This is another one of those just-for-fun posts … like all of them, I guess. A while ago, I was coiffing my two older girls and was struck by how different their hair was. I gave Fay an explanation about the kind of hair she had and then sort of ran with the idea. And so, I give you the fabrics of Monson family hair.
Fay and Elisabeth
That fateful day where I was explaining Fay’s hair to her, I likened her hair to fine silk. I have a silk scarf I received as a gift in China back in the day, and Fay’s hair is exactly like that. It is thin, delicate, and easily moves into whatever shape you want it to be in: a braid, a ponytail, a bun. When you handle Fay’s hair (and it has recently been brushed), it is nearly as smooth and fluid as water. Fay has exactly my same hair.
My hair, right now, however, is the damaged version of silk due to my having bleached it several times. Perhaps it is akin to having washed that delicate silk scarf in heavy duty detergent and then left in the dryer for 2 hours. My hair is still thin and delicate; but not quite so smooth and fluid at the moment.
Carter and Helen
It is hard to get a really excellent picture of what Carter and Helen’s hair is like, because they both have short hair. Hopefully we will get some more length on Helen in the next year. 🙂 But both of them clearly have courser hair than Fay, so I would liken their hair to a t-shirt knit fabric. Not as smooth as silk; but still easy enough to manipulate. Helen’s might be a thinner t-shirt like you would buy at a fashion store and Carter’s might be more the kind you get for free at a sporting event. But they both respond well to combing and gel. And Helen’s even has a decent amount of wave to it when it is longer and the air is moist enough. (I don’t know that that feature is necessarily typical of t-shirts; but it is certainly worth mentioning.)
Portia
Portia’s hair is more like a stiff, durable canvas. It is thick, moderately course, and doesn’t seem to damage at all. It is, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful hair in the world. <3 But nothing can be totally perfect, right? Whereas Fay’s hair will do basically anything you want it to do–as previously mentioned–Portia’s hair is less willing to be manipulated. It has to be quite long before it will go into a braid or anything of the sort. And those cute little pony/piggy tails you put in little girls’ hair are basically out of the question because of how thick her hair is. Her hair, whether short or long, seems meant to be worn down. It looks amazing and healthy at any length.
Josh
Josh’s hair is something else. I liken his hair to a thick, course, heavy duty, don’t-mess-with-me wool. Maybe like a rug. It will only tolerate being combed to Josh’s right; if he tries to do ANYTHING else with it, it just ends up kind of fluffy and chaotic. Even the strongest gel usually only has a small, short-lived effect. But after battling with his mane for the past 20 years, Josh has figured out a few things that if he does just right, altogether, will help him tame his hair for about a day. The upside to Josh’s hair is that is probably not going anywhere any time soon. I feel like, even if he started “thinning” today, it would take him about 30 years to go bald. And, let me assure you, he has not started thinning. I usually cut Josh’s hair for him, and his pile of hair after 8 weeks of growth is probably three times the amount of hair that I saw on the floor when I chopped my hair from long to pixie.
Bianca
I don’t know of a fabric that truly matches Bianca’s hair; but perhaps the closest bet is Seer-sucker. Because Bianca has curls!!!! I am beyond obsessed! If you let her hair go multiple days without washing it in the dry weather, and comb it multiple times it kind of smooths out; but most of the time you can’t stop it from curling! Josh’s family has some curl/wave genes and so I really hope Bianca’s curls are here to stay!
Anyway, thanks for joining me in this brief study of our family’s hair. If you want to share the fabric you feel your hair resembles, I would love to hear!