Was her hair really as strong as rope to hold the heavy weight? What did she eat? How did she
take care of her hair? How did she manage to wash her hair?
Such questions always come
to my mind whenever I think of Rapunzel, especially when I see my tresses,
which are a great embarrassment to me.
Rapunzel is the story that every girl is obsessed with. The romance is not in the Prince who is attracted by the sweet melody of her voice, but in those long tresses that float down the castle, to reach down to allow a person to climb up.
My hair has been scanty since
the very beginning. You could easily do Maths by counting my strands. Every clip or rubber band glides through my hair within few minutes leaving my straight and silky hair unattended, separated. I have tried every imaginable remedy, oiled them, nourished them, changed shampoos, visited doctors and hair saloons even
considered Doctor Batra, (giving him permission to spam my inbox with thousand SMSs) but still, in volume they won't grow.
One day my friend suggested that
she had a solution for me. She came home loaded with perm-kit, shampoo and
gloves.
I had no idea what this perm is?.
She had learnt the technique of
perm and I was her first experiment. For two hours I sat, while she rolled my hair
around different colored rollers, winding them over tissue paper, securing it in
place with large pins, adding chemicals and heat to give me a new make-over.
I was shocked when I looked
into the mirror, frightened, I began to cry.
“Oh dear! Look! What have you
done to my hair” I sobbed
The curly strands stood up on my head in
all directions, it looked like I had been electrocuted to 800 million voltages
“I haven’t finished it as yet,
calm down” she said
For next fifteen minutes,
she carefully blow dried my hair, setting the curls in position, dropping them neatly on my shoulder, with few noodle-shaped curls flung on my forehead
I liked the look, it did add
the volume to my hair and for next few years I continued to perm them
regularly.
“The chemical used for perm are
damaging your hair” said my friend one day
I looked closely, they were dry and looked like straws. I decided to oil my hair. I bought
different types of oils, Olive oil, Almond oil, Amla oil, Coconut oil, I hated the smell but care I must, therefore oiled them regularly.
But if the
roots are damaged what can one do?
On my recent visit to Bangkok,
my cousin suggested hair extension.
“Hair extension is good for you”
she said, “It will not only add to the volume of your hair but also give you
the length if you wish.”
I was apprehensive at first but she convinced me that it was reliable.
We went to a mall near her house. The hair
stylish had a little kiosk tucked in between two large stores. He checked the
color and the quality of my hair, then removed the strands of hair from two
different colored wigs that matched my hair. He used the bonding and sealing
extension technique wherein he took few strands of my hair and glued it to the section of weft hair.
I think I heard my hair say “I do till the death do us apart”
Proudly I walked with the long
thick hair, bumpity, bum, bump, bouncing on my butt. It changed me completely giving me a new confidence. I was no more worried about my scalp looking pathetic, or about damaging the roots
because the weft was fixed with silicon glue few centimeters away from the scalp. The compliments I got from the people who were not aware of my hair extension, gave me a kind of thrill. . It looked too good
to be true and I felt that was the end
of my hair problems
Until…..
The latex acrylic glue became
weak and I saw the strands of weft falling on my pillow.
After two months of enjoying the
glory on my head, I saw my own hair weep as they parted with their handsome
weft……..
Back to scanty hair and know not
what to do…….Wish I could meet Rapunzel of modern world, wishful thinking perhaps, with big variety of shampoos and lotions, and women's adventurous spirit of giving every shampoo a chance, long healthy hair remains a dream, locked up into our own castle of fantasy...
At this point I am reminded of a joke which I often tell my friends to
divert their attention away from my scanty hair :
There was a girl who just had 3
strands of hair. She wanted to pamper herself so she decided to go to a hair saloon. The hair dresser gave her a good head massage and nice hair-wash and
then asked her what hair style she would prefer with three strands of hair.
“Make me a nice braid” she said,
So hairdresser carefully took
her three strands and decided to make her a nice braid but one strand broke,
“Oh! I am so sorry, one strand
broke I can’t braid, there are only two strands left, what do I do?” said the
hair dresser.
“Ok make a bun” said the girl
While twisting her hair to make a bun, one
more strand broke,
“Ooooops! so sorry, you have only one
strand left, what do I do?” said the hair dresser,
“Okay, never mind” said the
girl, “just blow dry my hair and leave it open.”
