THE HAIR FILES

GOT HAIR?

                                        

If you know me, even slightly, then you know that one of my favorite subjects is hair. Haircuts, hairstyles, hair color, hair anything. You need a haircut, a trim, highlights or an update??  I'm there. I have been known to travel to the salon with a friend as a self-assigned liaison, assistant or quasi-stylist, sometimes much to said stylist’s dismay. I can talk the talk: weight-line, bulk, layers, point cut, bangs, and I can walk the walk.

My mom went to beauty school when she was 17 and cut hair in a salon and then in our kitchen and dining room for my entire childhood. So I believe that I come by it naturally. I love to watch a good haircut almost as much as a good movie. 

     

                                     My mom cutting our neighbor Dean's hair

I come from a long line of big hair. Passed down from my grandmother, Ginny, to my dad, to us four kids. "More hair than God," as Gramma Ginny was known to say. 

                                            Gramma Ginny and her "hair-looms"

I have been known to cut my own hair, often in the middle of the night, and upon ever so slight urging, cut friends’ and family’s hair, not always with stellar results.

One summer while on a family vacation in Minocqua, Wisconsin, inspired by our boredom and a pair of scissors in the cabin kitchen drawer, I convinced my sister Lorijo that she needed a make-over and a change. (Meg Ryan was on As the World Turns at the time. This was pre-pixie and pre-America’s sweetheart. She was sporting a bulky, helmet-like shag. Her texture was similar to Lorijo’s and that was inspiration enough.) I gave Lorijo a haircut out on the dock. Her hair was thick and unruly that summer and I was convinced that I could transform it into something silky and smooth. The results weren’t too spectacular and she was furious with me. Unlike my older sister Kim and me, Lorijo didn’t have curly hair. She had straight thick hair that didn’t hide my mistakes so well. Oopsie...she wasn’t happy.

I decided to bake Lorijo a cake and as a peace offering brought her a bowl of leftover batter to our bedroom where she was crying and hiding. She shoved the bowl in my face and hair and told me I ruined her life. I knew she must have been mad because, who refuses batter?! Surprisingly, years later she trusted me to henna her hair in my dimly lit New York City apartment. The results were equally horrifying but since I was almost nine months pregnant, she contained her wrath. When we made our way to the sunlit street I couldn’t stop laughing: Her hair was the color of carrots. Not what we were going for.

Now, years later and still sans training, I remain unwavering. Somehow I always trust myself with a scissors. Especially on my own head. I’m a change junkie and even though my hair has probably remained a variation on a theme for the last 12 years I would like to think that I have experimented with those variations. Often with the help of a stylist and many a photo.

Although I admire the longer locks, I have always been a fan of shorter hair and am constantly on the lookout for cute ways to update the bob and the shag. Or what I have come to know as the shaggy-bob.

                                 Audrey Tautou with the most adorable shaggy-bob

Over the years I have collected what I now refer to as the "Hair Files": a prized collection of magazine tear sheets and photos. They are prized, but I share, and if I loan them out they are signed out on a log just like a library book. For the record, my son Zeut has had his own "Hair File" since he was one. Call me obsessed.

                                                    Hair files unearthed

Since the beginning of the year is a great time to embark on change, and short hair and its many variations on a theme are my main hair obsession, I thought it appropriate to post a few great haircuts. I have a grand selection of cuts at Pinterest on my "Hair Files" board as well for your viewing pleasure.

If you are looking for something low maintenance check out a few of these short-hair variations for some update inspiration. 

Arizona Muse's choppy bob

Charlize Theron's daring pixie at the Oscars

Meg Ryan: an oldie but a goodie

What are your favorite styles? Post 'em here.