So, you can see from the caricature of me - I have weird hair. [break]
When I was younger, my hair was in the traditional 90’s “boy cut” which meant that at age five I really did look like a boy. I always protested, saying that I was a girl and without fail, always found a puzzled look on everyone’s face.
Fast-forward ten years. I lost the haircut, but then was described as, “the girl with the weird hair”. Another five years and I finally discover that it’s actually a crime to comb curls- they turn to frizz. It only took me twenty years to somewhat tame the unintentionally reggae Bob Marley effect. No offence to you rastas out there but I’m just not one.
Since my hair was a hopeless venture, it wasn’t worth my time to worry about. I resorted to the minimum - shower, shampoo, hair clips, tied back in a tight bun.
But, back in the days, those of you with hair somewhat similar to mine will recall that there was no “curly” hair shampoo on the aisles of Gemini unlike today (Ringlets and waves don’t count - they are categorized under “normal hair”).
I recall shopping for “tuck” - snacks, and all other basic things before heading back to our boarding school. My mom would throw shampoo bottles with the label “normal hair” at my sister and bottles for “damaged hair” toward me. Among all the brands your options then were: normal, oily, or damaged.
I stuck to my basic routine and considered it a blessing, when in the middle of a humid summer day the frizz didn’t give me a natural halo. So, to ease things, on a school trip to Dharamshala, during my senior year of high school, I was so inspired by the monks all around that I shaved my head. I would do it again, but, also learnt how much attention it garners for a girl to walk around with no hair.
By, last year though I had lots of hair on my head again. While getting ready for a wedding inside the changing room of a friend’s shop, the salesgirl asked me, “Is that your real hair?” I get asked that very often, so without flinching I said, “Yes, yestai ho”. Then she said, “Wow - it looks like bigreko dreads”. Every now and then, numerous people ask me if my hair has been dreaded, but dreads gone bad was on an entire new level, so I had to laugh out loud and agree with her.
Anyway, I can’t recall the exact year when all beauty products from face wash to conditioners went fruity - but I would like to credit Garnier Fructis for dominating the scene. It was nice at first - strawberry “flavored” like we were going to actually slurp the shampoo off of the tips of our hair, but it smelled fun and fresh and like it was the middle of summer.
Then it quickly got crazy. The strawberry got so sweet that the last time I opened a bottle the scent targeted my throat and threatened to choke.
One fine day my mom came home and said she had been meeting a friend at the Norwegian Guest House in Jawalakhel (very near the tarkari pasal) when some girls walked in and insisted they were selling the best shampoo and conditioner on earth.
She said they looked young and were probably selling on commission so she brought a package of the Green Tea shampoo and conditioner home. And, I just loved that stuff - it actually made my hair feel like hair and not like velcro or steel jhus.
It also made my hair feel light, I realized a good five KGs of my weight was probably just that of my hair.
My mom tried it - she loved it. My sister tried - she loved it.
Anyway, it’s good stuff - even for people with perfectly normal and beautiful hair like my mom and sister. I’m not sure what they have in there because don’t we all have different hair and hence, difference needs and thus, the individualized shampoos? That’s what I’d thought watching all those endless ads of people with lovely hair say and then I’d get confused because none of the million types of shampoo sold made my hair lovely.
So, I’m not saying hair, looks, skin and all of that is the most important thing in life.
All I’m saying is I found a great bottle of shampoo that they don’t seem to sell in stores, so if you can relate to my hair horror, walk over to the Norwegian Guest House and get yourself a bottle.
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