this is my hair

i wanted to dedicate a post to HAIR because if you are one of the few lucky
{or unlucky ones depending how you view it} that was born with LOTS of hair,
you understand how much hair impacts your life.

todd parr, a fun children's author/illustrator, wrote a book dedicated to HAIR that always
made me smile when i read to the boys. they were little then and didn't have much hair

to think about at the time, but now that they are older and their 'mature' hair has come in, 

they've started to notice their hair. well, finn just barely notices.

recently, the boys' hair had grown pretty long. our weekends were busy with activities

and we simply couldn't find a window to get them both in for haircuts. as finn's hair got
longer, it become limp and stuck to his head. scout's hair grew thicker and bigger, and 

the wave in his hair became more noticeable.  the kid has LOTS of hair.

finn takes after his father with the 'gerber' hair, and scout has the 'shappard' hair like mom.
men over the age of 30, would love this, but my 8 year old son does not.  he simply doesn't like

the heaviness and the wave of his thick hair and it was no consolation when i told him he will
never be bald or have a receding hairline when he's older. he seemed unimpressed that he will
have a full head of hair like his grandpa and uncles on the shappard side.  

though i don't have hair quite as thick or curly as my younger sister, i have ALOT of hair,
and can feel for young scout.  thick hair is a blessing and a curse and i'll share why.

it's a blessing because thick hair is voluminous and is associated with health and youth.

that's a good thing when one is 'middle aged' and those signs of aging start to creep up.
another benefit is most men (including my husband) seem to like lots of hair. it's feminine
and maybe it reminds them of the girlfriends of their youth...fresh faced and natural.
another benefit, thick hair also looks fantastic in braids and buns and it doesn't have to
be washed every day or even every other other day.  

here are the cons of thick hair: it takes longer for everything: to wash, dry, cut, highlight
and style. a visit to the salon takes me no less than 3 hours, and that's by a professional who 

has 15+ years of experience and can do foils and cut hair in her sleep. i could sit in a
beginner's stylist's chair for well over 4 hours. i have and it's no fun.   

having thick hair is more difficult to handle in general. if you go to bed with it damp,
it's still damp 8 hours later when you wake. if it's curly and you don't tame {smooth it}
before you go to bed, you can literally scare your family when you awake.
last, thick hair requires lots more product - conditioners, serums, etc. add up.
in summary thick hair = more time and money  

HAIR - love it or hate it, we are stuck with what we inherited.
we can alter it with chemicals  and cut it in new ways, but in the end, our natural hair
always comes through. someday i vow to stop paying an arm and a leg to highlight my hair,
but i'm not quite there yet.

at this moment, i just need to figure out a hair cut/style to help scout manage his mane.

cute 'do

my sister leslie is the 'hip sis' of the family. she watches all the trends closely and follows those that fit her personality and style. she was and still is, the first to try a trend - whether it be the 80s jelly shoes or the belly/nose ring or the long dresses over jeans. whatever she choses, she always pulls it off.

this also includes her hair. she was the first to go from very long hair to extremely short, and she's since had everything in between. she will be platinum for a few months and then decide it's too much upkeep and then go darker depending on her mood. her hair isn't overly thick, curly, wavy or frizzy - it has just enough body and is the perfect texture and weight to pull off any cut. she is lucky this way and she knows it. she's watched all the other girls in the family struggle at some point in their lives with the hair that we all were given *laugh*.

leslie's latest 'do is a pixie cut and with her small features, it's look fabulous! she was platinum a few months ago, but it's currently red and it looks great with her brown eyes. as her 'dos change, i'll try to remember to share. it's always fun to follow them.