Addition: When I want to look extra good, I use a shine spray. And for parties, I sometimes use a glitter spray.

Efbgen, I remember ironing hair with an iron and using frozen orange juice containers to roll hair up with to straighten it. My sister and I use to do that. Now if you looked at a picture of me as a teenager you would wonder why I straightened my hair! It was already pretty straight and waist length. But even one little wave needed to be banished.

I have super thick, straight dark hair and am currently growing out a layered cut. I get bored with my hair, but looking at old photos, I am happiest with it when it is a longer bob. I always think shorter will be easier, but have come to realize that is actually more work for me. A combo of very thick hair and rapidly growing grey roots (which means no structure to support the hair) has made me decide to keep it simple (one length, or very long layers), so I can focus on keeping up with the color. And if I decide to go grey, I think I’d like a longer bob the best.

I try to wash my hair every other day, sometimes every third day, but struggle with that schedule in warmer months when I feel gross and sweaty.

I like experimenting with product, and my new favorite is Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray. Pricey, but worth it! I use it as a root lift, but it’s great on second day hair, too.

Ahh hair! A good hair day makes me feel great, a bad hair day makes me feel terrible.

I had long hair until high school (Marcia Brady) and then chopped it off (Dorothy Hamill) and wore it very short for most of my adult life after that. I have always had fairly thick and medium coarse, wavy hair. As I have gotten older it has gotten curlier. Just a few years ago I decided enough with straightening it and now it is in a short graduated bob. I tried it with bangs but they never worked because of the funky waves so I grew them out. Not sure I like the big forehead look but it is easier so I guess I'll keep it. It has gotten dryer as I have gotten older too so now I only have to wash once a week. I do totally wet it in the shower each morning and style it with some curl gel and a diffuser on my blow dryer. I only dry it enough to get the general shape I want and then let it air dry the rest of the way.

I have gotten very gray lately and would love to let it go but after a lifetime of dark hair it is hard to imagine my face with light hair. So I color every month with root touch ups in between. Quite a hassle.

Such an interesting thread. I'll have to come back later to catch up with the rest of the comments
.
My hair has a slight natural wave and has been short for most of my life, except for the usual long-hair look during my teens - actually, shoulder length would be more accurate. Since then it's been some version of layered bob or pixie, and just a few weeks ago I reverted to the pixie again after a few "bob" years!

I started lightening my ash blonde/mousy locks in my early teens, and remained blonde until about 6 years ago when I let the grey come through. Sometimes, though, I feel the urge to add a few highlights to brighten the colour a little, and this will usually be during the winter months, when I feel a somewhat lacking in colour.
.
I wash my hair every other day, and prefer to just finger dry it so that it looks natural rather than too perfect.

I have fine blonde hair. There is quite a bit of it, but it is very fine, so not a lot of volume. It is wavy and is easy to blow dry, although will go fluffy if I don't style it after washing.

When exercising I like to tie my hair up. I recently had my hair cut into a long bob, and that is easy. For special occasions or if it is just looking terrible, I will either straighten it or use curling irons to properly style it.

Most of the time I am happy with my hair, but it can be hit and miss. I get my hair cut regularly, and have blonde highlights put in every 6 weeks. In the week just before I get it cut, it starts to be harder to style.

I once dyed my hair red, but as much as I love red hair on others (I was very influenced by Linda Evangelista at the time) on me it was terrible. Since that failed experiment, I have kept my hair blonde. My husband really likes it blonde too and for him, the blonder it is, the better.

I use a purple conditioner to keep my hair from going brassy. I keep buying deep conditioner treatments and forget to use them. I tend to be pretty lazy with my hair.

efbgen - I think we are spirit sisters (hair, pant inseam, wardrobe control issues) including Bozo reference!

staysfit - my hair story is similar to yours

I had short hair most of my childhood. Mother claims my hair was a rat's nest of curls and she would cut it herself when it got too long. She says that she would just pull out a curl one at a time and cut them all to,an even length all over my head. I went away to boarding school around age 10-11 and without access to Mom my hair grew to just below shoulder length. Pictures from that time show it pulled back into a low ponytail. I was running cross country and track, and swimming in junior high. It took hours for my thick curly coarse hair to dry. At 14 I had my first haircut at a 'his and hers' barbershop - they cut off two stubby braids and then gave me a short layered cut - the same one my brother had, sort of like Donny Osmond in the early days. The next year blow dryers hit mass market, and French braids were on trend. *sigh*

I've spent the last 30 years alternating between short and just above shoulder length. The past 2-3 years I have been enamoured of what I've seen called the 'long pixie' with very short sides and back and a long bang. Unfortunately I'm very lax with upkeep (haircuts at 8-12 weeks) and my unrully hair resembles Lyle Lovett's more than any fashionista. If I give in to the temptation of a sleek blow-out, I end up looking like Andy Warhol.

