Tangled

Went out for dinner with my friend Liz and her partner Donnie. During meal the subject of Celtic Curses came up. These are a long list of complaints — from hemochromatosis to rosacea — that are common amongst people with Scottish Ancestry. Liz brought up Fairy Locks, which I hadn’t heard of before but immediately recognized as something I’ve been living with my whole life.

Basically it’s when your hair tangles and knots mysteriously (as if by fairy work) and is extremely painful to comb it out. If i did wear my hair pulled back or wrapped at night (usually the former because my loaf-of-bread headshape rejects sleep turbans), i will wake up with matted tresses. As a child, i dreaded having my hair brushed (my grandmother called me ”Tender Headed.” I learned to fingercomb loads of conditioner through my tresses to detangle. Brushing is still agony.

Liz then mentioned that she switched up her brushes and it was a game changer. I spotted this Aveda Wood Handled brush at the Dollarama and after reading excellent reviews for its detangling abilities (and noting that it was priced at $39 online as opposed to $4 at the dollar store), I decided to give it a go.

Here’s the verdict. It does not prevent Fairy Knots but it does make brushing my hair less painful. My hair has gotten so very long over the pandemic and frizzy because of the climate crisis, and using this paddle brush also makes it smoother. This kind of nane-brand find is rare at Dollarama (I’m still kicking myself for not stocking up on Jonathan Adler iPhone cases when I had the chance) and I wish I had got two just in case one wore out.

I also bought a bunch of hand and foot masks and moisturizers to soften up my dried out extemities. Will give them a go later this week.