Hair

Why Should Our Eyelashes Be Dark And Long And Our Body Hair Non-existent?

The other day, I was having my legs waxed, and because I find it boring and painful, I started a conversation with the beautician, and the subject was, as it often is, the tyranny of hairless legs. She said, “that’s very true, men don’t have to go through it. I wonder why, it’s so unfair. But I have to say it looks prettier and certainly feels cleaner when your legs are waxed.” I raised an eyebrow. I think I get to hear this sentence every single time I go to the beautician. No it’s not cleaner and why would we look better without it? Isn’t it the most natural state of the body? Also, why the fuck should we always smile and be pretty?

Now, I’m not blaming my beautician. I’m not blaming anyone really. It just makes me really angry to think that female body hair are so stigmatized. Also, to be contradictory because hey, I’m human, I wax and shave and epilate. All of these. And I hate it. But I do like how it looks. So you won’t find any definitive statement about body hair here, just a reflexion on this very summery subject, that I’m forced to face, only wanting to wear dresses and skirts because of the heatwave we’ve been having.

My mum doesn’t have any body hair really, and is a little bit proud about it, which really did not help when as a teen, I had to use Jolen cream on my mustache to dye it blond.

Today, I read a great article on Man Repeller written by Haley Nahman, the piece is titled, “4 Women on Loving and Growing Their Body Hair“. It’s a brilliant conversation, and definitely made me think, yet again, about how absurd having to shave/wax/epilate all the hair on our bodies is. One of the women being interviewed said something that stuck with me, “Your hair is who you come from, just like your eyes, lips and teeth. I love that. When I think about my bush, I think of bodies in the wilderness; we grow a natural blanket of protection.”

This really added a new perspective on my morning which I’ve spent exfoliating and shaving because I’m going away this weekend. Truth be told, when I read the article and scrolled down to see the pictures of hairy women, I was like ” hum, that’s a bit intense isn’t it? Oh wow, that’s how some women look with hair on their legs“. Because you know what? I’ve only, once in my lifetime, seen a woman sporting hair on her legs. I was in SF for a work trip, and this lady on the bus had a gorgeous dress and super long dark legs hair. Isn’t it crazy that it was the first time I’d seen hair on a woman’s legs?

My mum doesn’t have any body hair really, and is a little bit proud about it, which really did not help when as a teen, I had to use Jolen cream on my mustache to dye it blond. I was so envious of her and so self-conscious about my body hair. Though to be fair, she did tried her best to help me out you know, with dealing with those unwanted hair. I think I first got my legs waxed at 13 because she did not want me to shave, and told me that if I kept on waxing, I’d have way less hair as an adult. Of course, one summer, tired of having to watch my hair grow enough so I could get them waxed, I got my first razor, and the rest is history.

Boys definitely did not help with the body hair and stache situation. I grew up in the 90’s, I don’t think it got better, and have no idea how kids deal with it nowadays. But back in the days, it was very painful, and it has ruined the “already-not-that-high” self confidence I had. I’m actually so thankful for beauty bloggers who speak out about how they get rid of their body hair, and also thankful for this article on Man Repeller. You do you, for sure. I believe it’s brave in a way to let your hair go au naturel. I certainly don’t feel like I could do it anytime soon. Yet this article really made me think about the endless conversations about body hair with my beautician, my sisters, my friends… And after reading it, and reminiscing all the hair removal questions that I had when I was a kid, and all the shaming there is around body hair, I kept thinking : “Why should our eyelashes be dark and long and our body hair non-existent?”

On that topic, I’d recommend you read Haley Nahman’s article, and read Man Repeller all together because it’s a super smart website. Nadine Baggott and Emma Guns did a good video about hair removal if you feel like you need advice in that department, oh and this conversation on, you guessed it, Man Repeller, is super interesting as well.

Anyway, no real answers but a lot of questions, thank me later right? I’d love to know what you think about this topic though!

This Cult Hair Brush Does Not Disappoint

I have been the proud owner of a Mason Pearson brush for almost a year now, and I felt like I had to share this discovery with you because, it truly is an amazing item. You may have heard of the brand, as it’s almost always featured in beauty and fashion magazines, celebrities interviews and on Into The Gloss as THE only hairbrush you should own. Well, I’m not here to tell you the contrary. It is absolutely worth the money, and has completely changed the way I take care of my hair.

