The time came a few weeks ago for me to stop pretending I was Mark Hughes circa 1993, and have my hair cut.
If I am honest, I had been advised on multiple occasions prior to three weeks ago, to visit a professional hairdresser. It’s an important distinction because my last few hair cuts, if you can call them that have not been by individuals trained in hair. Trained in medicine maybe. Works in TV production for sure. But hair? Not on your life.
The badly timed passport photo
My last proper haircut, in a salon was on the 9 August 2012. I had different hair then. It was long, thick and straight. Now, I have short and curlies. Thick short and curlies. Again, this is important to note because I have absolutely no idea what to do with curls.
I hate having my hair cut, I always have. Making small talk with a stranger whilst I am forced to look in a mirror, as people are blasting heat all over the place sitting on a pleather chair wearing a waterproof smock for an hour is hardly my idea of fun. If anything, it’s rash inducing. For this reason, I sought advice from my curly haired friends and made a hair appointment accordingly.
When my hair was growing back, I imagined my first real haircut to be a milestone. Unfortunately, my relapse and the knowledge that at some point I will be losing my hair again, sooner than I had hoped, put a slight dampener on the proceedings. The Hairdresser said things like “it will be so exciting to see this grow in” and “look at longer styles you like and we will aim for that.” I did not have the heart to tell him that I did not know how long this curly mop will last. Perhaps it’s because I am not ready yet to admit it to myself. Who knows how it will grow back?
Even though it was not the milestone I had hoped, it was a far more pleasurable experience and one that warranted a trip to Mac afterwards in preparation of my benefit claims. Crucially, he told me what I need to do to style my hair. I now have a diffuser and I know that Head and Shoulders is bad. One of the Blood Taking Ladies informed me today that I am still not using the diffuser properly, but my technique has improved in the last fortnight. Phew. I told her it is a work in progress and one very much dependent on the daily level of back pain and my ability to lift my arm above my head.
The long and short of it is that for the first time in a long time, I can actually tolerate my hair. I am embracing the curls, not so much it’s current volume in this humidity. There is a lot of volume today. I will continue to try embrace it, for as long as I have it. The news on the street is a new drug I have been prescribed can cause some hair thinning, so the curls may leave me even sooner than I had secondly anticipated.
I tell you something for nothing, I am pretty sure I will regret that passport photo in three years time. I have it for ten.
EJB x
