Hair Fail

Left: the concept          |            Right: the failure

Sigh.

I boasted mentioned a while ago that I've started a Pinterest board for hairstyles. The idea was to find inspiration for ways to keep my super-fine, stringy hair fashionable yet out of my face. (I hate it when hair touches my face. AHHH! GETITOFFMYFACE! kind of hate. It's like tiny strands of spiderweb . . . )

Shiver.

But lately I've been stuck in a rut. I pull my hair into a high ponytail, loosen it a little so it sort of poofs around my face, then wrap the tail around itself. You can sort of see the bun here.

It's not glamorous -- it's slightly "granny-ous," truth be told -- but it is tidy and professional and keeps the spiderwebs off my face. I like it. And it's good to have a go-to style that can be office-ready in less than 20 minutes (which is what it takes if I blow-dry and style).

But I do get bored. So I decided to click through my Pinterest options for inspiration.

The style shown in the picture at the top was called a low chignon. Very chic, very simple.

Very much meant for someone with thicker, wavier hair than mine, and probably with fewer layers cut into it. As my 'do slowly sprang out of it's bun, I pretended that I'd been going for a messy look. I took the picture just to see how bad it was. Conclusion: switch to a ponytail for the rest of the day.

Ah well. I'll keep trying. Let me know if you have any tips for skinny hair.

Hair Wars: Accidentally Annointed

I once learned a valuable tip from my mother-in-law when I asked her how she kept her skin so youthful. She told me that, no, she didn't use any expensive products, but she does use baby oil every time she takes a bath.

Now, if I had started following this path earlier in life (particularly when we lived in desiccating Colorado!) my skin might be something to write home about.

Winning the Hair Wars, Part 3

Part 1 is here.

Part 2 is here.

When you have wussy hair like mine,
you dread your hair betraying you like hers has done. 

She's obviously a pretty woman, but her hair has clearly melted in the summer humidity. Her bangs lie lifeless on her forehead. And I'm willing to bet those curls used to be ringlets (of the sort my hairstylist gave me), but they have drooped.

I know this because that is what happens to me. You can tell she has fine, straight hair by looking at the tiny hairs near her ears: they are not curling.

With hair like ours, there is not enough mousse and hairspray in the world to defy moisture. However, the curler trick I've started using has proven to be considerably longer-lasting than heat-formed curls plus hairspray.

Yesterday, for example, I went golfing with some friends. It was HUMID. Hyooooooo-mid: 96% humidity!  It did rain, eventually, but before then, my hair did this:

About an hour into our game, in 96% humidity.

Still not bad, is it? That straight segment is one curl that had not dried overnight and gives you some idea of what my hair would look like without any curl. By the end of the day, I had loose curls, but it still wasn't as limp as the gal's in the picture up top.

Today the humidity was only a bearable 56%.

Left: this morning before leaving for work. As my friend K.B. says, "How do people not want to touch your hair?"
Right: just before leaving work this afternoon.

Not bad, eh? And I even went for a walk at lunchtime, so it was exposed to more humidity than an office building would usually provide. I would also like to add that it doesn't look or feel at all greasy, though I have not washed it since Sunday.

And did I mention how long it takes to style this? About three minutes, including carefully tying the ribbon. It takes less if I use a hair clip or just wrap the ponytail with a segment of hair.

Rather than posting another clip about other hairstyles I've tried, I'll simply link to my Pinterest board, which provides lots of suggestions that I've either tried or want to try.

The large picture shows the famous "sock bun."

Winning the Hair Wars, Part 2

Hair Day 2 after using my new curl technique.

My previous post talked about how I've come to no longer hate my hair. As I mentioned in that post, part of why I've been so frustrated with my hair that I've been desperate enough to have it permed, is that I hate having to style my hair in the morning.

My hair is so fine that sleeping on it reduces any hairstyle to limp rags. My challenge, therefore, was to find a way of styling my hair that salvaged my mornings. With my hair long and straight, I could clip it up, but often the ends looked awkward - they simply stuck out straight.

Here is the solution:

Sponge rollers

Here's what they look like inside the pink nylon.

Square-sponge Bob Pants?
(Does anyone else think this looks like some kind of medieval tampon? No wonder they cover it in nylon.)

One day, on a whim, I picked these up in a drug store. For a few months, I had been trying the "sock curl" technique, but my hair was simply too fine to hold the style longer than a couple of hours, even with mousse and hairspray.

But, by applying the sock-bun technique (a top-knot pony tail, damp hair, sleep overnight), I discovered curls that last all day!