I’ve chosen the Bristle and Nylon version, which basically is for normal to thick or long hair. I picked up the Pocket version because it’s cheaper (I paid 70 euros for mine in January 2017, I feel like it’s gone up in price since then, oops) and also, the size’s great for traveling. Because, yes, these brushes are expensive. Here’s why, and I quote Mason Pearson’s website : “Mason Pearson hairbrushes are not mass produced. Most of the work is carried out by hand, using techniques pioneered and patented by the founder – Mason Pearson – over one hundred and thirty years ago and improved by succeeding generations.”

Therefore I’m happy to pay that amount, and I hope it’ll last for at least a decade!

What I love about it is how it somehow massages my scalp when I use it. It is the best hair detangler (I own the wet brush, the Mason Pearson I find way better), the best way to make your hair super shiny and generally, and it might be thanks to the high quality bristles, it does for sure makes my hair look and feel healthier. It might also have to do with how dedicated I am to brush my hair now!

I bought mine on the french website Oh My Cream, and to be fair I’m glad I did because I feel like it’s not that easy to get them online. It’s definitely a luxury, I’m well aware of that. But you know how you buy brushes quite often because they’re never right and a bit cheap? I don’t have to do that anymore. The Mason Pearson brush is also a beautiful item, and seeing it on my bathroom shelf everyday brings me joy!

Is It Ever Really “Just Hair”?

You know how when you go to the hairdresser, you have this image in your head of the new hairstyle you want, of the new woman you’re going to be when you leave the salon. Right? Especially when you’re in need of change, and just feel like you need to do something quite drastic, but can’t actually think of anything else than, well, changing your hair!

The other day I had an hour to spare because I had dropped off my glasses to get them updated to a new correction. One hour. Not wanting to browse in a bookshop, not feeling like having a coffee (it would have been the 4th one that day so, no-no), not feeling like anything really. Except, maybe, a spontaneous haircut. I walked up to a salon I’d been before ages ago. Googled them in front of the door to check if I needed to book an appointment which obviously was completely unnecessary because, I was in front of the door. Do you do that sometimes? I certainly do when I’m not feeling my best.

I had this idea of a “Baby in Dirty Dancing vibe” you know? You don’t? She has curly hair. I do to. That’s about all we have in common, but it’s enough.

Anyway, I went in, someone was on the phone telling a client they had no spot available that day so I thought, “well, that’s that, spontaneous doesn’t work for me.” Then, I spoke to one of the hairdressers and almost apologized for asking if maybe they might have some free time now, like in, now. The guy was super nice and told me, of course, have a sit. I freaked out. Inside my head. But still, I FREAKED OUT. A minute before I was smoking a cigarette outside the salon, a minute later, I was having my hair washed.

Obviously, there was a massaging chair, which I just do not like. Let’s be real, It’s NOT a massage. It’s like an annoying moving chair in my opinion. They asked me if I wanted coffee, I wondered, and quickly enough, remembered I was already way too caffeinated at that point. Then the “what do you want then Darling? Fancy a big change?” question popped up. Did I mention I was freaking out?

I had this idea of a “Baby in Dirty Dancing vibe” you know? You don’t? She has curly hair. I do to. That’s about all we have in common, but it’s enough. I also had this vision of Charlotte Rampling’s long layered hair with a grown out fringe. Usually when I go to the hairdresser, I bring pictures which really helps, if you don’t do that already, you should give it a try, it’s life changing. But I did not this time because, it doesn’t really go with trying to be spontaneous I guess.

I had envisioned this new version of myself, with layered but not thinned out hair, a long romantic sort of fringe, a newborn confidence and potentially a new inner strength.

There I am, in the chair, telling the lovely hairdresser that I want to let my hair grow, that I’m letting my curls be but I’d like some structure instead of a long grown out bob, and that a long fringe would look nice, right?

During the process, I’m thinking, “It’s fine. Hair grows. Oh that looks more like a proper fringe… Fine. I’ll have a fringe. It’s not like I can’t put my hair up. Is he still cutting my hair? Don’t look at the floor. Oh I don’t have to, I have hair all over my white jeans. Good. I have no hair left. Fine.” How dramatic!

I had envisioned this new version of myself, with layered but not thinned out hair, a long romantic sort of fringe, a newborn confidence and potentially a new inner strength, all that revealed by the best haircut of all times. I guess in a way, I wanted to walk out and be someone else which is not an easy thing to admit. However, I believe it’s fine to acknowledge it. Don’t we all, sometimes? I feel the need to mention that this is a rhetorical question.

