A mixture of dread and confusion washed over me as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I knew I had come to a crossroads in my life.
As usual, I had gone far too long without a haircut. This happens to me all the time so I don’t know why I felt this way.
When I procrastinate on a haircut, things get out of control. My hair does not get longer. It just gets bigger.
Because of that, I have a lot of problems keeping it under control. I do my best, but sometimes I just have to throw my hands up and accept that I will look a little like Doc Brown I “Back to the Future.”
That’s how I felt as I looked in the mirror that morning. I has mostly tamed the top part, but just could not get the sides to cooperate. At the worst stages, it looks like I have a pair of rams’ horns. Yes, it’s as attractive as it sounds.
Then something in the medicine cabinet caught my eye. Once in a while, I help with my daughter’s hair. I know that in order to prevent frizzing, I use a small dollop from one of the tubes in the cabinet.
I honestly had to stop and think for a second. Did I really want to cross this threshold? Had I found the price of my own vanity? Is this what a mid-life crisis feels like?
For as long as I can remember, I have completely eschewed hair products. I can’t really put my finger on how or when my disdain began. I just know I go for the natural look.
When I was a little kid, my Mom would have me use some sort of gel to keep my cowlick down, but I hated how my hair felt all crunchy.
As I navigated the 1980s, I even managed to avoid ever using mousse in my hair. Part of me thought I couldn’t pull it off. The rest of me knew I couldn’t pull it off.
Like a lot of guys, I desperately wanted to grow long hair. I don’t think I wanted a ponytail or anything – I do have my limits – but I saw how girls reacted to guys with hair to their shoulders. My tangled bird’s nest did not get the same reaction.
Of course, now that I am married and older, women tell me how much they love my curls. Where were they in 1988?
Anyway, those curls had gone beyond manageable, so I took drastic action after mulling over those three questions. I grabbed a tube of the the stuff Maria and Bridget used, put a drop on my finger and smoothed out the sides of my hair.
It actually looked good. And my hair did not get that crunchy feeling throughout the day. Had I figured out a way to properly use hair product?
Of course not, I just found a way to make it through the day without looking too silly. I got my hair cut nice and short a few days later. But at least I know I can procrastinate even longer now before the next trim.