What the top-knot looks like when I get up in the morning, after sleeping in the curlers all night.
(No, I haven't tried Botox. Why do you ask?)

They are really easy to sleep in, and Steve even says they look cute.

The picture at the top of this post shows what my hair looks like at the end of Day 2 (my hair was still quite damp when I put it up the night before and had not dried completely by the time I unrolled it, so the curls sagged a little over the course of the day).

As usual, I get too hot to wear my hair down all day, so most of the day, I wear it up which, with curls, is much more flattering than with straight hair.

Not exciting from the front, but check out the back.

Trust me: it does not look as pretty as this if it doesn't have curls.
Without curls, the hairs at the top simply poke straight up in the air.

The best thing is that I do all the work the night before. In the morning? Remove curlers, run fingers through hair and go.

The second-best thing is that this does not damage your hair as it does not use heat.

The third-best thing is that it is probably better for the environment as it doesn't use electricity or heat up your house. (If I were really environmentally conscientious, I would use rags instead of sponges.)

Now, to reward your patience for following this whole post, here is an outtake picture. (It's really hard to take a self-portrait.)

For those of you who think I am photogenic: this is evidence to the contrary.
I'm trying to figure out if the remote shutter-release is working: "Is this thing on?"

Stay tuned for Day 3!

Winning the Hair Wars

You may recall my discussion of hair woes surrounding a job interview way back in 2010. For my subsequent interview, I wore my hair down, blow-dried to look more or less like the picture below, which was taken just before I wrote this post.

I have to admit: it looks better than I thought it did, and it has more of a wave (although I did have it up in a bun ever since my shower this afternoon).

Over the next few days, I'm going to tell you how I've been winning the hair wars, how I've finally found a way to enjoy my hair without spending 30 minutes with a blow dryer and curling iron every morning.

Ottawa has LOTS of humidity, of the sort
that makes good soft-drink comercials.

My Hair Situation

Strengths

• My hair is (now) very healthy.
• It doesn't go frizzy or kinky unless I abuse it.
• It is long, so I can put it up, which gives me lots of hair options.

Weaknesses

• My hair is very fine, almost baby fine, and very straight.
• It wilts in humidity. Ottawa has lots of humidity.
• It does not hold a curl very well, even with a perm (which wreaks havoc on my hair and basically just leaves it frizzy).
• My scalp is very dry and prone to dandruff.
• I have no "loft" to my hair: it lies inert along my scalp unless I add mousse and blow-dry the heck out of it.
• I am almost always hot. In the picture at the top of this post, the back of my neck was thoroughly wet, not just damp. (My hair is now up in a clip.) While this may not be about my hair, it does have an effect on my hair as it loses all curl and body when it gets humid or wet.
• If I keep my hair short, I have to wash and style it every day, which takes at least 20 minutes. (I am not a morning person, so I resent every single one of those 20 minutes.)

First Step in Winning the Hair War

About the same time as my hair catastrophe I read my niece's blog post about going "shampoo free." As a matter of fact, this was not the first time I'd heard about not using shampoo on curly hair. The theory is that oils from the scalp do not travel down the hair shaft on curly hair as well as they do on straight hair. Thus curly hair suffers more damage and dries out. 

Coincidentally, while I was practicing my pre-retirement lady-of-leisure routine (i.e., unemployed), I had begun to wash my hair with less frequency. There didn't seem to be much reason to shampoo, blow dry, and curl my hair every day only to put it up in a clip or pony tail. 

Over a period of six months, the period between my shampoos gradually increased from every other day to once a week, which is where it is now.

July 20, 2012: Ready for the red carpet.
Sadly, those waves were gone by the time I got home
 I was just too hot and sweaty with my hair down.
Too bad.

When I had my highlights done a couple of weeks ago, I asked my fabulous hairdresser about my hair's condition. (Joanne has been doing my hair for more than a decade, including a couple of times when I visited Ottawa from Colorado.) She said it was great, in fact she'd never seen it healthier.

I told her what I'd been doing and she agreed it was working.

The question on your mind, naturally, is, "Um, doesn't it get really greasy?"

Surprisingly, no, it doesn't. I think that because I extended the time between shampoos gradually, I never really noticed any oil build-up.

What I have noticed is that I no longer have dandruff.

Once I started working again, I was worried about how my new hair routine would work with, well, work. That's what I'll cover in the next post.

