CAROL'S COLUMN
Views & tips from your side of the counter........

Cutting Remarks

Here we go again! I've bitten my nails to the quick, fiddled with my necklace until it snapped and a red sweat rash is creeping up my neck. I've tried yoga, meditation and drinking the odd glass of wine or three. I've been up doing the ironing at four in the morning and taken to watching the shopping channel til daybreak (Sad!) A bad attack of nerves? You bet! Taking an important exam? Not quite! Getting married? Not that I know of!

No, I'm afraid it's far more serious than that. I'm getting my hair cut! Correction - I'm 'thinking' of getting my hair cut. Actually cut. With scissors. Real scissors this time, by a real hairdresser.(At least she say's she's a real hairdresser) Anyway her name's Michelle and hairdressers are always called Michelle, everyone knows that. You remember Shelly, my very patient and long suffering stylist? She's the one who rescued me from the green hair disasters and Kevin Keegan home perms over the last fifteen years. She styles all my family's hair, poor girl, and she's the only hairdresser ever to keep my fidgety child still long enough to crop his thatch. (Actually she hit him round the head with a paddle brush but what the heck?) She listens patiently to my mothers accounts of arthritis and deafness and has steadfastly tried to bully my sister into growing her hair just that little bit more than an inch all over. She can dress any hair-man, woman and child from a simple bob to an elaborate up-do. But I do always detect that note of trepidation when I ring for an appointment. In fact, she's taken to coming to the house so I don't put her other clients off!

You see we go through this performance every time I make this life-shattering decision . To cut or not to cut- that is the question. After the self-administered curl-cutting ceremony the other week (Remember?) I have to admit that the urge to snip bits off is back. I wake up every day with the strange desire to 'have-a-go' and that's when I know it's time to visit either my stylist or a therapist . Actually, I think that they're one and the same thing. I know what the trouble is. It's big birthday time again and as the figures increase I feel that awful need women get to 'reinvent' themselves. Well, maybe 'reinvent' is rather too dramatic for mousey me but I do need some fine-tuning.

I have two main problems though. Firstly, although I'd love a shorter more manageable style, will I really like it? And secondly, will he like it? Yes him. You see my main barrier to the new me is the old him. My other half (bless his little mismatched socks) is one of those blokes who like their women stuck in a time-warp (Like them!). You know, Farah Fawcett flicks, Pamela Anderson boobs and hot pink lipstick. Well unfortunately I don't want the first, haven't a hope in hell for the second, and pink lipstick? It's just not me , as they say. I'm definately more akin to Ally McBeal than Melinda Messenger and maybe that's my fear ( and his!). Will I look like a boy with short hair? Admittedly, I'm more at home in jeans than lilac Lycra and the high heels haven't seen the light of day in years. Perhaps my long, curly mop is my femininity?

It's funny though, short hair on TV celebs doesn't seem to bother his lordship. When I recently pointed out Demi Moore's extremely short haircut his only comment was "Ah yes but of course she's got the face to carry it off!". Needless to say I did not cook tea that night and accidentally managed to drop his favourite white shirt into the washing up water.

Well Demi Moore I'm certainly not and maybe I won't have all my hair cut off but I'm definately trimming this fringe tomorrow! (And maybe I'll reshape his eyebrows while he's asleep!)

Oh Yes, the boy has done it again! No I haven't joined the Charles Worthington fan club but it does seem that his products and my hair have a definate affinity. I've just tried conditioners from the 'Dream Hair' range and it definately gets the thumbs up. It has a really rich texture and a lovely floral smell. It really did the job on my dry, prone to frizz hair. A bit pricey at around £6.00 a bottle but nice for a special treat. A recent article in a top magazine gave it 10 out of 10 for all round performance.
Other conditioners rate as follows-

Big & Beautiful - Umberto Gianni - £4.45
Rated 10 out of 10. Readers loved its fresh smell and detangleability. It smoothed flyaway hair and performed especially well on fine hair. Economical too as a little bit went a long way.

Sheer Blonde - John Frieda - £4.25
Rated 9 out of 10. Reputed to enhance blonde hair with continued use, readers found this de-tangled hair really well and left hair silky. The mild toffee smell might not be to everyone's taste though.

Citrus CR - Elvive - £2.39
Rated 8 out of 10. As the name suggests a truly fruity citrus smell, it combed through really well and left hair really shiny. Performed better on normal to greasy hair, possibly not for you if you are prone to frizz.

Hair Repair - Swiss Formula - £3.95
Rated 8 out of 10. This has a really rich, creamy formula. Described as fresh smelling it detangled well and left hair smooth, soft and manageable.

It seems that all of the conditioners performed really well and with all the products out there on the market there's bound to be one that suits you. Make sure you read the labels to find out which will suit your hair type and remember conditioners often work better if you use the corresponding shampoo from the same range. With summer on the way ( yes honestly!) now's a great time to start getting your hair into great condition.