The Wandering Mind!

Ever had a break up?

The one that devastated you beyond anything?
The one that had your parents & your friends sick worried? The one where you just lay right there in your bed & cried for hours? The one that magically made your hunger, thirst & sleep disappear?

The one that made you go 6 weeks without threading... The one that made you so depressed in life that people had to come visit you at your home while they tried to pep you up & you just sat there in your worn out jersey, payjamas you wouldn't be caught dead in & hair so greasy that running your hand through your hair would make your hands oily?

Sounds tragic, eh?

I've had it...
I'm sure everyone has been through this phase...

I belong to a family that is not into the party late or go outta town with friends type... but you know what... when you are that devastated... your parents ask you to go out... they ask you to go meet your friends & party!!! Funny part is - you still don't feel like!! Your parents push you to your friends' wedding outta town... fresh air.. new people... new place... might be some good for you... but you can't go to a wedding like this... now, can you?

So I booked myself for a salon visit... hmmmm... while I'm here why not get also a mani, pedi & a fix of hair... "chop off those split ends" I tell the hair dresser & pat comes the response... "why don't you go short?" "I don't know, I have tried so long to grow them.. maybe next time.. only split ends" I say & he responds, "I recommend shortening the crown area at least... will give a little definition to your hair..."

mmmm... I think a bit & say "ya, that's alright! as long as the hair is not shortened"... he takes some time to wash & untangle my tragic hair & then, takes out his scissors & starts his magic.. while he is at it, he tells me that I have such gorgeous hair.. & I wonder //my frizzy South Indian hair... really???// he continues to tell me how many women would love to trade their hair with mine... & I am like really??? he goes on to explain... for everything w.r.t. hair.. styling.. cutting.. straightening.. curling.. perming.. coloring etc. people hit the salon.. but the fact is, more & more chemicals mean damage.. so density of hair decreases with each styling... so good volume is important for a stylist... he then quietly also slips in a comment or two about how i look (maybe he wants to bill me for makeup as well).. he said "you look a bit pale, may I suggest shortening the length just a bit & a few highlights on your crown to brighten up your face" & I immediately respond with an okay... I have no real idea why I agreed, but my guess is I needed a change!

I realized, the conversation with my hair dresser was the longest conversation i had in about 2 months time & he had managed to do 2 things with my hair that I would never really agree to if i weren't "let's say - sad" - shorten my hair by 4 inches (yea, that's how much "just a bit" is for hair dressers) & given me multiple blonde highlights! When he was finished styling my hair & I saw myself in the mirror, I realized I had The Rachel![1]

So, I got highlights.. & they felt good... I hadn't felt this good in quite a while... I had become so used to seeing the dull gloomy side of me.. the blonde highlights did bring spark into my life. My changed hairstyle was the 1st step towards moving on. Have you noticed, that when people are trying to get over a breakup, a new hair style is the first thing they resort to? Do you know why? - It's because hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals.

So now you know that the first step to getting over a break up is - Go play with your hair!

Have you ever noticed (& I know this is particularly true for women) that the day you have a bad hair day, Murphy[2] becomes your best friend? So I say, let's avoid Murphy as much as we can... After all, it is always better to be safe than sorry! So, let's never have a bad hair day! I just love playing with my hair & I can testify that reducing your bad hair days drastically reduces your overall bad days.. its a simple correlation actually. you have a bad hair day... you are conscious of it... you wonder how many people around you are thinking that you look stupid... you cannot give your one hundred percent... you end up screwing your work... your work ends up giving it back to you!

You know the amazing part about evading a bad hair day? You get to experiment with you hair... some of these experiments are damn easy... for eg, did you know that to get the barbie doll high pony, all you have to do is 1st tie half of your hair around your crown (leave out about 1 inch of hair around your hairline) & then tie these up too into the same pony with another band. Even if you have the worst ever hair day, you can make a really cool messy bun... all you have to do is tie your hair into a pony, twist the pony & wrap it around the center, yank it from random places & secure with bobby pins! You can carry off this look even with greasy hair!

Some other things that I love to do with my hair, include braiding... yes, the plain & simple braids... sleep on it... & the next day, my south indian hair gives me a cross between the permed & the soft curl look... though I do absolutely love the salon achieved soft curl look... I still keep it for occasions... the amount of blow dry & styling gel that it requires makes me a little nerves... I also love to flat iron my hair.. but the amount of heat this requires really makes me nervous... I also love to color my hair... apart from the blonde highlights.. i have also carried the red look... but the amount of chemicals.. pre-bleaching agent.. bleaching agent.. coloring agent & then the heat... Oh my God!

I love the french, layered & the fish tail braid & sport them extremely often... I tend to accentuate them with swarovski studded pins & add glitter... but getting rid of glitter is a task.. sometimes i ribbon braid (learned it courtesy Dilli Haat) ... i also love the french twist, but it is achievable only with a bit of mousse.. the princess curls (i sleep with the curlers if i have time, the dreaded hot iron curlers are only for quick fix)... & I absolutely love the romantic twisted braid.. i don't mind the multiple bobby pins but i'd like to avoid the spray mousse.
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hmmm.. i wonder how i went from break ups to bad hair days to actually talking about how I like my hair & what all i don't like about hair styling... I guess my mind wanders a lot!

Signing off!
The Wandering Mind!

[1] The Rachel - Jennifer Aniston's layered haircut was named "The Rachel" after her F.R.I.E.N.D.S. character.

[2] Murphy's Law - Anything that can go wrong - will go wrong.

This post has been written for the "Dove Go Play" contest. Click #DovePlay to visit them @twitter!
Dove made me & 49 other women happy on Women's day by announcing us as the winners!!!