A lot can change in a year, including your hair

What's that?

I've been super indecisive with my hair as you can tell and the only things that have remained consistent is the location of my part and the halo of baby hairs. I know my hair intimately, the ins and outs of its texture, its behaviour, its whims and the fact that I get bored with it very quickly. After chopping off more than six inches back in January, I quickly realised the error of my ways and longed for my security blanket to envelop my shoulders, to tickle the backs of my arms, to fall in my face and obscure my vision.

Short hair requires attention, time, heat, product and a bit of magic. While I don't possess magical abilities, nor do I have a wand conveniently tucked away in my back pocket. I have, however, been biding my time by making the most of my hair while it grows out to a yet to be determined length.

It's been a few weeks since my hair was last trimmed* and while I was a bit nervous about the shorter layers, I now understand their function -- to give my thin, fine hair a touch of fullness and bounce.

Impatience and boredom is a dangerous cocktail, whence shaken and served can lead to a nasty hangover filled with regret. Now that I've sobered up, I'm making amends with my hasty decision. Don't circle the drain only to get swallowed in.

This metaphor merely serves as a cautionary tale: I wasn't ready to cut my hair. Do me a favour and buy one of these if you're experiencing a moment of weakness.

Can you tell short hair isn't for me, then again Nicole Warne makes it look so good.

What's your hair journey been like?

*The wickedly generous team over at Rakis Salon recently invited me over to experience a hair journey with a little help from Kerastase's latest release, Discipline. My hair was cut and styled by David, a hair genie with a golden smile.

Goody two shoes here reporting from the Principal’s office for flunking Hairology. I was recently written up by Claire for over washing, so I reformed my ways to please my teacher and then Kerastase dropped the gauntlet. I’ve been told it’s time for a little Discipline.

Finding good stuff that works for my hair has been a long and arduous uphill battle, so much that I once likened myself to Sisyphus pushing his oversized boulder. How does one fight frizz, enhance shine, reach voluminous heights (not the Snookie sort) and minimise the amount of time spent wielding a hairdryer? These pressing thoughts plagued me for years until I once and for all kicked drugstore hair care brands to the curb or is it kerb?

What’s changed? Well, Kerastase’s Discipline range unexpectedly made its way to my doorstep a few weeks back and I really haven’t questioned its arrival. In fact, the shampoo, conditioner and masque have become permanent fixtures in the shower.

Now that I wash my hair every other day, I always double cleanse. The first wash aims to get rid of the dirt, sweat and any other environmental nasties. As for the second wash, it takes advantage of the ingredients in Bain Fluidealiste (shampoo), specifically Morpho-Keratin. I like to think of Morpho-Keratin as the hair shaft smoother/perfector.

Once my hair feels properly clean, I then massage a small amount of Fondant Fluidealiste (conditioner) from the mid-lengths to the ends and allow it to work its magic while I wash my face and body. Fondant Fluidealiste protects the hair and further enhances manageability and shine.

Time for the piece de resistance, Kerastase’s Maskeratine – this masque is the weekly pit-stop my hair looks forward to the most. After (double) washing and conditioning, I work in a dime sized amount of product making sure to start from the roots to avoid weighing my hair down. I swear this stuff is an uptown version of Silkience, a hair conditioner P-Cakes bought in bulk when Gillette stopped making it.

Have my Hairology marks improved? Well, when it comes to managing my frizzy, fine, wavy hair I can confidently say I made the grade (well, my hair did). My mane remains soft and shiny for well over 48 hours, it takes less time to style and the greasy second day hair is no more. Does this mean my days of homework are over?