Cut it....cut it....

Being two females, Samadhi and I are always concerned about beauty. Things like hairdos, chic clothes, facials, make-up, etc.... This week’s Memory Lane is going to be all about fashions of yesterday and today.

Recently we both went to the salon, when two girls who received us asked how they could help us? “We need to get our eyebrows done.” I told her that Samadhi wanted to get her upper lip done as well. They took us into a small room and asked us to lie down on two different beds. It took about ten minutes to finish with my eyes and I went out and sat in the reception wanting for Samadhi.

After awhile she came out with her face as red as a tomato, but I pretended not to have noticed it, until she came to me and said “Anuki, how can you bear the pain when they do the threading?” I simply smiled with giving an answer as we left the saloon. “I wonder why we were born females? Though I’m proud to be one, I always wonder whether the ‘pain’ is worth being a female.=

Well, when I had last layered my hair, Samadhi commented that I shouldn’t have made it short, where as in my case, at times I prefer a change even in appearance. I believe it can help keep me going.... A little bit of make-up, on and off, a new hair cut and charming clothes would add some spiritual boost to my regular routine.

I got this yearning to straighten my hair, and after making couple of calls and was finally able to get an appointment. They washed my hair, applied some sort of concoction, left it for couple of minutes to dry up - the whole nine yards - they followed this procedure two or three times.

Finally the so-called ‘straightening’ was done. After a while the manageress came and gave me instructions on how I should look after my hair. She said, “Do not shower for three days.” I was shocked to hear that. Had she told me that prior to the straightening, I surely would not have done it.

Because, as my mum would say, I would rather skip my meals but not my twice-a-day showers. The lady would have noticed my expressions and warned me not to try doing so, because I might end up having ringlets.

When I saw Anuki for the first time after the straightened of her hair, I didn’t take it very seriously. She blow-dries her hair all the time. But I have repeatedly advised her not to do it because it could damage her hair by doing it frequently.

When I started protesting about it, her expression changed and I just knew that she had done the permanent thing. I was soooo disappointed, because I liked her hair soooo much. It was neither straight nor curly and I would have killed to have had hair like hers. However she promised that it wouldn’t last for ever.

Actually, I couldn’t stay for three days without a shower and as a result my hair started to look a little frizzy. It was worse than my natural hair and Samadhi couldn’t help saying ‘I told you so’.

Waxing for me has always been a very sticky business. So ultimately I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t doing it right. I had quite a few weddings coming up and I really wanted to get my arms and legs waxed. So after the getting trim and upper lip done I laid on the bed, as instructed.

The girl at the saloon heated up the wax, washed up my arms, then she wiped it dry and rubbed a fist full of powder all over? Then she started applying the wax with the stipule, while I lay back and relaxed thinking ‘Ah this is life’. Not that it didn’t hurt a little, but at least I wasn’t the one doing the waxing.

The poor girl was at it for almost two hours. I lost interest in waxing my legs because I decided that it was not worth the trouble. Not for me, but the sake of that poor girl. At the end of almost two hours she gave up and consulted a friend.

“The hair just won’t come out, instead it breaks.” she said frustrated. Undoubtedly cursing my adamant hair that simply refused to part with its pores. So it wasn’t me after all! I felt proud, it was the hair all along and not my professionalism at waxing. I felt proud. I left the saloon an enlightened woman with half waxed arms, stubble jutting out of the skin and the luscious hairy legs.

Last year I read Bridget Jones’ Diary and I realized that this was a common problem. Bridget was wondering what would happen if a woman’s body was complete by left for its own devices. What savages would we look like! Would hair grow out of our noses, would we never be able to wear sleeveless and would every day be a nightmarish hairy day, all women tormenting themselves about their split ends?

Various hair cuts as layering or the feather cut are key fashions to attract peoples attention and most women would not have second thoughts about nip nip nipping their hair.

However many years ago, one of the key elements for female beauty are to have long hair. During the time of our grand parents, when their hair started falling they used to wear ‘havariya’, a wig to show off that they still have long healthy hair.