette women dye their hair blonde (one of them being my birth mother), so I've expressly avoided it.  I did a few auburns in the late 90's.  I played around with hennas and liked the lack of commitment.

Henna washes out in about a month. My last henna went great - a nice bright red, for a while.  However, as it's washed out I've found a lot of gray in my part. 

My mother went from brown hair to gray.  My Dad went from black hair to salt and pepper, then gray. 

My hair is going more to the gray, with a very few black strands.  Overall, I'm OK with it, but it's like all gray, all at once, in my part, with zero brown at all.  That's a little disturbing. 

Then I think about my life and thank God I'm not bald. 

So, I'm left with nearly all gray roots, at least in my part area.  Let me undo my 'tail and - oh, that looks wrong.  I'll undo my ponytail, brush it out, and see if all the roots are that gray. 

The part is all gray, the rest of the top and sides ranges from about 10 to 40%.  That's not bad.  At least I won't go all gray in the year.  That would be a little freaky. 

So, once I get past color (I have no problem with texture or wave - it's very nice), then I go to styling. I have some cheap hair clips I bought at the Dollar store.  They look like a mouth, about 3 inches long, with teeth. 

I like to use one in the shower, after I wash and condition my hair.  I clip it up so I can wash my back.  In the summer, I use the clip to get the hair off my back!  Oh, it's so hot and itchy, miserable. 

I won't be growing it any longer, but there you have it: graying brown hair, in a ponytail, occasionally clipped up in the back, towards the top of my head.  The curls cascade around the clip, looking fantastic. 

At least until I start working, or get out in the humidity!