Saturday, February 11, 2012

Still Going Gray(cefully)


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How do you find your perfect hairstyle?

Maegan Tintari at Life Well Lived suggests trying out a few styles via YouTube to get ideas. I love this as a concept, but my stubborn hair has never done well for me in terms of styling according to other people's hints and tips.

Although, honestly? Maybe that's because I am awful at doing my own hair and can't follow simple hair directions.

So how did I find a hairstyle that I can live with and actually like?  I found a really good hairdresser.  A great one, actually.  He takes the time to talk with me about what I am or am not willing to do in terms of styling, he's gotten to know my hair's texture and quirks over the last few appointments, and he listens when I say that I don't want to spend an hour with a straightening iron every day.

I want to look nice.  I'm just not willing to spend hours in the bathroom first thing in the morning trying to get there.  And I can't believe I'm not alone in feeling that way.


One of the things that saves me the most time?  I'm still letting my hair go naturally gray.  Having to spend 2 hours in a salon every two and a half weeks -- because my hair grows so quickly that roots become a problem in an instant -- just did not work as a hairstyle choice for me.

It helps that my gray hair is a mix of pure white and this lovely light shade of champagne:




















I tried to get a good snap for everyone of the color differences, but I'm not certain how well it will show up.  Those aren't highlights, it's just my natural hair color.

I began this process a couple of years ago -- see prior posts on this here, here, here, and here -- and I am really happy that I did.

So my advice on finding your hair bliss?  Be brutally honest with yourself and your hair stylist about what you really will do -- or not do -- and how you normally wear your hair.  Be honest with yourself and your stylist on how good you plan to be about maintenance -- or not.

The more your stylist knows what you really want, expect and will do?  The better advice you will get, and the happier you will be over the long run.

Feel free to clip pictures out of magazines and take them with you to the salon.  But really listen when the stylist tells you that a style won't work for your stubborn, wavy, thick hair without spending hours with a straightening iron.

I started loving my hair when I stopped trying to make it into someone else's with every cut and style.  Once I accepted my hair for how it is -- and learned to love working with it instead of against it?  I've been a lot happier.

Share an example of how love makes your life well lived, and you could win a kindle fire and a $50 gift certificate from Amazon!  Details here.

13 comments:

Mr. Smith said...

Hey... me too! Bill has been coloring his gray for years, though. :o)

Christy Hardin Smith said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Christy Hardin Smith said...

HAHAHAHAHAHA

The thought of Bill coloring his hair is hilarious. I'd have to tie him to a chair and throw it in his general direction to even make that happen. And even then, he'd be trying to dodge the dye. LOL

(grumble, grumble, stupid typos...sorry about the delete, gang.)

Ann in AZ said...

Oddly, the best cut I ever had was in high school from a lady that had a one person shop in her basement. I went there asking for a cut like she did for a girl I went to school with. Many of the other girls followed, and the same cut looked a bit different on each of us.

I'd say it was a simple, classic cut, very easy to take care of with little time and effort. But for some reason I've only found one beautician that could actually do the cut in my entire adult life, and even she did the back differently. I said I wanted finger waves in the back (like I had in HS) but she did something I never thought I'd like, but actually looked really good on me, a DA (duck tail, for those of us that don't remember the 50s or early 60s). My ex-husband, who normally disliked short hair, stopped one day and actually verbalized that this cut really looked good on me. He did this once in the 20 years plus that we were together. I got that cut from a lady at Penney's for $12. Nobody has quite been able to replicate it since, no matter if they charge $30 or $50 (the max I would ever have considered paying for a haircut!) Go figure.

These days I've just let my hair grow so that I can pull it back and off my face so I don't have sweat dripping down my face from my bangs in the heat of the summer.

Ann in AZ said...

PS, Christy I love that cut. It's you!

Molly said...

I love it, Christy. And your face looks thinner. Have you lost some weight?

My hairstyle is "wash and wear" -- naturally soft curls, short and fluffy, all I do is a bit of mouse and fluff with my fingers, then use a pick comb to fluff it a bit more once it dries.

But I'm still getting highlights about every 3 months.

Molly said...

Er. That would be "a bit of mousse" LOL. No mousies in my hair.

Jane dV said...

You look marvelous! And don't you love the freedom of going gray?
Your haircut is terrific. Whatever you're doing, keep it up. You're looking younger every day.

Christy Hardin Smith said...

Ann -- how funny, because the best cut I ever got was from a girl who stopped cutting hair right after she did mine. I've never been able to get anyone else to replicate it, and it is thoroughly depressing. But I am really pleased with what I have at the moment -- it's easy to style, I just blow dry in the morning and rub a little styling cream in at the ends and voila! For me? Easy is essential.

Christy Hardin Smith said...

LOL Molly -- I figured it was mousse, but what s fun typo!

Christy Hardin Smith said...

Jane dV -- you are too good to me. Having had a couple of cancer scares the last few months, we've been making an effort on the health front. Since my melanoma diagnosis and surgery last November, I've been trying to eat much better and have added a lot more fruits and veggies into the daily mix. Now if I can only stop having to have biopsies so I can add some exercise into the mix, I'll be able to actually lose a little weight, too. Cross your fingers, gang...because losing weight one biopsy chunk at a time is not my idea of a good long-term strategy. *g*

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Nice to meet you! I also did this Life Well Lived post!

I love your pretty grey hair. As a woman over 50 I wish I had the courage to go grey. I think I will eventually let my true color show when I am in my 60's and it is all silvery.

I found a few good hairstyle blogs and I got a lot of good recommendations on hair products from blog readers that I can't wait to try.

Christy Hardin Smith said...

Pat -- it's lovely to meet you, too! My decision to go gray happened after our sister-in-law passed away unexpectedly at the age of 38. I was due for a coloring appointment that week, and had to leave in a rush -- obviously -- to go out and help with our nieces and nephews and family for 2 weeks. By the time we got home, it was another couple of weeks of scrambling to get my daughter back into the swing of school...and my roots were enormous. But they were also really lovely shades of silvery white and champagne gold as gray hair in between my remaining natural red strands, and I loved the color. So I had my stylist do some highlights to blend the roots in a little bit and it has grown out into this color over the last year and a half of trims. All the dyed hair is gone at this point, so it's just my natural hair and, I have to say, it is much healthier now than it was when I was coloring it. But I still wonder -- especially when someone asks if our 8 year old daughter is my granddaughter. LOL