I was born with thin straight hair, but i always envied those with nice curls. When going at the hairdresser with my mom (you read last week’s story, didn’t you?), i was dreaming of having long curly hair. Until i started school, at four an a half, i always had short hair because my great-grandmother used to say that cutting hair on full moon would make them thicker so i think my hair was cut short every full moon (ok maybe not every one). That never worked but mom always tried until then.
Long and straight
When i started school, my mom allowed me to let my hair grow (i guess she figured that the full moon trick didn’t work). But of course, they grew very very straight. No curl at all. No rosette even.
Just like mom
Although my mom had fairly straight hair, she could put curlers on, and beat those straight hair. So, why not me too? So, occasionally, she would put curlers in my hair. But when she removed them, whatever curls that were taking shape, quickly disappeared. I guess my hair was rebel!
How about a perm?
I cannot remember how old i was when my mom asked the hairdresser to curl my hair but i seem to remember she asked that i get a perm as a birthday present (i might have been 5 years old or so). With what i know now, i doubt it was really a perm since it is not usually done on kids’ hair, but to me, i was getting a perm, while my mom was getting her hair done. Can you guess how long it lasted? About as long as it took to get back home. Sad.
But it is Christmas!
We always had Christmas at my grandparents, and the whole family was to gather there. I wanted to look good so i WANTED curly hair, but since it would only last a couple of hours at the most, what could we do? Well, my mom opted for the only solution she could think of: go to grandma with the curlers on. Yes, i would get there, with that ton of curlers in my hair and wait until the first other relatives arrived to go in the bathroom with my mom and get them out. At least, i had curly hair to greet them! But of course, by the end of the day, there was nothing left and i still had the straight hair i always had.
How about you? Do you have any hair raising stories? How about the ever popular “trim your own hair” when you were kids? Oh yes, i see you smiling. Did you cut your hair or your brother’s? Tell us in the comment. Whether you share it or not, write down your story somewhere. It will make you smile later when you re-read it.
11 thoughts on “Remember when…? – Curly hair”
I have always had fine, straight hair but my mom and brother always had wavy curly hair. I remember growing up trying curlers and Dippity Do gel! You would put the gel in and curlers. The thing was, I couldn’t comb it when I took the curlers out! If I combed it, it would feel soft but the curl would disappear very soon. When I was older and would go have my hair cut, the stylist would curl it and use hair spray. It would last for the day but that was it. But my son would cry as soon as he saw me!! He didn’t like it to look so different so I quit doing that! My son, he got all the curl! If he lets his hair grow more than a few inches it starts curling out of control! The girls love it!
Do I feel for you! I was feeling the same. Envying those with curls. Interesting that those who have curls will go to great length to straighten it!
It’s the same for eyelashes, why is it the boys get all the long, thick, curly eyelashes and us girls ones you can hardly see without mascara!
On the other hand, many men lose their hair as they grow older. Older women may suffer from thinning hair, but rarely complete balding. I’ve always wondered about the eyelashes too…but maybe that’s just a device to attract the attention of a potential partner (like peacocks have those brilliant feathers).
When I was young I had naturally wavy blonde hair. I never minded the color of hair but wanted it to be curly instead of wavy. I begged my mom to let me get a perm. She always refused. Then when I turned thirteen she surprised me with a perm for my birthday. I was so excited and could not wait to show off my lovely blonde curls. But when the lady took the rods out of my hair something happened. I had beautiful RED curly hair.
Oh no!!! I guess the chemicals were too harsh. What an unpleasant surprise in the end!
Love my hair permed but it is very thick, very heavy, very baby fine straight hair. It is hard to pay that money for a perm that is going to last only a month (or two if I’m lucky). I still do it occasionally just to look different.
I was very blonde as a child and had naturally wavy hair, but my mum decided I would look good with ringlets, like Shirley Temple. Fortunately my hair is very good at taking up a curl but I will never forget the nightly ritual of having my hair wound up in rags!
My sister was dark and straight and wore her hair in pigtails (apparently she always envied my blonde curls) and when she eventually had it cut the girl just cut off the pigtail then styled the hair – Mary stuck the hair on a china baby doll she had but of course it didn’t look very nice and didn’t stay put for long.
First, I have to say my brother has gold blond hair that softly curls naturally. Even though he is in his mid-sixties now, his hair is still thick and curly and, sigh, gold-colored. This means I’ve had hair envy all my life since he is older than I am. I have fine, straight, brown hair. Very unexciting, so, over the years, I’ve tried coloring my hair and curling my hair. Unfortunately, perms have a drastic effect on my hair. My first one was when I was in 5th or 6th grade. I got a haircut and a perm, and ended up looking like a poodle. I had my class pictures taken and lost my mind by wearing my Girl Scout beret on this round mass of hair….did not improve the look. And my hair never relaxed, despite the assurances of the hair dresser. I had to grow the hair out (and I can tell you, hair that is half poodle curly and half straight is difficult to deal with). I kept thinking that perms would get better over time as there were advancements in techniques, so every decade I would try again. Well, the techniques might advance but my hair didn’t. I ended up with tight poodle curls each and every time. I’ve now given up on perms. Nature gave me my hair, and that’s what I’m going to deal with. But I still look at my brother’s glorious waves of golden hair and sigh.
And I thought I was the only one who had unexpected results from a perm!
The good news, such as it is, has to do with the aging process. As the grey hair comes in, the texture is slightly wavy. I may end up with a silvery grey version of my brother’s hair! It may take awhile…my mother’s hair (which mine resembles) didn’t turn completely grey until well into her eighties.