A woman's Hair is referred to by authors as her crowning glory, her flowing tresses, or lustrous locks. No description of a female character is complete without detailed information about her hair. Movie stars often set hair trends, and can have effect on how a whole generation wears their hair, as did Laren Bacall, Farah Fawcett, and Jennifer Anniston.
We real women, after 50 years of bad hair days, are of the opinion that it would sometimes be more desirable to share in the Sinead O'Connor theory that "less is better." Did Demi Moore look any less gorgeous with her raven locks shaved in the movie G.I. Jane?
Long hair has always been my preference, especially when I was a young woman with a head full of shining dark blonde hair. I slept on hard metal curlers, those long skinny things that were used in that era to roll up the end of a coffee sack. Later the big pink foam curlers were more comfortable and produced the softer curls of the latest sylish look. When big hair with teasing was in I had so much bushy hair it required little teasing. After shampooing it took hours to dry and I often sat out in the sun to acquire natural streaking.
A sadistic hair dresser introduced me to the process of artificial streaking, a practice difficult to stop once you begin. You pull your long hair though tiny holes in a rubber cap with a crochet needle, trying not to poke your scalp. Imagine someone pulling your hair out, hair by hair. Tears ran down my face with every poke and pull, but it was gorgeous when finished. As long as you endured this torture every three months. Through trial and error, I found I could do this to myself, which didn't hurt as much and certainly cost less. For 25 years, I had lovely platinum streaks.
Then came middle age. There are lots of things they don't tell you about your golden years. One of them is that women's hair tends to get thinner. Besides normal hair loss, those necessary drugs required in middle age, can also reduce your head of hair. You can bet all those aging movie stars who still appear to have glorious heads of hair are wearing hair pieces, extensions or some kind of artificial locks.
As an older woman, hair style is no longer as important. You get tired of fixing hair everyday. Tired of bleach, shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, gel, curling irons and hair dryers. That's why you see so many women with simple short styles that are wash and go.
I am lucky in one respect. Mother Nature has now given me those same platinum streaks, I worked so hard to attain in my youth.
