To most of us hair is very important and can affect our day…especially if you are having “a bad hair day!” How did you survive the Corona time without a trip to the hairdressers? In our household the shaver was rediscovered. Talking about hair raises many issues (it can be a “very hair-raising” topic!)
Natural blonde
Are you a natural blonde? I think the way someone describes their hair is rather subjective. I asked a group of children once what colour hair they had and soon discovered we had a different view of what blonde is. What they described as ‘blonde’ was in my opinion ‘mousy’-coloured. I suppose this doesn’t sound quite as good.
Ginger Nut
I was subject to a lot of ridicule at school because of my auborn (red) hair. In our family we had 3 shades of ginger. I never cease to be amazed how many nicknames there are for this special group of people (only 2% in the World) : Carrot Top, Duracell Battery, Ginger Nut and Strawberry Blonde. Nowadays redheads are learning to stand up to name-callers and to be proud of their hair. There are even Redhead Days and Festivals.
To dye or not to dye?
As one gets older the grey hairs begin to become more prevalent. I admit to regular visits to my hairdresser not just for a trim but also to have my roots covered. A little vain, I know, but it makes me feel better. I am not quite at the point where I can grow grey gracefully.
Big hair
Some of you may remember the 1980s and the infamous “perm” (permanent wave) – the only problem with this was that the curls were not permanent, despite paying what seemed at the time like a fortune. The other alternative was to do a “home perm” which was a bit of a ‘hit and miss’ process with me. I remember flying to work in America with a mop of frizzy hair which, thank goodness, grew out! I still have photos as evidence.
Fringe benefits
People say ‘learning by doing’ is the best way to master something. I agree totally. When you land in a ‘foreign’ country you have to buy food, go to the dentist or doctors etc. A visit to the hairdressers to get your hair cut is also on the list of places where you can learn. The question: “Soll ich dein Pony schneiden?” stumped me completely. Later I realised that the word “Pony” in German doesn’t just mean a four-legged animal but also the hair that is cut and hangs over your forehead. In English we call this a “fringe”.
Check out my post “Much Hairdo About Nothing” to discover some interesting words the English use when talking about hair.
