The Liberation of My Head

Back in October I posted about having to get my hair done for a wedding. Reading back through it, I'm kind of laughing at myself. I had an almost identical experience this weekend, with a much different outcome!

I've been wanting to cut my hair for a while now - mostly out of a need for change, but also because my scalp has really been bugging me. It doesn't like being trussed up and usually responds by itching and being generally annoying. A few months ago, I had a minor meltdown and cut my dreds halfway, to about chin length. They had just gotten too heavy and I was sick of them being on my neck. It was a cute compromise and I was okay with it for a while.

Then another wedding came up, ironically, another of my husband's cousins. I made an appointment for Friday to see the loctician I finally found locally. Now, this appointment was a huge inconvenience, but I wanted to get my hair done - it was looking pretty shabby, I'll admit, and has been extra irritating because of the heat. I had told her I wanted to cut it, but she was trying to talk me out of it. Well, Friday came, I spent and extra hour of driving time (just try to calculate the gas costs on top of that!) and got there to learn that she was 45 minutes behind schedule. Now I'm not one of these prima donna types, but I did have a very small window to see her before I had to be home to get my son from the school bus. So I couldn't wait. And I couldn't reschedule for Saturday because I had to work in the morning. I was a little pissed off if for no other reason that they could call to confirm, but couldn't call to save me the trip?

Before I continue, let me just state that while I had issues relaxing my hair when I first decided to wear it natural, I'm pretty much over that. The relaxers had dried out my scalp and hair. But wearing the locs for the past almost-three years had done pretty much the same! It's sort of the same way that I stopped using antiperspirant for an all-natural deodorant and ended up having major burns under my arms from the natural product, but that's another post.

So, quite irked, I got my son, carted both kids to the beauty supply store, came home and chopped my dreds right off. I cleaned up the sides and back with the clippers I use for my son and husband, and evened out the top to make it a little longer. Then I relaxed it just a little (didn't leave the straightener in for the whole time) to soften the curls. My head feels lighter and cooler, and I look about ten years younger according to a neighbor. I feel pretty darned cute and I think I looked great for the wedding.

I don't know what I'll do with it in the next few months. I may keep it short and relaxed, or I may let it grow out. I plan to maintain it myself because I just have no patience, time or money for having to deal with days like last Friday. Is it me or do these weddings seem to have an adverse effect on me? Perhaps we should just start staying home!