Now that I am retired and don't have to wake up at the crack of stupid to commute to work or be at the gym until 10pm I'm fussing a bit more with my grooming. I'm hoping to grow it out into a short inverted bob style - like Consuelo Blocker (pics #5) or 'Carrie' during her brief short hair period, or Tilda Swinton in Constantine.

I messed with colour for 3 years in my early 50's, but it wasn't for me. My hair is bout 50% white according to my hairdresser so reads as sandy coloured. There aren't a lot of pics of greying redheads on the 'net, but I did find pic #8 - and that seems to be the way I'm going.

I shampoo after I swim or when I'm soaked with sweat - 2-3 X per week. I use a leave in conditioner for curly hair. I style with my fingers or a 'fro pick.

You were adorable as a child Carla! How sweet. I love pic #6. "Carrie". That looks like an awesome cut. You are right about redheads and going grey. My hair was strawberry blonde, blondish red and golden blonde. As I have gotten older my hair gets lighter and lighter. I still think of my hair as being the colour of the pic (late 1980s).

Hi RunCarla,

I too had short hair since high school, then growing it a bit, and going back short. it's just been recent that I've kept this bob look which I'm still unsure about .

Part of me wants to go back short but then part of me wants to keep this bob for a while longer. I'm also graying faster so I feel that longer hair hides some of the grays, hence the hesitation on going short again. We shall see.

My hair does it's own thing seasonally and since the humid weather is upon us, my hair gets quite frizzy and uncontrollable. At this point, I wash/condition every other day or 3d day. I put on a leave in conditioner then blow dry it straight non-rainy days. I exercise during lunch and sometimes my hairs tends to wave depending on the amount of sweating I do.

Runcarla, those childhood pics are adorable -- I can really see the current you in both of them! And Style Fan, I love that shot of you on the beach -- it could easily be a movie poster or an album cover.

Carla, I love the look of the Consuelo Blocker hairstyle for you--it's very womanly, with a touch of mischief, and seems to suit the way your hair grows naturally. It's always a boon when you find a style that needs a minimum of hair-wrestling!

My hair is my nemesis in some ways.

I have fine, curly hair. Despite hating being a girl as a kid, I never felt like cutting it. So I don't think scissors touched my hair until I was in my 20s, when I realized I should at least trim the split ends. Needless to say, my hair did not always look awesome in those days. It is fine enough that it forms giant tangles if I don't care for it. In retrospect I wish I'd gotten in the habit of cutting it as a small child, but after a while it just felt like cutting my hair would change who I was irrevocably, or something.

But, by high school I'd figured out things like conditioner, avoiding brushing it (vs combing it with conditioner), etc, and it was not a disaster, though I could have been a lot more stylish with a bit of attention to it.

In my 20s I got my first professional haircut, which looked awesome. Though I only got it cut twice. In my 30s I found a hair stylist who was great with curls, and she's also the one who did the undercut. I was really attached to having long hair, but I wanted something edgy, and this was the perfect solution. I wish I'd done it years earlier. That stylist moved to Portland (common story - SF is too expensive for anyone but tech folks these days) and my new one isn't quite as good, so I'm still on the lookout.

I alternate between wearing it down and up in a messy bun. I can tell I need a haircut because just in the past few weeks it's been hard to get the bun right -- too much hair. I cut it every 6 months or so. I can almost imagine cutting it short now, but I don't see any particular need to. Though, they just discontinued my magic detangling conditioner, so I might cut it out of frustration!

