Growing Hair

Growing hair is a learning experience.  Having decided to grow a chin length bob takes me into unknown territory, hair wise.  Specifically,  that is the territory of lots of unappealing layers along the way.

But I have made more progress than I really expected to.  In the past, any attempt to grow hair has resulted in a quick snip of my scissors,  and a swift return to the familiar hair-self of the past 40 years!!

I figured there is no reason not to attempt this now. If ever I am going to do something different, now is the time. I have gotten past the need to color my hair, so the gray is also a new look, and I have adjusted to that.

 I have the time to mess with it for however long it might take, or however many times during the day.  One needs the time, and also the tools, as well as the products.   There are hundreds of hair products on the shelves.  How does one know what one needs?   There are serums to remove the frizz.  There are products to bring on the shine, add body, encourage curl, fix heat damage, etc.  There are countless, endless products.

An interesting discovery along the way----if I am not going for the poofy short look, which requires a daily shampoo,  then it is much better not to wash my hair every day.  In fact, the longer I go without washing my hair  (3-4 days?? though I don't think I've gotten that far yet),  the better it looks.

While my hair feels really long to me,  I cannot actually tell what it looks like.   Wondering about that has even inspired me to take my first selfie!   (I hate pictures of me to begin with, so to take a selfie is another first!!)  Seeing my hair in the selfie makes me realize it is not as long as it feels.

At any rate,  I am doing so well at leaving it alone and letting it grow, that I might actually have some success in getting it to the particular style to which I aspire.

The last time I had really long hair was in 1975, when I was pregnant with my third child.   My goal then was to be able to wear it in a knot on the top of my head.  I did grow it long enough to do that,  but when I put it in that knot,  the hair slid right out and would not stay.  Now I understand that if I had used certain products, I could have gotten it to stay,  but I was a long hair virgin.

Growing my hair is a fun experience. Every day is different and a real adventure.

I am posting the picture even though I do not really like it at all.  It is just for a basis of comparison for six months from now.