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Fast forward an hour. I walked out with the curliest hair ever and a straight fringe which is not the best look (see the photo, I manage it better myself these days, but not there yet!), tiny little hair all over my face and the immediate feeling of needing to pull my hair back. Got my glasses back and a compliment on the haircut which was lovely. Came back home and felt like I’d been in an actual roller coaster. Started to text my friends, and did not really get the answers I wanted because I was simply not able to formulate the terrible question. Was this a mistake?

Now, I’m not Baby, nor Charlotte Rampling, but even if it’s not exactly the style I had in mind, I feel pretty good about it. It’ll grow out and look better I hope. I do find myself having to sort of straighten the fringe because it’s quite short… Doesn’t this description makes it seem like it looks horrendous? Ha. Though honestly, I like it!

The moral of the story is : I’m not someone else. I’m not necessarily a better version of myself. I have freshly cut hair though. I am a tiny bit more spontaneous that a few days ago. I can now say, “I had a fringe once, it was not necessary per se”. Actually you know what? I am a better version of myself because I tried something new.

You might think, “OMG, what is she on about, it’s just hair!”

But, is it really?

The only shampoo I always come back to

You may know I’ve decided to stop straightening my hair in January, so I know have to deal with curly hair, which is way more high maintenance that I thought. I’m also trying to use nice sulfate free shampoos and shower gels, not that easy to find actually. For shower gels actually, the ones I’m really happy about are by Weleda, a gorgeous organic and natural brand, check them out if you’re looking for a gentle shower gel, they’re really good!

So I’ve been experimenting with a few different things, and to be honest I don’t have any cult product to tell you about because none of the stuff I’ve been trying out is good enough in my opinion. Except for this Christophe Robin Antioxidant Cleansing Milk with 4 oils and blueberry that I’ve been using for literally years.

I’m quite low maintenance nowadays because I simply wash my hair, sometimes put a cream to coat the curls and make my hair a bit more defined/bouncy and that’s it. It’s been quite warm the last few weeks, so I tend to air dry my hair. In the winter however, I blow dry my hair with a diffuser. My goal is either to look like Andie MacDowell in the old days, meaning, when she embraced her natural curls, or to look like a freshly washed golden retriever with soft curls…

This gorgeous shampoo is paraben, silicone, SLS and colorant free which makes it extremely gentle therefore my scalp does not get irritated. It is aimed at dry or highlighted hair and I can definitely feel how it sort of hydrates and conditions the hair without leaving it feeling heavy or greasy at all. It also has a very interesting creamy texture, kind of like a cleansing cream you’d use on your face, which I’m not mad about because it makes the whole “washing my hair” routine, that I usually hate, more luxurious and somehow enjoyable! Christophe Robin is a very well know french hairdresser who launched his brand back in 1999 only using the finest ingredients and truly thinking about how to make women feel better in their own…hair. He’s really inspiring and though his brand is quite expensive, I believe the price to be legitimate because of the quality of the formulas. The packaging’s not bad either you know… Which is always an added bonus.

It takes me a long time to use it up as well so it’s worth it! I’ve tried a few other products from the brand that I liked, but this shampoo definitely is something that I won’t stop using any time soon because I truly believe it’s changed my hair in the best possible way!

Do let me know if you know of any gentle shampoos, and even masks, my curly hair journey‘s just started…

Curly hair, letting go and a new identity in the making

I spent New Year’s Eve in London with my friends. It was after the Christmas madness, trying to see as many people in our respective families as we could. We arrived in London, knackered. But really happy. I always look forward to going back to what once felt like my town.

The first morning, I washed my hair and realized I had forgotten my oh so expensive, but oh so amazing, pocket Mason Pearson’s brush. I thought to myself “Am I really going to borrow a brush from my friend, that’s not going to work like my usual one and then plug my straighteners, but first blowdry my hair, just because I don’t feel confident enough to just let my hair be…?” I decided. Non. So I left my hair do their own thing. Which had not really happened in years. I guess I felt confortable enough to do it, to quit, cold turkey.

When I was 19, my mum kindly got me straighteners because I wanted to give this styling tool a try. Well, I tried, let me tell you.

So we left to have lunch in a pub in Chelsea. It was windy, my hair was wet, but for some reason I felt ok, almost nice actually. It might have had to do with the fact that my friends really encouraged me. Encourage me ? To do what you might think. Well, to me, letting my hair curl, be au naturel, is a new identity. Dry, my hair was actually really, really curly. It had not been this way in almost 10 years.

