Monday, March 23, 2015

Adventures in Hair Drying...or, how do you dry your hair?



Reminiscing about my complicated "hair routine"

Recently, my blow dryer bit the dust. Yes, just stopped working. I went out pretty much immediately and got a new one, because even though I sometimes let my hair air dry, I can't let the top and bangs air dry...it ends up looking ridiculous!

Thinking about what I used to go through to dry my hair really makes me appreciate the hair dryers of today. And actually, all the hairstyling tools and products available today that WEREN'T there when I was a teen-aged girl in the 70s.

When I graduated from high school, the most popular and acceptable way to wear your hair was long, straight, and parted down the middle.

Not an easy feat when you were born with naturally curly hair.

When I think about the shenanigans I had to go through in order to come up with this look:


Yep, that's me.  And as you can see, even with my best efforts, I didn't get the board-straight look I wanted.  (Oh, Hot Tools Straightening Iron, where were you when I needed you!?)

Here's what I did to achieve the look:




  • Grew my hair out as long as I possibly could
  •  Washed my hair, rolled it on big curlers, and sat under an old-fashioned bonnet-style hairdryer for an hour.  (It's a wonder I didn't cook my brains!)
  •  Took the rollers out and put my hair in a pony-tail directly on top of my head.  Divided the pony-tail into two sections and rolled them with two orange-juice-can-sized rollers.
  •   Kept those in my hair for some time (overnight if possible) before brushing out my hair into a semblance of straightness.

I still can't believe I went through all that!

The 80's brought blessed relief.  I forgot bonnet-style hairdryers even existed.  It was the decade of BIG HAIR, and baby, I had it!  I was the envy of all my friends because I didn't need a permanent and never had.

It was too good to last.  Seemingly overnight, everyone was wearing stick-straight hair again. Once again, I was the odd girl out.

Fast forward to today.  Women everywhere embrace curls and volume as well as straightness.

If I want to have really straight hair, I have the tools to make it happen--the efficient blow-dryer, the powerful straightening iron, any number of pro-sleek and anti-humidity products.

Or...and I often do this...I can just let my hair be curly.  In that case, I don't even have to use a dryer--or I'll use mine with a diffuser attached.


But one thing I love is that, thanks to great hair-dryers and wonderful styling products, I HAVE OPTIONS! :)

What about you? Got any memories of crazy things you went through to achieve your hairstyle?  Will you be appreciating your blow-dryer today? Let me know in my comments section!


8 comments:

Tara Ulrich said...

Cindy, this post made me smile and chuckle. I will admit that I love my hair curly (wavy curls). And it doesn't take much for my hair to be curly. But when I was little, I remember my Grandma and my mom giving me a permanent with the tight to your head curls. Looking back at those pictures, I just shake my head because I think I looked ridiculous.

Jennifer Pepito said...

You have beautiful hair! My hair is partly straight and partly curly so I have to blow dry to even it out. All I really want to do is wash and wear though.

Zion said...

Such an awesome post. I loved walking through the hair decades with you. You have awesome hair in my opinion, but I totally know what you mean about when styles coincide with what naturally works for you and when they really don't! Oh, the things we do to fit in!

Marie-Thérèse said...

Oh this DID make me smile. It brought back all those memories of orange juice can rollers and ironing my hair on an ironing board. How I used to complain about my curls!!!

Today, I just use a diffuser to let it dry while keeping my natural curls.

Six years ago I had major surgery and was in the hospital for over a week. When a visitor remarked how lovely my hair still looked after all that time, I thanked the Hair Gods for my curly hair.

Great post, Cindy.

Cheers, M-T

~Karrilee~ from Abiding Love, Abounding Grace said...

Oh how we love to talk about how we hate our hair! I actually have naturally curly hair and have learned to embrace it... but I have to admit I do love my flat iron every now and then too!

Tobi@simplyjesusministries.com said...

I also was born with naturally curly hair and only recently have I started to really like my curls. Although I will admit that if it wasn't so much work I would dry and straighten my hair more often. :)

Cindy Swanson said...

Love the responses from you ladies! Having curly hair can be a love-hate relationship, but like most of you, I've learned to embrace the curls. Thanks for commenting!

Susan said...

I have very straight hair. I've had perms for the big hair look. I've gone au natural for the hippie look. I've gone from one extreme to the other! Hubs is a hairdresser so he keeps me trimmed, colored, straight or curly - whichever I prefer! Yes, I'm spoiled! Great post about hair - after all, it is our crowning glory? xo

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