Overly-Long Self-Absorbed Musings Are What Blogs Are For, Right?

The kitchen is hurtin' right now, you guys. Translation: My hair — particularly, that at the nape of my neck — is in a state of disrepair. I typically like to get my short hair trimmed at least twice a month. Alas, my preferred barber shop is an hour away. And I am (in matters of beauty, anyway) a lazy person. So, for the sake of practicality — the same practicality that led me to shave my head nine years ago — I'm considering...just possibly...growing my hair out.

(in my dreams! photo via b. vikki vintage)

Keeping up with shoulder-length hair until my early 20s was never really a conscientious decision. I didn't do it trying to subscribe to any kind of aesthetic. It never looked glamorous. I never went in for trendy styles, or dye jobs (what a touchy subject that personal choice can be). It was chemically-straightened, because that's what D.C. girls of my ilk did. In college, I was too free-wheeling to care much about it and it stayed in a ponytail that was "properly groomed" only when I went home to visit my parents. For the longest time, it was a bunch of hair that was there...just there.

Likewise, cutting it wasn't some big life choice. Nothing militant, political, or culturally-motivated. I just lived in NYC and those creamy crack-peddlers charged waaay more than I was making. So, off it went. And it's all been fine and dandy since then (save for one misguided Lauryn Hill-wannabe period where I had some more of that "just there" hair, only of the natural variety). Now, I find myself in a, shall we say, "limited" suburban environment. And once again, I have to adapt.

At this point, I am dangerously close to — as my father would put it — "looking a bit homeless about the head." (And, no, I will not post pictures to illustrate.) This in-between-ness may soon lead to experimentation. I've come across so much inspiration lately that's been stoking the flames. There's Le Coil, a site that has page after page of on-the-street snapshots of women with fabulous natural hair. Some are more attainable than others, but all kind of make me ashamed for having squandered my hair opportunities to date. Then, there are the curly celebs...

Noisettes front-woman Shingai Shoniwa flaunts a range of crazy-cool hairstyles I could attempt if I grew it all out...and grew some guts, while I was at it.

The relative simplicity of Esperanza Spalding's blow-out also speaks to me. I'm just not sure I would be up to the task of maintaining this glory every single day. And, brass-tacks talk...how could you ever make bacon, fish, or anything odiferous in your house without that hair soaking up the scent?

And, do I love Janelle Monae's pompa-fro? Or, does it make me feel the way her facial expression looks?

Here's a non-committal way of achieving results: clip-on style...

I could name it, the way drag queens name their wigs. I would call her Giovana. (Um, and can we chat about how a pair of perfect brows seems to just make any style all the more on point?!)

But, if I'm going down this road, then how? I'd need guidance, a game plan, a prayer. SoCal-based beauty blogger, Nickie, at Fashionably Nappy had respectable things to say about Oh My Nappy Hair, a salon in L.A. But she also had "three-figure price quote" things to say about it, so I kinda got less enthused. I found a couple of other L.A. salons on the Black Girl With Long Hair blog. There's no telling, though; if I'm going to drive all the way up to "the city," I'll probably be too tempted to play it safe and buzz away.

My friend, Nia, has the kind of ringlet-filled afro that makes people stop and stare. She credits it, quite simply, to DIY care and Miss Jessie's hair products. This might be my plan of action. I'm even open to trying other miracle products any of you may swear by. The worst that could happen is I'd waste my macchiato allowance on some ineffective elixirs. That, and a few bad photos that will inevitably get snapped during my hair convalescent phase. I think I can swallow this.

Wow. I just wrote a whole post on my hair. If I spent half as much time caring for my hair as I just did thinking about it, I'd probably be rulin'!

Yeah, so...sorry you had to sit through this.

At least you got some pretty pictures!