I have been monitoring my hair growth for almost two years to compile research for my upcoming zine/book HAIR ON SOAP. It all started in October of 2012 when one of my best friends gave me an At Home Perm. For about a week it was very cute and retro looking, but after that I was an absolute frizz ball. My already super short hair was now crimped beyond repair and the only thing I could do was let it grow out and hope for the best.
During this time I dreamed of having Britney Spears' Lucky hair. I watched the music video on mute because I could only handle hearing the song so many times, and I studied her shoulder length wonder of a mane. I figured that if I could modestly aim for straight and slightly past my shoulders, I wouldn't be disappointed. I didn't dare look at pictures of mermaids with the perfect sea salt waves or any other enviable big-haired diva on the Internet. I remained dreamy, but realistic.
Next month is the 2 year anniversary of when I started my "hair diaries" and took a serious effort to lengthen my hair. Sure, I made some mistakes along the way, most notably paying almost $200 for highlights and a glamorized mullet haircut after bringing in a picture of Dido into a trendy salon. I went a little crazy for the flower headband trend and a lot of good bobby pins were lost in the way I contorted them to hold my Disney Channel inspired buns. But I made it through those dark times, and as my friend Erica recently pointed out, now my hair is way longer than Britney's Lucky phase. I have a solid, thick ponytail and there is no trace of the bad perm that once was.
It seems that nothing inspires a writer like a good head of hair and I hope you'll stick with me for HAIR ON SOAP!