I think I'm in love...

with my new rollers. Yes, I said rollers. Not just any rollers, Velcro rollers. Being of the straight hair persuasion, my life has been chock-full of rollers since I was a child. My stepmom, bless her fine, stick-straight hair (good thing she was a teen in the hippie era), did to me what was done to her before. Whenever there was a special occasion or holiday, out came the foamy pink rollers and the big glass jar of clear, green Dippity-Do gel. I learned that this was my best friend. After a leisurely evening bath, we would sit in front of the TV and she would set my hair. She actually had it waaay worse. Her mom would put her in banana curls and her hair couldn't hold a curl any longer than an Irishman could hold his liquor.
My hair, on the other hand, takes to styling fabulously. A half a jar of Dippity-Do, and I'd have tight curls to the end of the day-even if I was dancing in a recital! Even now, my hair is good to me. Which brings me back to Velcro. As an ABA therapist, Velcro is my best friend at work. It's only natural that I've found a reason to bring it home. At first, I was a little skeptical. Would they hold on their own, or would I need some pins? How about getting them out? Would they leave my mess in a knotted, bird's nest?
Well, all my fears have been set aside! First of all, I've struggled this past year with my appearance. I have tons of gray hair, not that it's ever mattered that much to me. I've always dyed my hair and had the growing-in-root-look, so it's hard to even say what color my hair ever was, is or is supposed to be. I fluctuate between shades of brown and auburn, and almost always do it myself. Last fall, I decided to get a real haircut. The kind you have to do something with in the morning. I bought some new make-up and tried out a few different looks before I settled on a fall look. The hairstylist layered my hair and it turned out like a sort of modern take on Farrah's flip. I really liked it. Then something happened. I stopped trying again. What was once a sophisticated, soft modern look became something from a twelve in the afternoon Sunday walk of shame down the Lower East Side in the eighties. Who knew layers could go from looking so good to soooooooooooo bad?
It's almost springtime. The weather is getting better, and I'm starting to feel like a stuffed sausage in my clothing. My diet has been poor, and I get no exercise because I'm afraid to injure myself even more. My obsession with my appearance has been revisited. That's where the rollers come in. It was unrealistic to think that I would ever spend a half-hour in the morning doing my hair for any reason, so I'll have to consider that in the future. Based on the Pantene commercial for the root-lifting gel I bought to go with the rollers, it would only take a few minutes. This is true, IF I put the effort into blow-drying it properly after I wash it. Since I only wash about once a week, this shouldn't be a big deal. 20 minutes a week on blow-drying and 5 minutes in the AM rolling, and 5 minutes after unrolling to style should be an appropriate and doable amount time for me to get my hair ready in the morning. We shall see!