Hairstory

My wonderful hair stylist, Farah Ghorbani, has been after me for months to cut my hair. She thinks that after five years of sporting the same hairstyle, it might be time for a change.

First let’s get one thing straight, (no pun intended)….I hate my hair. I have very kinky curly hair that has a mind of its own. I have tamed it over the years with reverse perms, straighteners, flat irons, curlers and curling irons. When I was in high school, I used to place a large curler at the crown, and then proceed to wrap my hair around my head, secure it with bobby pins, and sit under the hair dryer for an hour. This remained my routine until my early 20’s when I got talked into going “au naturel” and letting my true “Jew-fro” curls out of their cage.

On our honeymoon in Scotland, 1987. Check out the high-rise-acid-wash-baggy jeans & boyfriend sweater!

With my sister, Janet, in the apartment we shared in Toronto, 1986. Wow! Check out those shoulder pads.

I tamed them with product and pinned them up, but I was never truly comfortable with this look. It impeded my ability, so I thought, to book enough jobs in TV and film. I was being considered for mostly ethnic roles, and this limited my oppotunities, especially in Toronto in the 80’s. I decided to be more mainstream, and straightened it. That seemed to enable me to go out for more commercial work and I was getting to “like” my hair better than I did before. Don’t get me wrong, we still battled, but the good hair days were not out numbered by the bad ones.

The Kooples Blazer, Stuart Weitzman Boots, Current/Elliot Pants, Joie Tank, John Hardy Hoops, MAC Reel Sexy Lipstick.

For me, finding the right hair stylist, amounts to someone who truly “gets” my hair. That person has to know how to work with curly hair; for instance, he or she must know that wispy bangs are the closest thing I am going to get to wearing a bang, because curly hair never lies flat for long. The Keratin relaxer has truly changed my life, and Farah applies it every five months. Layers are another essential for maintaining curly hair. If I didn’t layer my hair, it would grow into the shape of a triangle, not a good look on me!

Now let us return to the subject of changing the hairstyle.…which I had been avoiding for half a year. I loved my long hair, but it wasn’t until I saw how my gorgeous cousin had become even more beautiful when she cut her long hair into a chic bob. It inspired me to do something. I asked Farah if we could do an ombre and cut it shorter in the back. She cautioned me about going too short in the back, and thought a gradual change would be better for me. To achieve the look I am after, I also need to grow out the front layers, and this will take months.

 John Eshaya Jeans and Tee, Koral Vest (available at Yellow Dog). Belle by Sigerson Morrisson Booties, Givenchy Handbag.

I love my new look, although it is not that much different, it is a work in progress, and I promise to keep you posted!

With Farah in front of her Salon, Farah Beauty Salon.