One of my favorite non-girly save-times is to not think about my hair. It is thick, wavy, and full, and it's impossible to deal with. (When I had my hair braided, the Gambian woman who did it said, "Where you get dis hair? I tink you black on de inside.") I've been going to a stylist for seven years who expects nothing of me. I walk in, sit down, and she makes me pretty. She is aware that if she cuts my hair such that I have to blow-dry, tease, straighten, or otherwise mess with it, I will not do these things and instead walk around looking like a recent graduate of clown college. So she takes care to give me styles that work with my hair type, and which require little more daily preparation than a shower (or a brief moistening), a little product, and a quick finger-comb.
Unfortunately, she has moved her business into her home -- understandably so, since she has a little boy who is almost one -- and for the last year I have been driving thirty minutes each way to pay $40 for a haircut. Now, $40 might not sound like much for a haircut, but to me that's quite a bit for what basically amounts to a "guy haircut." And my son is mortally terrified of the hair dryer, so I can't take him with me. I have to find babysitting for an hour and a half in order to drive there, get cut, and come back. I'm just not going to be able to do that with two kids. I'm going to miss her, but I've finally decided I need to let her go.
I have an appointment today with someone at my mom's salon for $10 less that is 5 minutes from my house. I have no idea what I'm going to tell this person to do with my hair. I'm not used to having to make these kinds of decisions. Because of my hair's texture, a lot of things that would look really cute are simply outside the realm of possibility for me -- even if I were willing to straighten and blow-dry every day, I'll never have fine enough hair to pull off a bob or anything like that. I do have to my advantage the fact that my hair is really healthy -- I dyed it earlier this year with semipermanent dye but that's mostly grown/washed out now, and not heat-treating or over-washing helps keep it moist and strong. But I know so little about hair (and even less about fashion) that I don't know how to explain to a new stylist (a) what I am and am not willing to do to my head in a 24-hour period and (b) what I like to look like when I leave the house.
Any suggestions, oh ye goddesses (and gods) of super hair?