‘Born Blonde,’ But Change Is Inevitable

If you were born blonde or not, with curly hair or straight – females seem to crave the hair that they don’t have. Where there’s a will, there seems to be a way, however “questionable.” Boomer reader Patricia Finn remembers.

I am old enough to remember when we had four hair color choices: blonde, brown, black, and red. Grey was not a choice. I was born blonde and have adorable baby pictures to prove it.

“So why the do-it-yourself hair color, Miss Pat?” Instead of turning gray, my hair turned brown. I don’t know why and I don’t care. I will not be a platform for any one product, but I tried one and I didn’t like the results. I now use a different brand and I love it.

I also love it when people comment on my hair. Did someone behind the frozen yogurt counter recently say, “I love your hair color; it looks so natural.” Oh. Thanks. She may as well have said, “I love your hair color; it looks so dyed to perfection.”

Shall we go down hair care memory lane? Let’s start with home perms. Why did our mothers do this and do it to us their innocent, loving daughters? How well I remember going into the school bathroom to find my friend Cathy wearing a scarf and crying because her second-grade teacher wouldn’t let her wear a scarf in class. Underneath? Curls, curls, and more curls. Her mom had given her the home perm. It was a terrible season in female childhood. Every day there was another casualty and we could only stare and shake our heads knowing our turn would come too.

Then we went from curls to straight. The word was out. Someone had ironed her hair. How dare she? What a rebel. The next day, we were all doing it. You set the iron on low, bend your head down to the ironing board and using a protective cloth you ironed it straight. So easy. That was also the year that one friend went blonde using Clorox. The results were questionable.

Far be it from me to brag, but I was one of the first to curl my hair; nobody used rollers in the 5th grade but Miss Prissy Pat.

And today? I cut my own hair. I part it in the back, pull it forward in two bunches and snip. When I told this to one of my son’s friends, her reply was, “That’s very ‘Little House on the Prairie.’” That’s not necessarily the look I am after, but if it is “Little House on the Prairie, it is “Little House on the Prairie.” I was hoping for something a little more sophisticated. “Cottage in the Pines”? “Chateau by the Sea”?

But that’s it, my bathroom sink and me, La Salon. I don’t have the patience to sit and get my hair done and, well, it is just too similar to being at the dentist. I am sitting and you are standing and it’s the body language. “A drill, fill, and a trim, please.”

Patricia Finn writes FINNICKY, a weekly blog for seniors. She has been published in senior publications in New Hampshire, Montana, and Florida. Finn is an Amazon Author and a Goodreads Author and has served as a workshop host for the National Center for Family Literacy. She was syndicated with Senior Wire syndication and authored “Walking With My Foot In My Mouth.” Learn more and follow FINNICKY at patriciafinn.com.

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