What's Happening to Your Hair?!

There was a time when I was in high school that I could run my hands through my hair and it would bounce right back into place. I could go for a run. I could fall down on the ground and roll around. Hurricane winds could pulverize me into surrounding trees, but my hair would bounce right back. I had the hair of a Ken doll. I had the build of a Ken doll too but that wasn't my fault. I was a late bloomer. Let's save that for another story.

My hair was full and it had great curls. When I went to the barber, I always received the nicest compliments on my hair. Often there were expressions of desire to have hair like mine. It used to grow so full and so fast, that I could probably donate it to some of those great causes if they were around in those days. Unfortunately, they were not. So on those days I sat in the barber's chair, my severed locks would cover the floor to the extent that onlookers would believe the color of the floor was chestnut brown. It was a site to behold.

Then something started to happen. I couldn't say exactly when it started. Strangely enough it seemed to happen overnight. This probably isn't the case. I probably just wasn't paying much attention. More importantly, I probably just didn't care because it wasn't particularly noticeable. However, one day while out with some friends, someone remarked that I was going grey. My first instinct was that this was a joke. I laughed. I might have even said something like "good one" or "you almost got me". However, my friend persisted. He asked me if I needed a sweater and maybe a cane. Clearly an attempt at some kind of elderly person joke. Not a good one. I wasn't really listening anymore having convinced myself that it was just an attempt at a bad joke.

Shortly after this incident, I was having dinner with my mom when she made an unusual comment. She said I looked particularly distinguished. I couldn't imagine why. I wasn't wearing anything out of the ordinary. The comment was unusual since compliments were not common place at the dinner table. Usually, my family couldn't even sit together for an extended period of time. There was always something better to watch on television or something to do just about anywhere else. Most of our dinners were take out from the kitchen. My mom went on to say that she liked how I looked. She said it made me look more grown up. When I finally asked what she was talking about she mentioned the grey hair around my temples.

I jumped from the table and headed towards the washroom. I looked in the mirror and there it was. How did I not notice this before? Did it just happen that morning? Almost like magic it had appeared. Despite my best efforts, it could not be dusted out. It looked as though somebody had taken a paint brush and gently dabbed my temples with grey. It wasn't prevalent but it was definitely there. It wasn't that disturbing. I was in university at the time and didn't consider myself that old. It just left me wondering a little bit about how my body may have been changing.

Oh the changes they were a coming! I didn't give the hair a second thought until many years later. Sure there were a couple times I tried a rinse to get rid of the grey. It worked. It always managed to come back. It wasn't a major concern so I didn't think much of it again. Then one day I realized that even when my hair was growing long, it just wasn't the same as when I was younger. The bounce and curl had disappeared and it had straightened out. The action was gone. A girl I knew introduced me to some product I could use to give it some life. I wasn't a big product guy but I tried it and it was alright. Often times I can't be bothered in the morning so the baseball cap wins.

Just when I thought the transformation was over there was more. While picking up some groceries off the floor for my father-in-law he mentions to me that I'm starting to thin a little on top. My father-in-law and I have a great relationship. Well, we did. Anyway I didn't believe it so I went home to look in the mirror. I was able to position my wife's vanity mirror behind my head and there it was. This thinning spot had emerged. When did that happen? What is with the overnight surprises? I'm still a very young man. These things weren't supposed to happen for a while. Apparently there is no set schedule. The change in hair is based on a hormone that your body starts producing at puberty. At puberty! All these years my own body had been conspiring against me!

Here's the best part. As the hair has begun to travel away from the top of my head, it has relocated to other parts of my body. There's some in the ears, some on the back and some has even managed to take up real estate directly above the crack in my buttocks. This has just been a remarkable experience. So remember, if you still have a full head of healthy hair, be grateful. Look at it in the mirror in the morning and say thank you. Just understand that one day that hair will decide to go off and do its own thing. It will realize that it's time for it to go and make its own way in the world. That's when all you will have left are the memories of those special times you shared together.