Electric Rollers

If you are my age or close to it you may remember the television show Charlie’s Angels. And if you remember the show you will remember Farrah Fawcett and how she wore her hair.

Everyone wanted to look like Farrah and everyone (at least at my high school) went to their beautician and got their hair cut like hers; myself included.

There was only one problem with trying to get my hair to look like Farrah’s hair, my hair has always been straight as a stick. My mother was determined that I would have curls. She put goo in it when I was a baby to make it stand up. (see picture below as proof. I’m the fat one on the left. The other one is my BFF and cousin Martha).

When I got older mom took me to the beauty shop where I spend many hours getting stinky permanents (that weren’t permanent). Not only did permanents stink, they burned my head and they made my hair frizz. I remember once after getting one I went to a Girl Scout event on the creek and my hair morphed into a mushroom cloud that made me look like I had been electrocuted or something. I cried for days.

Then at the crucial point in my life (the teen years) when we all want to fit in and be glamourous, Farrah Fawcett hair was THE HAIR to have. Curls were in. Straight was out. My quest for curls continued.

My Love Affair With Electric Rollers 

And so began my love affair with electric rollers. The ones in the picture are exactly like the ones I had. From the time I was a freshman in high school until early 80s, I began every morning by plugging in my rollers and curling my hair. I curled it, took the rollers out, tossed my head around and fluffed it and then sprayed it until it was hard as a football helmet. I had to if I wanted the curl to stay in. Sometimes even that didn’t work.

The more I was determined to have big, fluffy hair, the harder I had to work at it. It wasn’t unusual for me to roll my hair two or even three times a day. I spent more time on my hair than I ever spent studying for a college exam. A girl has to keep her priorities straight after all.

Through the years I probably went through at least 10 different sets of rollers and no doubt the amount of time I spent on my hair equaled the amount of effort and time it took to put a man on the moon. And still, I never did get my hair to look nearly as good as Farrah’s hair.

The End of The Electric Roller Era

I don’t remember the last time I used my electric rollers. There wasn’t a retirement ceremony for them. At some point after I married and my children were born I just gave up on curls and decided to quit fighting what was obviously a losing battle.

My hair has been straight now for decades and the amount of time I spend on it has  drastically shrunk. Now my time and effort goes into keeping the gray covered.

When I think back on how much time and money I spent trying to make my hair curl I feel foolish. Then again, I did a lot of stupid things during my teen years. It’s part of growing up and trying to figure out who and what we want to be.

These days I’m pretty much a “What you see is what you get,” type of gal.  I don’t feel compelled to try to look like someone else or put forth any effort to make myself into something I’m not. It’s much easier being me now than it was during the 70s.

Irony

Two of my three granddaughters have curls and one has straight hair like mine. If I were a betting person I would wager that when they are teenagers the two with curls will spend hours straightening their hair and one with straight hair like me will want hers to curl.

That’s just the way we girls are.