a post about hair.
I just discovered this in The Chalet School and Barbara*:
Matron looked her up and down. "Yes; well, your hair won't do like that," she said briskly. "Have you brushed it at all this morning?"
"Oh, yes, Matron," Barbara assured her.
"Not very well, I'm afraid. Here, slip on your dressing-gown, sit down at the mirror and give it a good hard brushing. A curly crop like yours needs that twice a day if you're to escape tangles and pullings. I'll strip your bed for you and show you how you are to do it for the future."
Barbara did as she was told; but after watching her attempts for about half a minute, Matron took the brush from her. "My dear girl! Has no one ever shown you how to brush your hair properly. What were Nancy and Beth thinking about?"
"Mummy always did it for me," her victim explained humbly."I see. But here, you must do it for yourself, you know. Start at the crown of your head and draw the bristles down with a firm, steady stroke. Go all round your head and if you do it rightly, your scalp should be tingling by the time you've finished."
The curlyheaded among you (
istari_lady certainly) are probably cringing at this as much as I am. If I were to x-post this to
curlyhair I suspect there would be casualties. Consider how many innocent young curlyhaired girls read this as children and actually thought that this was what they were supposed to do with their hair.
I remember the revelation it was when I first learnt that I could deal with my hair (and make it stay pretty and curly and manageable) by detangling it from the bottom up with a wide toothed comb and keeping it well conditioned. I'm not sure what took me so long, but I wonder if it was some sort of subliminal remembrance of Matron. It's pretty obvious EBD doesn't have a clue, considering I've read at least two references to how curly girls have it easy because their hair always looks neat (wtf?)
sw_aadisht suggests that jihad against Elinor M Brent-Dyer be declared (though it's hard to see how this would affect her at this point) but I suspect he's secretly mocking me.
While on the subject of hair, lots of excellent people have been posting on it recently. PF and Kiya and
athenemiranda here, where she also links to this post by angry black woman that I'd never read before (thanks thene!).
For those of you who are interested, my current haircare routine (to counter Calcutta's onslaught on said hair) consists of coconut-oil-then-mild-shampoo once every two days with occasional application of product. It's simple and it works, and this is really the first time I've achieved this.
Er. In conclusion, curls are important and political and EBD is evil, much like those people who told impressionable young women to wear eyeshadow that matched their clothes during the previous century.
*Thanks to
sabethea I am now well supplied with Chalet school reading and have been getting through a few a day.
Matron looked her up and down. "Yes; well, your hair won't do like that," she said briskly. "Have you brushed it at all this morning?"
"Oh, yes, Matron," Barbara assured her.
"Not very well, I'm afraid. Here, slip on your dressing-gown, sit down at the mirror and give it a good hard brushing. A curly crop like yours needs that twice a day if you're to escape tangles and pullings. I'll strip your bed for you and show you how you are to do it for the future."
Barbara did as she was told; but after watching her attempts for about half a minute, Matron took the brush from her. "My dear girl! Has no one ever shown you how to brush your hair properly. What were Nancy and Beth thinking about?"
"Mummy always did it for me," her victim explained humbly."I see. But here, you must do it for yourself, you know. Start at the crown of your head and draw the bristles down with a firm, steady stroke. Go all round your head and if you do it rightly, your scalp should be tingling by the time you've finished."
The curlyheaded among you (
istari_lady certainly) are probably cringing at this as much as I am. If I were to x-post this to
curlyhair I suspect there would be casualties. Consider how many innocent young curlyhaired girls read this as children and actually thought that this was what they were supposed to do with their hair.
I remember the revelation it was when I first learnt that I could deal with my hair (and make it stay pretty and curly and manageable) by detangling it from the bottom up with a wide toothed comb and keeping it well conditioned. I'm not sure what took me so long, but I wonder if it was some sort of subliminal remembrance of Matron. It's pretty obvious EBD doesn't have a clue, considering I've read at least two references to how curly girls have it easy because their hair always looks neat (wtf?)
sw_aadisht suggests that jihad against Elinor M Brent-Dyer be declared (though it's hard to see how this would affect her at this point) but I suspect he's secretly mocking me.
While on the subject of hair, lots of excellent people have been posting on it recently. PF and Kiya and
athenemiranda here, where she also links to this post by angry black woman that I'd never read before (thanks thene!).
For those of you who are interested, my current haircare routine (to counter Calcutta's onslaught on said hair) consists of coconut-oil-then-mild-shampoo once every two days with occasional application of product. It's simple and it works, and this is really the first time I've achieved this.
Er. In conclusion, curls are important and political and EBD is evil, much like those people who told impressionable young women to wear eyeshadow that matched their clothes during the previous century.
*Thanks to
sabethea I am now well supplied with Chalet school reading and have been getting through a few a day.