In March we posted a series of hair transformations, starting with New dos abound. Here’s a summer do change worth documenting:
June
July
August
In Fran’s words: “I’m changing everything in my life- separating from my husband of 34 years, moving from a large home to a townhouse, changing my hair. Just because I can.”
This is Beth. And it’s August already.
1. The do—Straight Bob.
Inspired by the slick, modern dos of many celebrities:
My bob is a coppery-gold.
2. Music (what was playing at the salon during the doing of the do)—Note: music plays all the time at Bang, I don’t get to pick do-appropriate songs. This time I only remember what was playing at he pizza place when Liz and I went next door to order dinner – Karma Chameleon (gotta love Culture Club, Boy George).
3. Drink (what I sipped at the salon during the doing of the do)—Note: I do get to choose the do-appropriate drink. Had many ideas for this month’s drink but fell apart at the execution. Running out of the house in an attempt not to be late to see Monica, I made a quick lemonade and raspberry juice mixture (in stock thanks to my babes) and grabbed vodka, lime and ice.
4. The Theory—The bob. A classic hairdo with many variations that have evolved over decades. Currently celebrities sport sleek sophisticated bobs (above), it’s also a default haircut for moms who don’t have much time to do much with their dos. According to Glamour, “there’s a fine line between trendy bob and soccer-mom helmet.” I’m going for chic but might fall into frumpy.
5. Reactions—TBD.
P.S. Title song – in honor of an old but timeless style, sometimes a mom do: The Beatles Your Mother Should Know
This is Beth. Reporting. The curly bob held up fairly well through July’s journeys.
At home:
In Australia:
In Alabama:
P.S. Did see some sites, learn some stuff:
It’s summertime, time for vacation. Like Michelle, many of us traveled in July. Bill (of the facial hair series) provided colorful documentation of his Hawaiian adventures, with comb:
Aloha! (Thanks Bill)
This is Beth. Getting a jump start on July.
1. The do—Curly Bob.
Inspired by carefree-looking, fun-having, slightly-smirky free spirits:
Not sure why they’re all blond; mine will stay the same medium-to-getting-lighter brown for now.
2. Music (what was playing at the salon during the doing of the do)—Note: music plays all the time at Bang, I don’t get to pick do-appropriate songs. The solon bustled this week; I only noticed one song (playing when Monica switched off the blow dryer): Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror. All about more-then-hair change. Nice, relevant. “Make that change.”
3. Drink (what I sipped at the salon during the doing of the do)—Note: I do get to choose the do-appropriate drink. This time, gin and tonic. Classic, refreshing summer drink.
4. The Theory—The Curly Bob: it’s a little bit shorter, a little bit less labor intensive. A little bit boring in our anything-goes hair culture?
According to Wikipedia, a bob is “a short haircut…in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at about jaw-level, often with a fringe (or ‘bangs’) at the front.” From dailymakeover.com: “This classic short hairstyle is low maintenance, high style and flattering to every face shape. Many versions can go from straight and smooth to curly and tousled.”
Fun, easy, happy, perfect for summer, perfect for vacation. We’ll see if I can keep the mood light and relaxed to go with the hair.
5. Reactions—This month they’ll be international. We’ll see.
P.S. Music Links:
Title song Curli Hair by Hawkeye and Hoe from He’s Got the Whole World in his Slacks. Careful, it’s a catchy one. From their website: “Hawkeye and Hoe are an English duo playing good time country, bluegrass, rockabilly, farmer folk, skiffle, rock n roll, pub polka, irish, cajun, folk roots and what they like to call ‘BEER DRINKING MUSIC.'”
and
This is Beth. With reactions to the “mullet.” It didn’t come across as a mullet. I couldn’t tell if folks were more disappointed that I tried to do a mullet or that I failed.
The first pic I posted on facebook met with “pretty!” responses.
May have confirmed the stereotype: long hair = pretty.
These pics were deemed slightly more mullet-like:
The jean jacket (with changingthelocks.com comb in the pocket) helped.
The best reaction was the friend at work who busted out in a full belly laugh when she saw me, more then once. Comments included, “You going to play hockey after work?” A coworker asked, “Did Beth get extensions?” Huh… No, clinical study. At book group I got, “It looks normal from the front.” Well, it is business in the front… I turned around to reveal the party in the back, everyone laughed, we toasted, and proceeded to party like only book group can.
Many people wanted to touch the extra-long hair.
But the lack of reaction is what surprised me the most. Really, the hair looked ridiculous, no blending from the shorter layers and freakishly long. No one who didn’t already know about the little hair/blog project asked about it.
