Pigtails to Ponytails characterised my look as a child, complete with kirby grips and ribbons. On village gala days and on special occasions, my hair was wound into rags overnight to hopefully create ringlets - which soon fell out. By my early teens my hair was long. It was washed and rinsed in rain water - my mother's idea of a beauty treatment - and it took ages to dry in front of the fire.
Around the age of 15, Mum suggested I get my hair cut professionally - great - except we were both clueless afterwards how to style it at home, and here I am being brave in highlighting publicly this dreadful passport photograph, taken when I was to go on a school trip to Germany. This was the 1960's era of the Cold War and I look like the archetypal Russian spy. After five years, you could get a passport photograph updated, and I could not wait to do this - only to be further mortified when, instead of replacing the photograph, the new one was just stuck beneath - to more family hilarity and more quizzical looks from passport control.
By the late 1960's, I had succumbed to using rollers and was aiming for the "beehive" look - not too successfully. I then moved on to perms for my fine, limp, locks.
By the late 1980's grey hairs were beginning to creep in. I recall one New Year's Day when we were due to go out in the evening. I used a home colour shampoo to disguise the grey - but left it on too long and the result was rather too much red. The shampoo packet said it would run out after 6 washes, so I washed it about 6 times that day - to very little effect
We were now at the time on TV of Dallas, Dynasty and Charlie's Angels, with big hair and shoulder pads all the rage - hence this rare look for me taken for a work Annual Report. Less glamorously, I was also likened to Deidre Barlow of "Coronation Street" soap opera fame. The big specs did it! This style involved too much like hard work.
I am now pleased to see natural styles are back in vogue which suits my age and rural life style! Copyright © 2012 · Susan Donaldson. All Rights Reserved
I like your natural style too..so much less bother than curlers and hour to dry. My grandmother (Scottish) was a big fan of washingnhair in rainwater too.
ReplyDeleteYou're a girl after my own heart - our silver halos are remarkably similar.
ReplyDeleteI first saw this post on google reader as I scrolled down through posts. When I'm scrolling I hardly pay attention to blog titles and usually just look at post titles and images. Your first photos appeared and I wondered who it was, a blogger I knew or was the blogger posting images of a family member? I read, I scrolled, I looked at photos, but I couldn't tell who it was until I got to the bottom of the post with your last photo. What a fun tour. I always enjoy looking at photos of a person presented in chronological sequence. I think it's fun to see the changes time and age bring.
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