Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don’t tell them to grow up and out of it
Changes, David Bowie 1971, Hunky Dory
While 2020 was notable for many things, for a number of women and men March of 2020 marked the Covid-19 closing of hair salons and barbershops. Instead of chatting with your stylist or barber and just shooting the breeze with fellow clients there was silence and panic.
Whether you have high, low, or medium maintenance hair, taking a seat in the chair meant your hair worries were taken care of. Many of us had standing appointments with our beauticians for shampooing, conditioning, coloring, cutting, or trimming. Some had keratin treatments, relaxers, or curly perms. When the doors shut, you had to figure it out and fast.
Once upon a time, when a woman was north of forty or fifty plus, they were expected to cut their hair short. The reasoning seemed to be that long hair was for younger women, which is nonsense. How a woman wants to style her hair is her call. If you like it long, keep it. Love it short, do you!
However, Covid-19 said do your own hair and many of us were left scrambling. About six years ago, I stopped getting relaxers and went back to my natural hair. It wasn’t a journey I wanted to go on by myself, so I consulted with a professional and had a standing appointment to get my hair done every two weeks. TJ did everything. She customized my hair color, washed and conditioned my hair with intermittent outside trims. I had no worries. Then I was in Connecticut for a stretch and when I was about to come back to New York, everything was on lockdown. I had to figure it out and fast.
I’d always worn my hair straight, first with a relaxer and then with a blowout. I didn’t have a clue what I would look like with curly hair. I’m not a teenager anymore. Then I did some research and checked in with professionals for advice on what type of products to use. I was pleasantly surprised to see there are a lot of choices and products to use for curly hair. After all, the reason I went straight to begin was the fact there wasn’t any one product line or product for curly hair (Caucasian or African American). Thankfully that changed. I ordered what I needed online and I was able to get some things fairly quickly, but certain items like hair color, I had to buy in bulk. I couldn’t afford to get a bottle or two, there are a whole lot of Clairol devotees out there.
If there was a good thing to come out of this hair wise, it was an opportunity to embrace change. Maybe you had dark brunette colored hair and you tried your hand at highlights, or maybe the ombre-craze. If you were covering up the grey roots, maybe you decided to go full-on silver shoulder length hair. Locks, twists, streaks, highlights, low-lights, braids, the list goes on. As long as you weren’t working with chemicals (hair color doesn’t count as one to me), your only limit was your imagination. You had the chance to create a look of your own.
Well, we are not in lockdown anymore, but social distancing is still in place. Most of us are able to make appointments to see our favorite hair magic practitioners, and I suppose the plus side is there are no more walk-ins, everything is by appointment, which is safe for both us and the stylists.
If you changed your hair and you’re still not used to seeing the new you in the mirror, don’t avoid the mirror. Like the late great David Bowie sang, ‘turn and face the strange’. It’s not that bad even in the face of time.
Ch-ch-changes
Pretty soon now you’re gonna get older
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time
Changes, David Bowie 1971 Hunky Dory
Having a hair moment, have a cup of tea or decaf with a scone.
Blueberry Scones recipe by Chef Parisi adapted by me
For the Scones:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (gluten-free all-purpose, 1 to 1 gluten-free baking blend, sorghum, sweet rice, or brown rice flour)
• 1/2 cup sugar + 1 tablespoons sugar (Swerve sweetener, Splenda granulated, coconut, raw cane, or turbinado sugar)
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• pinch of sea salt
• 2/3 sticks cold unsalted butter (vegan butter, margarine)
• 1/2 cup cold buttermilk (1/2 cup of almond, rice, or soy milk plus 1 ½ teaspoons of lemon juice to apple cider vinegar. Stir and let sit for five minutes.)
• 1 large eggs (3 tablespoons Aquafaba, ¼ cup silken tofu pureed with 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, 1 flaxseed or chia seed egg, or egg replacer)
• 3/4 cups fresh blueberries
• melted unsalted butter (vegan butter, margarine)
For the Glaze:
• 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar (Organic confectioner’s sugar, Swerve confectioner’s sugar substitute)
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoons whole milk (dairy: 2% or non-fat) (non-dairy; almond, rice, or soy milk)
Makes 6 scones
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Resting Time: 45 minutes
1/2. Preheat the oven to 375°.
1. Add the flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt to a large bowl and mix with a whisk.
1 1/2. Next, grate the butter on a cheese grater and fold it into the dry ingredients.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together the buttermilk and eggs and add it to the bowl with the dry ingredients and using a rubber spatula or spoon mix until it becomes a dough.
2 1/2. Fold in the blue berries gently until completely combined into the dough.
3. Place the dough onto a clean surface dusted with flour and roll out until it is 1/2” thick.
3 1/2. Cut the dough into 6 triangle pieces and place them into a circle 1/8” to 1/4” apart from one another on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.
4. Chill the dough on the sheet tray in the refrigerator to harden the butter in the dough for 10 to 12 1/2 minutes.
4 1/2. Remove the dough and brush with melted butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoons of sugar.
- Bake at 187 1/2° for 12 1/2 to 15 minutes or until the edges turn lightly brown. Remove and place on a rack and cool to room temperature.
- To Make a flaxseed or chia seed egg. Mix 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed or chia seeds with three tablespoons of cold water. Let it sit at least five minutes.
- Be careful when buying flaxseed to get plain flaxseed, not toasted flaxseed.