Alas, I continued wearing the (clip-in) extensions meant to approximate a mullet. Just as Liz couldn’t undo her duo-chrome do (even in the face of portrait taking for work), I had to see the month through. Okay, okay, I took weekends off. And luckily it’s a short month for me as I must get the new do done before leaving town.
P.S. Comb of the month pic, a new shipment:
P.S.S. The post headline comes from the movie Wreck it Ralph: Sarah Silverman as Vanellope von Schweetz asks John C. Reilly’s Wreck-It, “Why are your hands so freakishly big?“
This is Beth. Scary, sad things keep happening in the world. The ones closest to me are health related. It’s true a mullet isn’t much of a distraction, especially a bad mullet (interpret “bad” any way you’d like).
But 2013 marches on. The little hair/blog project endures, doing no harm really. And perhaps, just possibly, it succeeds in giving someone something else to think about for a minute or two or three. At least I hope it does.
So, I will share… Among the gems that arrived in my email inbox this month—
Classic mullet spotted at the outlet mall:
Avian mullet mimic:
And: http://www.mulletjunky.com/femullets.htm
P.S. Sometimes, also, there’s good news – time to celebrate (and be thankful for) things way more significant than hair.
This is Beth. When we started the little hair/blog project I watched this documentary:
So full of amazing facts I can’t begin to describe it, I’ll only recommend it. And although far removed from my mullet month—it did prepare me a bit for the buying of hair. A crazy industry hair trafficking.
Yes, to achieve the faux mullet I used extensions. Mine came from China by way of Sally Beauty Supply on South Broadway.
I may have missed the mark on the mullet, but my hair did get incredibly long. Thanks to Liz for helping pick the right color and Monica for matching my hair so exactly—seen here with my sis:
The hair (yes, it’s real) clips in.
People feel compelled to touch. It’s okay, go ahead. Thanks for the braid JJ!
When Beth told us about her and Liz’s blog project, I was inspired to participate. Like Michelle, I have had short hair for a long time, so I decided to grow it out. This REALLY doesn’t feel natural to me, but I’m trying to hang with it for as long as possible.
When I first came out, I thought I had to choose one of the five lesbian haircuts. Unfortunately, it was the 80’s, so I chose a mullet:
Then in 1986, inspired by Aimee Mann, I added a tail:
Eventually I settled on lesbian haircut #3, the short pixie. It was easy to wash, looked good with or without product, and most importantly said “I’M A LESBIAN!” Especially when I was single and looking for women. I’ve had a variation of this cut for the past 20 years. In a recent attempt at looking like a younger dyke I tried the fauxhawk, dyke haircut #1 on this chart: http://memerial.net/2470-lesbian-haircuts It didn’t work for me, so I went back to my usual cut which is closest to “The Modern Woman” on the chart.
Now it’s 2013 and my hair is growing fast. I can’t remember the last time it was this long. My partner likes it longer, and says it makes me look younger. Of course, it’s possible she likes the fact that my hair isn’t screaming “I’m a lesbian” anymore. As my hair grows, it’s wavier than I remember it being. Here it was actually curly, but mostly because we were in humid Hawaii:
One of my co-workers, who is a lesbian, saw me in a meeting recently. She said “Wow, your hair is long! And it’s… feathered.” She did not sound like that was a good thing. Knowing nothing about longer hair, I don’t know what I want it to look like, so I looked to the web for inspiration. Unfortunately, this page was of no help because my hair is longer than all of these do’s: http://lesbianhair.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/heads-up/
So I just continue to let it grow and grow….
This is Beth. And it’s finally here… June.
1. The Do—Mullet.
Inspired by, sigh, a few classics:
And Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett (with mullet, not shag):
2. Music (what was playing at the salon during the doing of the do)—Note: music plays all the time at Bang, I don’t get to pick do-appropriate songs. This week I didn’t even notice the music with all the hair going on.
3. Drink (what I sipped at the salon during the doing of the do)—Note: I do get to choose the do-appropriate drink. This time, PBR. Liz and Gretchen joined and I think at least one of the talented Bang hair doers had some. Cheers!
4. The Theory—You know what they say: business in the front, party in the back. From ratemymullet.com: “To say that the mullet is a hairstyle barely even scratches the surface of the issue. The mullet is a way of life, it is a state of mind, it is every person who wears it.” From urbandictionary.com: “It is the sign of the redneck.”
5. Reactions—Before I disappoint, I have to admit that my mullet is not that short at the top and sides. Monica did it under protest; with her artistry and the help of extensions, the front-to-back ratio is well proportioned. We’ll see if it reads as a mullet.
P.S. Music links: Title song The Vandals I’ve Got an Ape Drape; and Billy Ray.
Changing the Locks 