You're so vain...you prob'ly think this [blog] is about you...

But nope, it's about me.

This afternoon, I am getting my hair cut. No big deal, usually. Except, today I am getting my hair cut by someone new. I haven't had anyone else cut my hair in NINETEEN YEARS. I've been going to the same stylist since I was 12. (Actually, when she was on her honeymoon and maternity leaves, I did have someone else pinch-hit for her, but it was a basic trim.) Anything drastic or new has been ONLY by this woman.

What happened?

For awhile, I've been toying with playing up my naturally wavy hair, instead of fighting it. When it's done right, it looks really good. I'm very much a "wash & go" type, so I never put much effort into it. Which means it usually ends up in a ponytail or looking very...tired. Awhile ago, I'd investigated the "Curly Girl" method. I know I have some natural curl. Not SUPER curly, but the waves do stay when they are taken care of properly.

That's what I need help with. I think I would do better by having my hair cut when it's dry, vs. what most stylists do--cut it wet. When my hair is wet, it's pretty stick-straight. But when it dries, it curls up, flips out, does whatever it wants to do. Also, my stylist puts her heart and soul into styling it for me...it looks fantastic when I leave the salon, but that's not how I normally wear my hair. She blow dries it (the last time I blew dry my hair was for my grandfather's funeral in October--even on the coldest days this winter, I didn't dry it!), she uses a flat iron to make it as perfect as can be. And of course, the cut looks wonderful when it's styled like that. When I wash it and "go," it looks...interesting. I think the way my hair has been cut is pulling out my curls and waves. As I've mentioned before, it's super thick, I have a lot of it...

So I'd been toying with going to a more "specialized" place for some time, but kept putting it off. I was intimidated to try a new place, wasn't sure if I "qualified" for this type of cut. When my friend announced where she wanted us to get our hair done for the wedding, I noticed that they were a salon that specialized in helping curly girls. (For those who know the bride, she's VERY VERY curly.) While I was in the chair, getting my hair done, I started talking to the stylist about my hair, how I'm not really happy with it, how I tried to go curly, etc. She looked at my hair and told me that I could definitely go that way.

That was it. After I had my hair done, I booked an appointment. I couldn't wait. For the past two weeks, I've been trying to wear my hair more curly...but it's not looking as great as I'd hoped. I've also been not using shampoo--don't worry, it's clean! I've been using baking soda every other day and just conditioner on the off days. Lots of conditioner every day, because you have to keep it moisturized. But I think it might be too much--or my hair is so heavy it's just weighing everything down.

I'm excited about today's change. even though it's unlike me to get this way about hair stuff. We'll see how it goes.