So, this may sound weird coming from a 34 year old woman, but lately I've become obsessed with Shaun White's hair. Maybe it's my own hair speaking--limp, softer than soft, vaguely wavy, and tragically finer after the birth of two babies than it was in the lushness of its youth. Sure, I can still get it up--if I employ an arsenal that's the equivalent of hair Viagra: volumizing shampoo & conditioner, volumizing spray, round brush, curling iron, hairspray, more hairspray, sea salt spray, and/or hair powder. Wake up with Victoria's Secret model locks I do not, folks.
But to idolize the unkempt ginger tresses of a 26 year old male snowboarder? If I'm having some sort of a third-of-life crisis at 34 (ok, that's generous, but don't tell me I'm approaching midlife), shouldn't I be veering more towards the genre of the botoxed and melon-boobed cougar? Actually, I think that this is exactly what I'm veering away from: the oversprayed barrel curls in the hair extensions resting delicately upon the shoulders of starlets and wannabes everywhere. We've all had it with that look--at least, I have--and following an inclination that inspires most of my fashion and beauty impulses (that is, to buck it when it becomes too too mainstream), I'm over it. What I'm into these days is hair that looks real not because it's been styled to look that way, but because it's legit. White's hair is (correction--was--he just cut it all off and donated it to locks of love, which is beside the point) the real deal: a wild mane that's a bit natty from the sun and surf, and which just refuses to be tamed.
I want to make it happen for me, but it just seems a bit lame to spend hours and five products getting your hair to look like you don't give a whaaat. How about a compromise--10 minutes, one curling iron, and one product? Who's down?
Enter CHI Digital Ceramic Orbit Styler 3/4". One of those no-clamp curling irons that looks like it has no business in your bathroom and all its business in Samantha Jones' bedroom. The job is easy: working on dry hair, curl small sections haphazardly in opposing directions. Allow to cool, fluff with fingers or brush out with boar bristle brush, and mist through with beach spray (I like Bumble & Bumble). Done and done. Even without any hairspray or prep products (though I do confess to a light misting of Phytovolume Actif before roughly blow drying), I have shiny, extremely springy curls that last all day and overnight. This is major for my hair, which is usually unwilling to hold a curl for long without a generous dose of hairspray. CHI claims that "far infrared and negative ions help reduce static while giving curls bounce, shine, and moisture;" I can't vouch for the technology because I'm not an engineer, but I can tell you that this is an apt description of the way my hair looks and feels after using the iron. Did I mention that it heats up to 410 degrees in under 10 seconds? It's no longer a time crunch if I decide to curl my hair last minute or forget to plug in my iron before showering. In short, it's a world apart from Hot Tools and Conair, the makers of the other curling irons that I have at home. Even other brands of curling iron that claim to be ionic and/or ceramic (such as my Conair) haven't left my hair this shiny or curls this durable.
The best part is that I finally get my big rockstar hair, and it stays. Meet you in the halfpipe, Mr. White. Or we'll just catch up for apres drinks in the lodge, and you can tell me how my hair goes as big as you do in the halfpipe. Boom!
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