Perfect Pigtails
“Oh no,” I said, approaching the booth slowly, eyes wide at the array of merchandise displayed on wooden pegboards across the table. “Hair sticks, my one weakness.”
“Not yet,” said the vendor with a smile.
“Not yet?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.
It was then that she pulled own the owl, dangling with green beads. “Now,” she said.
She was right.
This weekend I attended my very first Tekkoshocon! Which, for those who don’t know, is an anime convention in Pittsburgh. Aside from parking misadventures, it was a really good time. Admittedly I spent most of my time in the RPG room with my brother playing Pathfinder or World of Darkness or Shadow Run, which I’d never played before, but might want to pick up again. But I’m sure you don’t want to hear all about my apparently amazing dodging skills as a gunslinger adept. We’re here to talk about hair.
I realized this weekend that hair is my vanity point. It is, by far, the part of me that I put the most effort into. I will admit to you, with some embarrassment, that I am not a natural ginger. I’m a brunette of the light brown variety and I dye my hair regularly to keep up the facade of being a redhead. In my defense, I feel it is my true color. My grandmother was a ginger (or so I’m told), and it does go so well with my skin tone.
When I got to college, I discovered that curling was the way to go. I’m kind of in love with curly hair. Naturally, my brother got all those genes from my mom and my sister got the next best concentration, leaving me with the slightly wavy hair. Thus, the age of curling began. I’ve been told I should get a body wave or a perm or something, but horror stories about such things have me backing away slowly from the chair. Not that I don’t trust my usual beautician, cause she’s pretty great, but a perm is a bit more permanent than I’m willing to risk. That and I don’t want another thing to keep up with. >.> The hair dying is more expensive than I would like as it is.
So my hair vanity list is up to dying and curling. My first year at Geneva I curled my hair so often there were people who didn’t know my hair wasn’t naturally like that. I can’t decide, though, if I like it better long or short. I can’t curl it so much when it’s short, but it does look very cute in a bob cut or asymmetrical. However, I feel like longer is probably better as I have three more preference when it comes to hair that depend on some length to it.
I love braids. I think I’ve probably always loved braids. They’re pretty easy and the look so neat and fancy all at the same time. I love french braiding my hair, and to a lesser extent, fishtail braiding. My sister and sister-in-law are much better at that one than I am, which I’m a little jealous about. My theory is it’s a youngest child thing. Anyway, I kind of miss the more elaborate braids I could do with my longer hair. I cut it for convenience after I got married and have missed my side braid ever since.
As the name of this post suggests, pigtails are another of my favorites. Pigtails are both super easy and sometimes a pain. Trying to get them even is impossible, but I’ve learned to just accept that one is always going to be bigger than the other. That is the way of life. Pigtails are great because they come in so many different forms. I can do standard pigtails, twin braids, twin buns, or curly pigtails, all high or low depending on my mood. Okay, so high twin braids would look a little funny, but I’m sure there’s occasion for it somewhere. This weekend I wore high curly pigtails to Tekko the first day and low curly pigtails the second, since they’re a little toned down and I was going to a bridal shower before hand. It pleases me, probably more than it should, that when I curl my hair my pigtails form this sort of natural swirly cone on either side of my head.
When I was in second grade the student teacher taught some of us girls how to put our hair up with a pencil. Needless to say, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I’ve carried this skill over with me and it has served me well in the realm of chopsticks and hair sticks alike. You may be wondering about the difference between the two. Chopsticks are two and hair sticks are one. There, now you know. Anyway, these are my hair accessory weakness. One of many one weaknesses that I have. I keep a hair stick shaped like a dagger from the Ren Fair in my bag at all times for convenience. I’ve found that buying them from vendors at events tends to yield a sturdier product. I’ve snapped many a chopstick with my massive amount of hair.
So this weekend my brother bought me the chopsticks with the dangly owls on them, because I couldn’t resist them and he never knows what to get me for my birthday. They’re a little short, but I can make pretty much anything work in my hair with enough determination. It pleases me, probably more than it should, that they jingle a bit when I shake my head.
Well, there you have it. I definitely put more effort into my hair than any other part of my appearance. I’ve found that I try to resist doing my hair so much now that I’m married, as it takes a while and my husband hates to be late. Luckily for me, most braids and pigtails are fairly quick fixes; chopsticks and hair sticks are the quickest of all. After this weekend, though, I kind of miss the curling. I may have to take it up again more often.
What kind of hair things do you guys like best?
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