Runcarla- spirit sisters indeed!
Every June my mom would put my hair in “banana curls” then drag me to a local hairdresser who would cut off all the curls leaving me with hair as short as in your pics ( the hair dresser would cut the curls and my mother’s hair that day in payment for my curls which she sold to wig maker). That went on for years until one day I put my foot down and demanded my curls. Omg what a fiasco-lol. Mom had to fork over payment for my cut and could not get her free cut that day- woo-boy!
From that point on she cut my hair at home....... but brought my banana curls to hairdresser for her free cut. Pregnancy ( or post pregnancy) hair went more wavy frizzy than curly. Rarely do I let my hair go natural anymore because I just looks like a wild woman and while it might be better short- it is not as flattering on me as on many YLF Friends. And while my hair was not as red as yours- to this day you can see red in my hair (that which hasn’t turned gray.)
Not just hair, inseam, rectangle and desire to exercise control over that which we can control....... spent all my childhood summers in Ontario.
Will try to get baby pic that shows curls.

efbgen - did you ever get spanked on TV by Bozo for your birthday?

La Ped - notice the red shoes? In both pics!

efbgen, I'm sorry that your mom did that to your curls! That sounds traumatizing.

Runcarla, I love the idea of the Consuelo Barker style for you. It looks like your have very similar hair textures and curl patterns.

Gigi- I survived just fine. Kept those curls til I left home lol.

Run Carla- Say what?? You got it on tape for law enforcement I hope! Omg I can’t believe he did that- holy smokes. No wonder you are not fond of Bozo- and “it’s got nuthin to do with da hair”. How old were you? For heavens sake- unbelievable! They wouldn’t get away with it now for sure.

My hair. A major transition is underway. I was born a dark brunette. My hair is thick and has a strong wave. It holds a curl well. It also is a magnet for humidity, which makes it grow and look like I am stuck in the 80s.
After colorIng my hair for 30 years I decided to go gray. It has been a fairly gentle, but long process. My stylist is amazing and has helped keep my hair looking its best during this process. I am 10 months into the transition and lovIng the changes. I have probably 8-10 months before all the old color grows out.
To keep my new, lighter locks from looking wiry and frizzing, we have been doing Brazilian Blowout treatments. Gosh, how I love having smooth sleek hair! While my natural gray (which has a lot of white and silver) makes its way down to the length I want, I am going to stick with a long bobish shape, with a few long layers cut in, for movement. Once all my hair is my own color, I may give up the length and allows the natural wave to take over again. I may want a shorter and sassier style. For now, having the smooth length is a security blanket of sorts. I think it helps me look polished as I go gray, instead of an old lady who quit trying. I never want to be her.

My hair is long.. past my shoulders. I go to the stylist every 8 weeks I guess for some color/highlights and a cut. I am always changing something whether it be the color or the style. I get bored with my hair easily. I have natural curl to my hair so I can either wear it curly or blow dry. I can curl with an iron or straighten it so it's very boho. All depends on my mood. I am a runner so I will wear it back in a pony tail when running or I just put on a ball hat for the weekends when I'm just rushing around doing errands.

Carla, I think your inspiration hair styles would be fantastic for you, especially the Consuelo Blocker one, which has a nice, natural vibe to it that would suit your style to a t (imho!).

My hair ... I vary the length and occasionally do some layers, but generally a shoulder-length, simple bob is my go-to. I will often straighten it quickly with the flat iron, or, if I skip washing it a day, will thrown in a few messy curls with the curling iron to perk it up a little. The cut I have now works pretty well when I just air-dry it, too.

The one thing I've become more vigilant about it conditioning; as I get older, my hair tends towards being dry. I condition daily, and use a keratin treatment once a week (just an in-the-shower one). On occasion, I'll get the hair stylist to do a treatment to deep-condition it. I spray in some argan oil potion after I blowdry.

And I color it back to my original natural color due to graying - a medium ash brown (my natural color is probably dark, but that looks a little harsh in dye form). I vainly love my natural color and will keep it for as long as humanly and chemically possible!

I had longish hair all through childhood and until I got pregnant at 25 (never managed to grow it beyond the middle of my shoulder blades though! It just seemed to stop growing at that point) and usually wore it in a ponytail since I dislike having bits hanging in my face, then during the pregnancy I got a pixie cut - so much easier to wash/care for, especially since we didn't have a shower so I had to wash it leaning over the bath edge!
I started dying it red (from a very dark brown/almost black) shortly after Child was born - I always wanted to go red, and then seemed a good time to do it! It's been a pixie cut and various shades of red since then! I don't have it cut as much as I probably should have, and in fact it needs cutting now. But money is tight, so I'll probably get my mum to trim the 'edges' when she next comes round, and get it cut properly in a couple of weeks. Once Child is back at school (Easter hols here right now) I can get it done at the hairdressers near her school.