Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Your Hair!

Here's a question for ya: When was the last time you got a compliment on your hair? I mean a real "Wow, I love your hair" kind of compliment? Now let me ask you this, was it from someone who didn't know you?

The reason I ask is because we get lazy. We get older. We get tired. And when at least two of these occur we might just look in the mirror one day and scream. Because older, lazy, or tired are never a good combination whether in two or three! And sometimes we've stumbled upon all three and didn't even realize it.

So, let me ask you again: When was the last time you got a compliment on your hair....from someone other than your husband, children or other close family member? I throw in the family members cause sometimes they just want you to always stay the same-looking. I had a woman ask me the other day if she should cut her hair....she was close to 50 and had long hair. She certainly would have looked better with shorter hair, more angles, layers, something near her shoulders and not below. What she said next shouldn't have surprised me (because I know better) but it still did. She said the reason she hadn't cut her hair is because her daughter liked it long. Her daughter is ten. Yes, I said ten...as in 10 years old. Probably not a fashion expert. And you know what? This woman is. Interesting isn't it? Here is a woman who is in the fashion industry and she wasn't cutting her hair (making her look older) because her TEN YEAR OLD DAUGHTER DIDN'T WANT HER TO.

You might be reading this thinking that YOU would never do that. Or would you? So here's what I want you to do.
After showering, dressing and getting ready for the day, make sure your hair is ready, too.
That probably means not putting it in a pony tail :) I want you to really notice how other women's hair looks today. Which styles do you like? Who are you complimenting? (don't forget to do this) And who is complimenting you? Yes, I said WHO is complimenting you? And what does HER hair look like? I want you to keep up this exercise for one full week. Really, really, notice what others are saying (or NOT saying) to you about your hair. And report back.
Let's get honest with ourselves on one of our most important aspects of our physical beauty. And listen up here, if you don't have your own hair, but are wearing a wig because of cancer, chemo, some other challenge, or you just like wigs, don't think you are not in on this one....you are. Maybe you have the wrong one....and maybe not! So let's get to it. Here's what you need to keep track of:

1. Who complimented you?

2. What did her hair look like?

Are you ready to get honest with yourself? Here we go...now go to it! I can't wait to hear. I'll blog on tips for hair, color, styles for the next few posts so you can all get on track and be summer-hair ready! Beautiful Blessings, Shari

15 comments:

Lisa B @ simply His said...

I honestly cannot remember the last time I was complimented on my hair. Sad. I know. I keep the scrunchy companies in business!

My hair dresser had surgery 7 weeks ago and I tried someone else -- who didn't cut my hair at all like I like. My hair is naturally curly, which is great for the back, but not so great when my bangs get long and curl on their own.

BUT -- good times they are a comin'! I have an appt tomorrow to get my color (dark brown - no red thanks to your advice!) done and the right cut!!! I'm excited :D

So maybe I can come back tomorrow and tell you I got some compliments!

Kristin said...

A stranger at church complimented my hair last Sunday. I have a short wedge cut and tend to get many compliments and people asking who cuts my hair.

There are times when I want to grow it out long, but I know that I just look better with shorter hair. The compliments help keep it how it should be!

When I see a woman with a cute style, I definitely compliment her. It's just the nice thing to do!

Alyce said...

Hey Shari..
Well I must say..my hair has always been a pretty good asset of mine. I can wear my hair long, short, medium, straight, curly, layered..I should be thanking God for blessing me with good hair. My sister and my mom both have fine, thin hair. Mine is not fine, its not thin, however, it is thinner than it was as a preteen/teenager. I don't know if it was stress or what, but soon after I began dating my husband (almost 14 years ago) my hair began to fall out. Not in chunks..I guess I just started shedding. But anyway.. It is still nice, just not as thick. When I say it was really thick..I mean the hair dresser had to use 2 perms on me whenever I'd get a perm.
Saying that..I get compliments often on my hair and usually its by people that have nice hair too. I have experimented with color too and when I began going darker,trying to get out all the blonde highlights and get it to my natural (I guess, I matched it w/ my roots, but as we all know, hair darkens w/ age, I was born strawberry blonde..the strawberry went away, then I was a dirty blonde)anyway..once I did the lowlights, I got lots of compliments on the "darker" look. I change my hair a little bit from fall/winter to spring/summer, by adding a little blonde highlite to the lowlite.
Boy..I have rambled..sorry! But I am going to take more notice on compliments and give more to others myself.
Blessings~
Alyce

Alyce said...

Hey Shari..
Well I must say..my hair has always been a pretty good asset of mine. I can wear my hair long, short, medium, straight, curly, layered..I should be thanking God for blessing me with good hair. My sister and my mom both have fine, thin hair. Mine is not fine, its not thin, however, it is thinner than it was as a preteen/teenager. I don't know if it was stress or what, but soon after I began dating my husband (almost 14 years ago) my hair began to fall out. Not in chunks..I guess I just started shedding. But anyway.. It is still nice, just not as thick. When I say it was really thick..I mean the hair dresser had to use 2 perms on me whenever I'd get a perm.
Saying that..I get compliments often on my hair and usually its by people that have nice hair too. I have experimented with color too and when I began going darker,trying to get out all the blonde highlights and get it to my natural (I guess, I matched it w/ my roots, but as we all know, hair darkens w/ age, I was born strawberry blonde..the strawberry went away, then I was a dirty blonde)anyway..once I did the lowlights, I got lots of compliments on the "darker" look. I change my hair a little bit from fall/winter to spring/summer, by adding a little blonde highlite to the lowlite.
Boy..I have rambled..sorry! But I am going to take more notice on compliments and give more to others myself.
Blessings~
Alyce

Rae said...

