Blow

Don't look now--or maybe you should look now, and be careful--but blow drying is back "after the big hair boom of the early 80s."

This Guardian article by Paula Cocozza traces the blow dry's fall from grace since then: the introduction of the shampoo+conditioner in the late 80s designed to speed up the trip from shower to street, to the rise of grunge, then came the gradual sneaking in with Jennifer Aniston's Rachel haircut. Cocozza says that the Rachel isn't really about the cut itself but the styling--the focus is on straightening, not volume.

I suppose on this side of the universe, the straightening aspect is more pronounced. There's also rebonding trend since the early 2000s, which I think caught on because of a certain group of Taiwanese boys, and now we have been rebonded to death. But now, I see more girls with curlier hair, or if not that, a more obviously stylized look.

Now don't ask me why I know all this. I myself am not given to sitting down in salon chairs. But every once in a while, it does feel nice to have someone else take care of your own hair. And it's better if the entire thing can be done in the span of time that one conducts a quick text conversation. Danier Hersheson credits the return of blow drying to convenience, a kind of "hairdressing meets Starbucks." The moment a person leaves that chair in a "hair spa," what she gets is her dream hair-something that she didn't think she even had. A blow dry without shampooing costs a hundred in a neighborhood parlor, more if you go to a more established place. But if you are determined, you can find a place that can give you a good hair day for the amazing price of fifty pesos. We acquire glamour for a short period of time and at a good price. Cocozza calls this "the commodification of hair - hair that has been given a name, turned into something we can buy."

The article ends with how to do a great blow dry at home. Cocozza warns us: "Don't touch blow-dried hair." It's as if it will blow up if you do touch it. But if you really must, then proceed with caution as though you're dealing with a landmine: "If you need to get it out of your eyes, flick it by moving your head. If you must touch it, put your hand under the back of your hair and flick from underneath."