When I was 19, my mum kindly got me straighteners because I wanted to give this styling tool a try. Well, I tried, let me tell you. The minute I straightened my first piece of hair, I knew I wanted to look like this forever. It was a new me. The closest I could be to kinda have hair like the actresses, singers, stars I’d grew up watching on TV, or seing in magazines. It made me feel more sophisticated, put together. Also, even though it’s actually harder to control straightened hair over curls, I felt like I was in total control. Paradoxically because I had to hide from the rain, (and it rains a lot where I live), hide from humidity, sleep with my hair tied up sometimes, not to mess up with the shape, and bring my straighteners anytime I’d go away somewhere for more than one night. But I felt good.

At least for the first few years. But as I was getting older, I felt guilty in a way to pretend I had this shinny, soft, frizz-free hair. Don’t get me wrong, I wear makeup and I love it, but I could go out without it. I don’t feel trapped when I put makeup on : it actually makes me deeply happy. It’s like being a kid again. I’m playing with colors, textures, looks. It’s refreshing and lovely.

But straightening my hair was not fun. It would take ages, and damage my hair quite badly. And again, the weather or a forgotten tool would make me feel shitty about myself.

Going out without doing anything to my hair was simply not something I was able to consider. That’s when it started to be an issue. Therefore, I had in mind I would stop that nonsense one day. Weirdly enough… I would always find myself excuses not to. But, when in London…

Back to now. When my hair was dry in London, in the Pub, my friends all noticed a difference, and one of them even said, “you look great and it looks like you’ve put some efforts into this look because of how nice the curls are”. This warmed my heart. And not only because it was very kind of my dear friend to say so. But because, it made me think that I looked pulled together, and sophisticated. See ? Why would I want that anyway ? Isn’t natural good enough ?

Before…

As you may be able to see on the pictures above, top left is when I used to straighten my hair. So, since that day, I haven’t blowdried my hair, or used a straightener. And I look more like the two other picures… When I came back from London, it was not that easy. I did not like it, thought I looked weird, different but not in a good way, not put together. But I pushed through these feelings, and I’m ok now.

It might appear frivolous but I would strongly say it is not. Hair can be such a big part of one’s identity. It’s funny how emotions, feelings, hopes can be attached to it.

With straight/put together hair I was armed to be strong, confident, and pretty. Needless to say I did not feel like that, but that’s how tricky it gets. If with pretty, controlled hair I did not feel amazing, how would it be with natural, curly, messy hair ? Who would want to know honestly ? I did not. Until a few weeks ago.

I don’t know why. It just happened. And I’m feeling brave in a way. Detached as well. Because curly hair just do what it wants to do really.

So I have to accept that and frankly ? It is so bloody liberating.

So it begins. I’ll take you on this journey with me ! Next up ? Products for curls !

Klorane does the best…

There are so many dry shampoos on the market nowadays, I thought I’d let you know what my favorite is. Because I have tried the ones making your hair smell like a margarita, the ones making your hair like cardboard, the ones doing absolutely nothing, so I would love to simplify your life and make it easier for you to get a dry shampoo that simply does the job.

I touch my hair all the time. ~~I also use my straighteners to revamp my curl every other day~~. Update : I’ve actually stopped using styling tools a few weeks ago. I will write a dedicated blog post about my journey with curly hair ! Back to the article…

What I’m trying to say is : it gets dirty after two-ish days. And I hate to wash my hair, which is not the perfect combination.

It does make your hair white, and a bit chalky if you put too much which I’m often guilty of, it’s not actual magic.

I’ve tried many dry shampoos like I said, but I do love my french pharmacy products and I have to say, the Klorane classic dry shampoo is the best one I’ve tried. Not the one for brunettes, or the one for greasy hair with nettle, no no. The classic oat milk version.

It does make your hair white, and a bit chalky if you put too much which I’m often guilty of, it’s not actual magic.

But spray it in your hair, give it two minutes to absorb the excess “oil” ~~sorry, hate this word too~~. Then brush or just run your fingers through your hair if like me you have curly-ish hair and voilà ! It adds volume, makes the hair lighter and fresher, and allows me to add a day without washing my hair. Also sometimes when my hair is too clean and soft, I add a touch at the roots just to give it a bit more texture.

The smell is light, and it does not linger. It costs around 8 €.

Parfait !