The last compliment I had was on my hair color not cut. The color was from a box. The person was a college student whose hair was a natural golden and she wearings it mostly in ponytails.

I hate my hair. I never feel confident with its cut or style. It of course always looks good at the salon and the next day but then it becomes a dud. I would love to find someone who could do my hair in the perfect style for my face shape and hair texture. And something easy to do since I have no hairdresser skills. Since that hasn't happened I guess I will have to continue to have hair that looks good some days and not great the next. Frumpy hair I call it.

Anonymous said...

Hey Shari,
I have spent more time in my closet since you left, and I still am stumped. In reference to wearing jeans and creating the column... How can you best dress an "A" in jeans without a jacket? And if your "A" is tall (like me) do you still worry so much about that column?
As for the hair-I have great hair when I have a good cut for me. People stop me on the street to ask where I get it cut! It is so important to find a stylist who knows your hair, and what you are willing to put into getting it to look good. (product, time and money) Seven days to convertable hair!
I miss you. Alex didn't win, but may have broken his arm! The church is all abuzz with the success of your visit!
Dawn C

Shari Braendel said...

Dear Dawn, I miss you, too. I searched the white pages high and low yesterday to find your mailing address to send you a card and couldn't find it so could you please e-mail me at shari-p31@earthlink.net to give it to me? You will love my drawings in the card...just think bicycle..heheh! You are so right about finding the right stylist and I'm gonna post on that in one of my upcoming posts about hair.
As far as your A body in a column...as long as you wear colors that are close in range you can still create a column without a jacket. For example, if you wear that white tennis skirt, wear a patterned top but make sure the BACKGROUND of the top is white, like the skirt. This will create a longer line and not have a "break" at your fullest part, which are the hips. You would fail in this point if you wore a black top with white flowers....see what I mean? Then the black background lays against the white skirt and brings the eye to the fullest spot. Although, if it creates a distraction for the on-looker, perhaps that's a good thing when you are playing a game of tennis! And since you are the one running all over the court going after the balls, we don't need your partner distracted by anything else...although she has plenty of time to watch you run!!!!Thank you so much for hosting me! What a joy is what to get to know you and spend time with you! We had fun, didn't we? And how in the world did Alex break another bone? What is it with your boys?!

Alyce said...

Shari..
Back to the hair..oh and I am sorry my earlier comment was posted twice..that was a mistake.

Anyway I have gone as far as to stop a woman in the mall because i loved her hair style and asked her if I could take her picture. Yes I did. I was with my sister in law (and our girls, looking at us like we were CRAZY)..I told her I loved it and wanted to show it to my stylist. She granted us permission. It was cool. I was in another state, so I'll never see her again!
I've got blog issues today..ugg..I don't have time to figure it out either..hope your day is going well..
Blessings~
Alyce

Pajama Mama said...

Shari, The last person to compliment my hair (besides my friend this weekend), was a MAN! We gather for worship with a smaller grop and after worship one recent Sun evening, he said..."Did you get your hair cut? It looks nice." In front of everyone. I was floored..bc I had it cut several inches and no one else had mentioned it. So, you asked who complimented me...and what did HER hair look like. Well, HIS hair...actually he's bald.



Jeannie

Judah said...

but Shari, I don't know what to do with my hair! honestly I am lost when it comes to my hair! If someone could help me in that area i would be glad to do something other than a ponytail! But I am a mm of a 3 year old and a 3 month old. And I don't have the time not to mention I am clueless as to what looks best for my face shape, couldn't even tell you what my face shape is. I am telling you, my momma didn't teach me a thing about hair, fashion, makeup, accessories.

Anonymous said...

Wow, this was an interesting post! And good timing too -- I just started my own blog, and one of the things I wanted to post about was, what on EARTH can I do with my naturally curly hair this summer???

I hope your comments will produce some good advice for us curly girls... I need it. I cannot remember the last time I was complimented on my hair, except for when I straightened it! It does like nice straight, but it was a whole lotta work.

Thanks for the fun post. :)
Blessings,
Kim

Anonymous said...

I'm excited about this series of hair posts. Would you be willing to do a series on swimming suits? I'm a petite, rectangle, warm and I can't figure out what kind of suit to buy. I know what colors to look for, but should I buy a solid color, a pattern, and what shapes are good for my body type? I'm sure I'm not the only one with these type of questions. Can you help a girl out?

Mommy Mechanics said...

This is the first time i've visited your blog and I'm sure glad I did. I think it's a sign j/k. I am a everyday ponytale wearer and I really need a change. I just don't know if I could pull off short hair but I just can't stand the feeling of hair on my shoulders and with kids it always gets pulled or in my way. I'm so glad you decided to do this series.

Amanda Chamberlain said...

I have fine, thin hair and I have found that it really needs to be cut fairly short - otherwise it just hangs there and ends up in the dreaded pony tail. Right now I have a stacked bob. When I actually make the time to blow dry it in the morning, it looks pretty cute. The last compliment I received was actually about the color. After hearing from Shari that the (fake)red in it was throwing off my color assessment (I'm Deep), I dyed it back to it's natural dark brown. I think it's an improvement.

BethAnne said...

Oooh! I love all this hair talk! Maybe you could tell us what is really in style when it comes to hair. I love my hairdresser, and she is really up to date on the latest styles, but she can never seem to tell me what is in - she just says "everything is in right now". Can we please just go back to the 'Rachel cut'? (remember when everyone wanted their hair like Jennifer Anniston?) At least then I knew what would be cool....now I have no idea (might be because I am a 35 yr old stay at home mom - who knows?)