Frizzless?

How often do I sit down on a Saturday morning or Friday night after an horrific work week and blog about what an horrific work week it's been? Probably a lot. And though this was a fun work week, it was also pretty brutal. I like this desk a lot, and of course this office. But holy man when I have to switch from thinking sporadically to thinking constantly it takes the stuffing right out of me.

I pretty much spent my life in Hillsboro this week. Twelve and thirteen hour days, too much coffee, not enough sustenance, WAY too many cigarettes. Lots of yelling at the computer/phone. Lots of self-doubt. Compliments, too, but I don't ever retain that stuff. The good news is that this particular branch knows how to have a good time in the midst of chaos, and they don't mind my spontaneous outbursts. And they had to hear a lot of them this week.

So I get up not as early as every other day but still pretty early. It confuses the cats. Lava thinks I'm oversleeping so she sits on my shoulder and meows into my ear as a gentle reminder that kibble is lacking and the litter box is not. At least she allowed me that extra half hour.

If it's month end, that means color, so I drove the 214 miles from Hillsboro to Portland for my fix. It's worth it, I love the salon and my colorist is a flipping rock star. Lately they've been hyping this new procedure having to do with keratin and smooth hair. It's really expensive, though, and the process sounds a little frightening, so I've pretty much written it off. QTip Girl lives.

Except my stylist, Star, just got it done. And her hair looks fantastic.

So basically, you sit in a chair for like three hours while they pretty much bake this keratin into your hair. The result is straighter hair, lots of body and shine, and no frizz. I mean none. For like four months. Like you could go out in humidity and have it not frizz up. Or stand in the rain and when it dries it dries straight, with no fuzz and no crazy bang formations or curls taking the wrong turn. My whole life I've never experienced that. Remember those girls at high school parties who could stand there, drinking a beer in the rain with no hood and just look completely fabulous? Yeah, I was so never that girl. I'd walk under a wet tree branch and come out the other end looking like a cotton ball. So, you know, I've always been intrigued.

I chatted with Starr before Taunja was ready for me, and I think what has had me really thinking about this procedure is how she leaned in and confided "It's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me." Pretty dramatic, right? And this from the girl who told me prior to her doing it that it was probably not up to the hype and people with hair like ours just learn at an early age to deal with it. But I totally get it. Starr may have less hair than me, but it's fine (like mine) and curly-but-not-in-an-easy-breezy-way (like mine), and rain and humidity is just not her/my friend. I totally understand that. Now, she says, she doesn't even think of what might be coming out of her head and what direction it's decided to go on any given occasion. I admit I'm pretty envious.

And am going to entertain the idea of it, huge cost and all. I know it's kind of crazy. It's only a matter of time before I become slightly obsessed with it.

But meanwhile, it's the end of a long and horrific week, with just ridiculous rain storms for a) May and b) me, and as much as I just want to lay on the couch all weekend, there is stuff to do. So I will hose off soon, dry my hair before it takes the shape of topiary, and get on with it.

And let the obsessing creep in.