Fine and Flaxen

This is for all us women with fine hair. And lets be decent, and keep to the term 'fine', rather than 'thin'.

My hair has always been the bane of my existence. I might get compliments on my other features, but seldom, if ever, on my hair. I think the nicest thing anyone ever said was years and years ago when a friend's mom said "It looks so silky". Well, I don't want silky hair. I want thick, lustrous waves, not the poor, tired, limp strands my DNA spun out.

With fine hair, women always have to worry about the weather. Humid? Get out the industrial strength hairspray and spray til crunchy. Windy, follow the same only expect an even worse outcome. Nothing like helmet hair thats been wind whipped into some grotesque shape. Lovely to walk into the coffee shop wearing a toppled pyramid on your head. Very attractive.

Of course, you can always resort to a hat. You MIGHT be able to pull that one off in winter, in summer, fuggetaboutit. Also, with a hat, you have 'mystery hair', meaning its always a mystery how it will look once the hat is removed. Usually flattened as a pancake, hanging in limp, lifeless ,anemic strands.

We all know all the tips. Blow dry your hair upside down, use root lifter, spray at the roots, use thickening shampoo. Yes, they all work, for a few minutes. The best products to thicken up fine hair use some type of plasticky glue. Sometimes the bottles even proclaim themselves "hair glue". Listen up, ladies, they ain't lyin'! That stuff will hold your hair up but glue it so firm that it can take multiple shampoos, yep, you read that right, multiple shampoos to get out and expect to lose about a third of your hair in the process. You truly become 'un-glued' when you see whats going down the drain in the shower.

No haircut is ever going to really look right. Most hair dressers will push for the one length bob. Tried it a couple times, looked hideous, had to have layers cut in. Do not believe that old school thought, one length does NOT look better, you need various layers to try to attempt a little volume. Forget luscious shags or long hair. Fine hair doesn't have enough bulk to hold itself together and once much past the shoulders will only separate into strands or fizzle out into frizz.

Color will give you some oomph for awhile. And don't forget the mousse, without mousse, all is lost.

Seems like I look around and all I see are women with thick, glossy hair. My own daughter inherited her father's hair, its very hefty and thick, the kind of hair that makes hairdressers take a breath and clap when she walks into the salon. The kind of hair you can do anything with. I thank Goddess she didn't inherit my hair gene.

If I could change one thing about my appearance, it would be my hair. I think I will save up for extensions but then again, they will just give me more anxiety wondering and waiting for them to fall out, no doubt somewhere crowded, in full public view. Reading back over this, its just making me more depressed. I think I will just put my hair back in a scrunchie today and have a martini.