KARREN BRADY
ON WHY SHE’S HAPPY WITH LONG HAIR AND WON’T GO SHORT
I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED MY HAIR AND CONSIDERED IT ONE OF MY BEST FEATURES. BUT DESPITE KNOWING THIS I HAVE NEVER GIVEN IT THE ATTENTION, KINDNESS OR RESPECT IT DESERVES. I GUESS I HAVE JUST TAKEN IT FOR GRANTED!
I HAD MY FIRST PERM WHEN I WAS 13. I WANTED TO LOOK LIKE BROOKE SHIELDS FROM THE FILM The Blue Lagoon BUT ENDED UP LOOKING LIKE KEVIN KEEGAN! NOT ONLY DID IT LOOK APPALLING, IT HAD THE TEXTURE OF A DEAD SEA SPONGE. AND IT TOOK MONTHS BEFORE IT FORGAVE ME AND RECOVERED!
BY 14, MY MOTHER WAS REGULARLY HIGHLIGHTING IT FOR ME WITH SOMETHING RESEMBLING A SWIMMING CAP, WHICH SHE WOULD SQUEEZE ONTO MY HEAD AND THEN PULL THE HAIR THROUGH THE RUBBER WITH WHAT I ALWAYS PRESUMED WAS A CROCHET HOOK, AND THEN SLAP ON BLEACH. GOD KNOWS HOW I SURVIVED THE PAIN, LET ALONE THE BLEACH!
I WENT THROUGH A PHASE OF CUTTING MY HAIR MYSELF. MY FIRST ATTEMPT WAS WHEN I WAS ABOUT FOUR YEARS OLD. I RANDOMLY CUT CHUNKS OUT OF IT FOR MY FIRST SCHOOL PHOTO. THE PICTURE IS HILARIOUS. BUT I AM SMILING IN THE PHOTO SO I GUESS I LIKED IT! THEN WHEN I HAD MY KIDS AND WAS WORKING ALL THE TIME AND HAIRDRESSERS DIDN’T OPEN AT 5AM OR CLOSE AT MIDNIGHT, I RESORTED TO CUTTING IT MYSELF. I REMEMBER TELLING A JOURNALIST I DID THIS, WHILE BEING RATHER PLEASED
WITH MYSELF AND WHEN SHE WROTE
THE ARTICLE ABOUT IT SHE SAID, “…AND IT LOOKED LIKE IT TOO!” OH. TIME TO MAKE TIME FOR A HAIRDRESSER! THESE DAYS I GO TO THE HAIRDRESSER REGULARLY (CAROL JOY AT THE DORCHESTER), AND I USE VARIOUS PRODUCTS.
BUT VERY FEW DO WHAT THEY PROMISE ON THE PACK. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET THAT SLEEK, SHINY HAIR THAT SO MANY PRODUCTS PROMISE TO GIVE YOU BUT FAIL TO DELIVER.
BUT THE PRODUCTS I DO THINK THAT WORK ARE AS FOLLOWS: CAROL JOY LONDON BEAUTIFUL HAIR MASK, IMEDEEN VITAMINS, HEATED ROLLERS, TANGLE TEEZER, AND L’ORÉAL MAGIC RETOUCH – BECAUSE WHO HAS TIME TO DO THEIR ROOTS EVERY TWO MONTHS? MY STYLE IS SIMPLE; WASH, BLAST DRY, PUT IN HEATED
ROLLERS… DAH-DAH!
I NOW TEND TO TREAT MY HAIR WITH MORE RESPECT, AS I FIND THAT EVEN IF I HAVE THE
BEST DESIGNER OUTFIT
ON, IF MY HAIR ISN’T WASHED THEN I
JUST DON’T LOOK OR FEEL MY BEST.
THE ONLY THING ON MY MIND
THESE DAYS IS IT GETTING TOO
LONG FOR MY AGE… THAT’S
ANOTHER WHOLE CONUNDRUM
RIGHT THERE! SOME PEOPLE
HAVE SAID THAT HAVING LONG
HAIR OVER 50 IS THE EPITOME OF MUTTON DRESSED AS LAMB, BUT
STUFF IT, I SAY. AS LONG AS IT IS
HEALTHY AND LOOKS GOOD, WHO CARES!
I’M NEVER CUTTING MINE SHORT… MAYBE I WILL LAYER IT MORE AS I GET OLDER, AS I THINK DEAD STRAIGHT HAIR CAN BE AGEING. BUT FOR EVIDENCE OF JUST HOW GOOD LONG HAIR CAN WORK OVER 50, LOOK NO FURTHER THAN GOLDIE HAWN, JANE SEYMOUR, CINDY CRAWFORD – AND DON’T EVEN START ME ON RAQUEL WELCH!
As long as your hair is healthy, who cares!