Seven Tips for Dressing for the Workplace

I once attended a workshop where the instructor stated that every workplace has a dress code, whether it is written down or not. She advocated writing it down because not everyone is as observant as one might hope.

Anyway, over the years I've developed some guidelines for looking professional in the workplace. And since your workplace probably does not have a written dress code, here is a starting point for you.

One Word: Grooming

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But I don't get it. . .
why isn't she smiling?

         

The scary thing is that customs and security agents are supposed to recognize this as the same person as in the previous picture.

I have hidden that picture from you for, lo, these many years. Aren't you glad?


And it really didn't take all that much to go from the before to the after. Both were taken on the same day within about half an hour of each other.

• Smile. It makes people feel like magicians when they can make your face transform into something beautiful. (Plus you'll scare fewer babies on the bus.) Caution: don't walk around with an open-mouth smile. People will compare you to Dopey.
• Comb hair and pull into a controlled style. 
• Wash face. (I have the dreadful habit of sleeping in my makeup.)
• Concealer and a little bit of neutral eye shadow, a soft fluff of blush, and mascara. I also always wear lipstick because I have no natural lip colour and people keep thinking I am dying. In this case, I painted carefully around the cold sore (so I wouldn't contaminate the lipstick). 

"Business Casual" does not mean "casual."

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Be presentable enough at all times that you could meet your boss's boss or your top client. Even in a relaxed workplace, as where I work now, you need to look pulled together. My rule-of-thumb for business casual is that either the top or the bottom can be casual, but the other half needs to be business dress.

Some examples:

• Jeans with a crisp white button-down shirt, or a jacket (but not a jean jacket), or a twin set.
• A more casual top (but still modest, of course) with dress pants.
• A fun-printed skirt with a tank top and sweater.

Just make sure the casual part is in good repair with no stains or rips.

"Sexy" is a four-letter word in the workplace.

---

Cleavage? No.
Intentional hints of undergarments? Bad idea.
[Don't even consider going full Lewinsky!] 

Despite what shows like House and The Practice might indicate, dressing like Dr. Cuddy or Ally McBeal will not help you gain credibility in the workplace.

It's not a question of potential harassment; it's a question of showing off your best asset. If your best assets are your ass and cleavage, well then maybe the Dr. Cuddy look is your best route. However, if you want to be recognized for your brains, your work ethic, or your skills, then showing your curves is just . . . throwing a curve. [OMG, I am so funny!]

I will allow an exception to this guideline: you are allowed one saxy thang. As with the business-casual look, if everything else about your outfit is CEO-worthy, then you may slip in one small hint of sexy.

For example, if Dr. Cuddy's top were long-sleeved and slightly less fitted, she might be able to get away with that much cleavage (but without the lace showing). Or if the top showed no cleavage, she could allow her camisole to peek out the top.

Tread carefully, though. I once wore fishnet stockings with an otherwise staid suit and got several comments on it. Oops..

BTW, rule-of-thumb for decolletage: your top should come to two inches above your cleavage. If it doesn't, add a camisole.

Accessorize!

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The right scarf, necklace or ear rings can make an otherwise plain outfit stand out. I often buy a necklace or scarf at the same time as I buy a dress or suit. Not only is this convenient, but when the seasons change the available colours will also change.

Pearls and simple chains are timeless, of course, and can lift a simple dress to Jackie O status.

Just be careful not to overdo it. Choose which item you want to receive the attention. If you have a busy top, then skip the necklace. A patterned jacket and a patterned scarf may work well on the runway, but may make you look like a runaway train. [And they just keep on coming!]

Remind yourself that you are neither Gisele Bundchen nor Rachel Zoe.

Enjoy the trends, but invest in classics.

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A few weeks ago I saw a young woman wearing a trench coat in a Burberry-type print. I knew immediately that it was a knock-off because the stripes of the plaid were not lined up at the seams. She would have been further ahead to buy a decent trench coat in a neutral fabric.

Quality materials and workmanship will show.

On the other hand, some things are so trendy that you should not pay top dollar for them.

Dress for your size, not your fanta-size.

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As someone who has lost and gained more pounds than I care to admit, this is really hard for me. I hate buying a larger size! Hate it, hate it, hate it. But nothing says "overweight and gaining" faster than a too-snug top or pants.

I've also erred by buying clothes that I'm sure I'll fit into next month when I lose just a little bit more.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

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It happens to everyone: pantyhose slide down a silky girdle; coffee spills down a white blouse; a classic hairdo slides miserably during a job interview. As my brother commented on that hairdo post, "If it is any consolation, the guy interviewers were oblivious to your situation, and the girls would have totally understood and given you bonus points."

