Blow

I read once that your hair changes every seven years.  As a curly haired middle-schooler this gave me great hope for a future of glossy long blond hair in my high school years, even though I had not been blond since kindergarten and the only way I knew how to do my hair was in a slicked back bun.  I was often mistaken for a ballerina who had just come from a show and had left her hair done after haphazardly throwing on some ill-fitting cords and heading out the door.  Awkward childhood memories aside, my hair did not turn blond in high school nor did it straighten out.  Those with high maintenance hair can appreciate this tale and those who can hop out of the shower and air dry into a Pantene Pro-V commercial - no need to read on thank you very much.

For the wavy haired ladies out there, had we only had more than our ten dollar allowance and lived in New York City, we could have saved ourselves from a few uncomfortable class photos by frequenting my newest discovery: Blow.  Blow is a 'blow dry bar' in New York City that specializes in on-the-go blow outs done by professionals trained in their very own Blow Dry Academy (I know, only in New York).  I went in for the standard blow dry and when I began my usual hand-holding and hair coaching (Its wavy but you need to blow dry it straight, but keep the volume, and the wave, but only at the ends), the stylist smiled and told me he knew exactly what I meant as opposed to the eye roll I usually receive at hair salons.  Forty dollars and thirty minutes later I was out the door with the glossy mane that would have made my middle-school self proud.  Hopefully by our mid-twenties we have all learned how to manage our hair a bit more gracefully than when we were younger,  but if anyone ever asked you in your preteens if your head hurt because your hair was so tightly slicked back, this might be just the place for you.