From the Hayloft: In search of

Over the years it was every length from a short bob to down my back. I loved the feel of it on my shoulders and all the different colors it showed in the sunlight. Whitish blonde to dark blonde, with subtle streaks of strawberry, it was pretty and lots of people used to comment on it.

It was also a complete pain in the butt to manage. In its natural state – it would look like a exhausted, limp rodent on my head. If I dried it, it would float around like a discombobulated halo. To make it look half way decent, it would require enough hair products to fill a grocery cart. Shampoo and conditioner to start with, then spray on conditioning, hair volumizer, mousse and/or hair gel. This resulted in hair which bore a striking resemblance to a Tina Turner wig. Additional holding spray was used on each bit being curled, then hair spray to hold it in place. Two and a half hours later, it would look like a glorious 80’s themed cloud of curls, volume, and shine. Then I would step outside, and it would almost immediately begin to collapse on itself. Four hours later, classmates and professors would start to look at me as if I needed to learn some self-grooming skills. This went on for decades, until about 15 years ago, when I whacked my hair off and embraced the super short hair style.

Instead of spending 2 hours with getting ready, it’s now about 5 minutes. I love it and recommend it highly. Thirty minutes in a hair salon once a month beats 60+ hours of drying, fluffing, curling, and chemical warfare to look nice.

So, when I saw that my husband had a bottle in the shower which proclaimed it was a manly scented shampoo, conditioner, AND body wash, I thought woo -hoo, I need something like that!

Funny thing, time saving products seem to be reserved exclusively for lumberjack type men, or young children who are okay with smelling like air fresheners from the back rooms of old Waterbeds and Stuff stores.

At our local big box store, I stood in an aisle boasting at least 300 different shampoos and feeling a bit overwhelmed. Ranging in prices from $4 to $30+, there were products to make hair shine, curl, wave or lay straight. Shampoo to hide grey hair, to showcase grey hair, or to make your hair grey.

There were choices to make your hair more red, blonde, blue, brown, black, or pink. Volumizing, thickening, strengthening, hydrating. “awakened”, nourishing, clarifying and therapeutic formulas lined the shelves, in addition to some to “tame your mane.” Scents from strawberry and cream to apple cider vinegar, musky rose to sage.

The varieties were endless, except there was no 3-1 varieties unless I wanted to smell like “wacky watermelon” or embrace my masculine side. Neither of those options were going to happen.

Around the corner was the pet care aisle. There were a couple of products promising to “shampoo, condition and brighten” your pets coat. I looked at them with consideration a bit longer than necessary, then went back to the other side.

I eventually purchased my usual hair product so my greying hair will simply be clean with a basic $3 product, despite being tempted to have “a puppy fresh coat” scented hair it simply seemed easier than making any other choice.

A longtime newspaper columnist for the Circleville Herald, Sarah Roush may be reached at fromthehayloft@yahoo.com