Keeping Jungle Woman at bay

So it's a bit embarrassing to admit, but I've always been a bit vain about my hair. Until a handful of years ago, it was quite frustrating for me to figure out how to get it looking its best, and then how to keep it looking good throughout the day. Once I finally got that process figured out a few years back, I went through a couple years of pretty good hair. But then, about a year ago, my carpool to and from work disbanded, and I began taking the bus to and from work. This involved spending about 15-20 minutes outside, between walking to the bus stop (~2 blocks) and then waiting for the bus, and then walking from the bus stop in Redmond to my office (~3 blocks). Soon as the fall -- and rainy season -- rolled around, I discovered that no matter how lovely my hair looked as I left the house, once I got into my office, the slightly moist air outside (whether it was raining or not) makes my inner Jungle Woman come out -- the top layers of my hair get frizzy, and the ends start flipping inside out. This really bugged me, not only due to the whole vanity thing, but because when my hair frizzes, I can see those frizzed hairs in my peripheral vision and it drives me crazy -- especially since the bulk of my day is spent sitting in front of a computer without much head movement.

My solution was to bring to the office my old cheapo hair straightener (a $35 model that I eventually tossed aside for a $200 model, which was well worth the extra dough) and just leave it there. That way I could re-straighten the problem areas as soon as I got in. I did this for several months, though I always cringed a bit as I used the cheapo straightener, as it doesn't do as good of a job as my expensive T3 one, and isn't as gentle on my hair, but it was my only option. Then, one day, when I was hiking up the hill to my bus stop one morning and there was just a slight drizzle, a light bulb went off -- what if I pulled my hood on over my hair to keep the moist air from hitting it? So I wrangled my hair into sort of a bun thingie (with no ponytail holder or anything, though) and stuffed it up under my hood. Did the same thing on the walk into the office in Redmond, and voila! When I took off the hood my hair looked great!

So that's my fabulous new trick, ladies. When it's raining more than a slight drizzle, I'll have the hood on and will hold an umbrella too, which I'm sure looks weird, but protects my belongings, clothing and face better. I also put on the hood even when it's not raining but is just moist out. Yes, this looks weird too, but whatevs. My excuse if someone mentions that it's not raining is "Yeah, I know, but my head is cold!"