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A review by littlemissparadox
Me, My Hair, and I: Twenty-Seven Women Untangle an Obsession by Elizabeth Benedict
2.0
2.5 stars
Overall this was good. It was interesting. One author made me laugh out loud her essay was so funny, I would read more of her stuff. I even screenshotted a page from my library-borrowed ebook to send to my best friend and boyfriend, who also laughed. I learned some more about hair in other cultures. One author was a friend of Amy Tan and that was pretty neat. Two authors handled chemotherapy and I loved each of their stories for different reasons. One talked about her husband stroking her hair every night, and continued to do so when they were both bald (he for support, she for chemotherapy).
My rating doesn’t reflect any of this essays individually. The essays themselves ranged from 3-5 stars for sure. Twenty-seven essays is a lot. And frankly it got… repetitive. I got really sick of hearing about Joni Mitchell and wedges and “the bubble” and Jackie Kennedy and flat irons. I get that there’s only so many places to go with hair but it got almost a little ridiculous. One reviewer pointed out that this group of authors felt a little homogeneous and I have to agree. By midway it was all really starting to blend and I just wanted to finish the book. While there was some (but really not enough) racial and cultural diversity, it seemed most authors had similar backgrounds and hair journeys and opinions. They were also nearly all the same age, and I really don’t know why. Only one or two were noticeably young. It was also a little frustrating that some authors took it upon themselves to tell the reader What To Do and the Right Way to approach hair. The one about pubic hair came off downright condescending.
Finally I will say that this was interesting to read while working as a receptionist in a salon. My whole day revolves around hair and people needing services and scheduling their services. Around women who need to get their hair cut and dyed in this many weeks or else. While reading this book I watched a stylist friend of mine cut her own bangs again after thinking about it for weeks and almost immediately regretting it because it’s never gone well before but not truly regretting it since they’ll grow back to her regular curtain bangs soon anyways.
Meanwhile in my Snapchat memories my former balayaged red and almost-black hair was popping up. And I thought about how I missed it but didn’t miss the messiness of vivids. And my stylist friends talking me into doing it again since they know how to achieve the look with dye that won’t transfer like vivids do. And I work at a salon with free services for employees so I might as well. And me showing them my former black and blue and red and blonde and brown dye jobs. And my differing haircuts. And my chip from lower back hair to short hair for the first time in about 9 years. And realizing that with my thick wavy and fast growing hair I really have had the chance and privilege to experiment a lot (in a way many clients might be… afraid to). And I just think that’s neat.
This book was good enough just not what I had hoped for. It did help me to reflect on my day to day though.
Overall this was good. It was interesting. One author made me laugh out loud her essay was so funny, I would read more of her stuff. I even screenshotted a page from my library-borrowed ebook to send to my best friend and boyfriend, who also laughed. I learned some more about hair in other cultures. One author was a friend of Amy Tan and that was pretty neat. Two authors handled chemotherapy and I loved each of their stories for different reasons. One talked about her husband stroking her hair every night, and continued to do so when they were both bald (he for support, she for chemotherapy).
My rating doesn’t reflect any of this essays individually. The essays themselves ranged from 3-5 stars for sure. Twenty-seven essays is a lot. And frankly it got… repetitive. I got really sick of hearing about Joni Mitchell and wedges and “the bubble” and Jackie Kennedy and flat irons. I get that there’s only so many places to go with hair but it got almost a little ridiculous. One reviewer pointed out that this group of authors felt a little homogeneous and I have to agree. By midway it was all really starting to blend and I just wanted to finish the book. While there was some (but really not enough) racial and cultural diversity, it seemed most authors had similar backgrounds and hair journeys and opinions. They were also nearly all the same age, and I really don’t know why. Only one or two were noticeably young. It was also a little frustrating that some authors took it upon themselves to tell the reader What To Do and the Right Way to approach hair. The one about pubic hair came off downright condescending.
Finally I will say that this was interesting to read while working as a receptionist in a salon. My whole day revolves around hair and people needing services and scheduling their services. Around women who need to get their hair cut and dyed in this many weeks or else. While reading this book I watched a stylist friend of mine cut her own bangs again after thinking about it for weeks and almost immediately regretting it because it’s never gone well before but not truly regretting it since they’ll grow back to her regular curtain bangs soon anyways.
Meanwhile in my Snapchat memories my former balayaged red and almost-black hair was popping up. And I thought about how I missed it but didn’t miss the messiness of vivids. And my stylist friends talking me into doing it again since they know how to achieve the look with dye that won’t transfer like vivids do. And I work at a salon with free services for employees so I might as well. And me showing them my former black and blue and red and blonde and brown dye jobs. And my differing haircuts. And my chip from lower back hair to short hair for the first time in about 9 years. And realizing that with my thick wavy and fast growing hair I really have had the chance and privilege to experiment a lot (in a way many clients might be… afraid to). And I just think that’s neat.
This book was good enough just not what I had hoped for. It did help me to reflect on my day to day though.