There are, of course, haters who will hate, but I always have great respect for anyone who can soldier through when things are falling apart. It says much about their characters.

Remember this:

This is what bravery and grace look like.

According to Lady Bird Johnson, who was also present, "Her hair [was] falling in her face but [she was] very composed ... I looked at her. Mrs. Kennedy's dress was stained with blood. One leg was almost entirely covered with it and her right glove was caked, it was caked with blood – her husband's blood. Somehow that was one of the most poignant sights – that immaculate woman, exquisitely dressed, and caked in blood."

Source: 40 of the Most Powerful Photographs Ever Taken

Hitting an all-time low.

[Note: I am stranded at the Caalgary airport, delays in my flight from Ottawa having caused me to miss my connection to Saskatoon (or S'toon, as Saskatchewanianianians call it). No pictures in this post because Blogger and iPad disagree on that.]

The problem with being an "early adopter" is that you get to work out the glitches in whatever cutting-edge technology is using you as a guinea pig. My most recent experience is with the relatively new diabetes medication Victoza.

It's been available in Europe for a while, so I'm not worried about any ghastly side effects or anything (or I wouldn't try it), but I did Suffer through my doctor's lack of experience with this new drug that has garnered rave reviews for controlling blood sugar while also suppressing appetite which obviously has health benefits in terms of weight loss.

For me, the suppressed appetite has been truly eye-opening, as I mentioned in an earlier post. I'm still enjoying the effects, though the weight loss has slowed.

More importantly, my blood sugar has slowly but steadily been sliding into the normal range.

But it wasn't moving swiftly enough for my doctor, (I am the first patient she's tried Victoza with.) so she prescribed a third medication. The effect was almost immediate . . . And alarming. I took a dose with dinner and woke up feeling . . . weird. Like simething was wrong. Couldn't put my finger on it.

I wasn't nauseated. Didnt havea headache or feel the hands of the grim reaper around my neck.

I finally got out of bed and realized I was a little shaky and my legs felt like rubber. That's when hypoglycemia occurred to me.

3.5 mmol/L. Hypoglycemia is anything below 4. WhAt's more, if your blood augar has been high for a long time, you can feel hypoglycemic even at higher measures.

Hypoglycemia is a medical emergency: if the muscles and brain are deprived of energy for long enough you can slip into a coma and even die.

Because of this, the body has a built-in panic response. Adrenalin floods your system.

So on top of feeling wobbly as I stumbled downstairs to find my sugar pills, I was panicky and couldn't think straight. I had planned to go for the ECG the doc had ordered (more about that later), but couldn't figure out what to do first: get dressed? Make the bed? What about my hair? Make up?

Even after my blood sugar was back to normal, I felt uneasy.

Stupidly, I took another dose. The same thing happened twice more that day. And that was that.

Meanwhile, Victoza has been ever so slowly working my sugars down into the normal range. Part of that, I am convinced, is because the "normal" appetite makes it so very much easier to say no to large helpings and non-stop snacking.

And I feel great!

But I wish I were being treated by a more up-to-date doctor. Still waiting for a referral.

Photo Class: Loud

Today's lesson was on adjusting the white balance in your photos, and the theme was "Loud." On a whim, I decided to bring my camera to work with me today, because, who knows? I might have come across someone in a loud Hawaiian shirt.

Didn't happen. But as I was waiting for the elevator, I heard a very loud drilling sound coming from the foyer where two workers were doing something with the marble tiles that line the ceiling joists. I quickly checked my settings, then took one snap and started to play with the settings a little more. Just as I was about to take some more pix, a security guard came up to me and informed me that I was not allowed to take pictures inside the building.

So this was the only picture I got. The "leading lines" aren't really working in my favour and I've got the subject matter boringly centred, but the picture doesn't totally suck.

f/3.5, 1/30, ISO/800,
light balance set to "sunlight"

I had actually discovered the white-balance setting on my camera by accident the other day. The same day I accidentally set it to format all my pictures as CR2 images - a special Canon format; I couldn't even preview them! I'll have to dig out the software that came with the camera.

As a reward for slogging through that explanation, here is a quick snap of me in the famous CASUAL ELEGANT ATTIRE. The event was at the Science & Technology Museum, and I had a chance to play with the Vandegraff generator. Isn't that what everyone does when they go to a soirée?


Taken with my BlackBerry

It's probably not the glam shot you were expecting, but you get the idea. As it happened, most people were dressed comparably, though I did see some questionable outfits, including leggings worn as pants with a cropped crocheted sweater. Only Barbie could get away with that, and this woman was no Barbie.

I must say, that was one of the most fun evening events I've ever attended. It combined geeky fun with excellent food and an open bar. What's not to love?

Pout.

Well, I finally heard back from the employer who interviewed me while my hair was doing reverse acrobatics. As you can tell from my title, I did not get the answer I was hoping for.

Here's what happened: they evidently wanted to offer me the job, but there was some internal budgetary ball-tossing and, essentially, no one was able to pick up my salary. Sooooo, the job does not exist as advertised.

While this is the kind of thing that one hopes they would figure out ahead of time, I've been in the position of hiring contractors before and know that sh!t happens. And I kind of figured, by how long it was taking them to get back to me, that the news was not going to be good. Honestly, I'm glad to hear it was an internal difficulty and that I hadn't mis-read the dynamic in the room, because I really had the impression that we all agreed that I would be a good fit for them.

I did take the opportunity to offer my services as a freelancer, and the manager seemed pleasantly surprised that I would consider this and sounded interested. (Hey, income is income! That pool ain't gonna pay for itself!) He also said he would shop my resume around to other managers, which is good news for me. Because you never know.

So, the bottom line is I still have a little more time to hunt for my work shoes (they're in the basement somewhere!). And if you hear of any interesting opportunities (short- or long-term), please do let me know.

Hair wars.

Tuesday was a big day for me: my first job interview since moving back to Canada. I won't tell you about the job, because I don't want to jinx anything, but I will talk about my hair catastrophe.

I have bad hair. Thin, fine, straight as a pin. With considerable effort - and lots of "product" - I can usually convince it to perform adequately for a couple of hours. But there's a hitch: humidity absolutely kills any styling I do. Where once there was bounce, there will be flop. Where once there was curl, there will be wilt. Picture wilted lettuce. It's a sad thing. Especially when it's on your head.

To make things worse, if I sweat - oh, wait, I forgot: women don't sweat, they glow - fine, if I glow, then all bets are off. My hair will plaster itself to my scalp like an old bathing cap. Not flattering, unless you're Sinead O'Connor or Natalie Portman.

I used to have a bathing cap exactly like this one.
I absolutely LOVED it!
P.S. Someone needs to teach this girl how to pluck her eyebrows. Just sayin'.
Source: http://www.bathingcaps.ca/contents/en-us/d3.html

Problem 1: We are in the middle of a brutal, high-humidity heat wave here. (Gee, do I ever wish our pool were already constructed!)
Problem 2: Even without the heat wave, I am at that stage in life where my body temperature is set about 5 degrees hotter than everyone else's. This causes me to glow.

So I carefully considered what to do with my hair today for this big interview. In the end, I decided to put it up in a French twist. Like this (only with less hair):

MUCH better looking than the bathing cap!
Source: http://qwickstep.com/search/french-twist-hair-style.html

For about four days before the interview, I practiced the style. I road-tested it: driving around, walking in wind, adjusting amounts of hairspray, how many pins, etc. I found it worked best if I pinned it up while it was still wet; it only took four pins, and it lasted easily four hours with hairspray. I was convinced I had it nailed.

But about ten minutes into the hour-long interview, I felt something heavy against my neck. Yup, my hair was falling, sliding gradually out of its style. I casually reached up to touch it and discovered that a WHOLE CHUNK of hair was now draping down my back. As inconspicuously as possible (HAH!), I pulled out a pin and tucked that chunk back into place.

Moments later, I felt another tress fall. I pinned it back up.

Honestly, I lost track of how many times I tried to rescue that hairdo. I hope it was only three. Finally, I gave up. I took pity on the poor interviewers (who were probably feeling sorry for me and becoming annoyed with my fussing), and I yanked out the pins and let the hair fall limply down my back. It was still wet (because, remember, my testing showed that was best) and straggly. It was awful.

But I had to stop fussing with the damned hair and pay attention to the questions!

Later, I puzzled over what had possessed my demon hair: why had my road tests worked, but the actual run failed?

Answer: hair conditioner.

Because my hair is so fine, conditioner leaves it limp, so I usually skip it. Today, however, in my efforts to look polished and professional, I not only applied conditioner, but I actually let it sit for three whole minutes just like the directions say.

And four measly pins could not tame the slick, silky, sodden mass of my hair.

Sigh. I suppose I could consider wigs.