Kristine has sported everything from a pixie cut to long layers. Now that she's got kids in tow, she's had to find a way to make her locks match her lifestyle.
Kristine's Story
"When I first met my husband, I dyed my hair blue and it was short and standing straight up."
I loved short hair. When I first started wearing short hair, the clips were coming in with the beads and the jewels, and I loved it. I started having babies when I was 36, so I was stuck at home a lot more. It was harder to get a cut every four to six weeks so I decided I would let it grow. I wanted to be able to pull it back whenever I could, because with babies come parks, play dates and spit up. It just became easy and simple to have long hair.
"Having kids changed my hair."
After the second pregnancy my hair got more wiry, dryer and thinner. The first baby didn't do it as much, but the girl did. They say the girl takes all your beauty and leaves, which is fine because she is beautiful. But my hair has paid for her being so beautiful.
"If you have kids, you want to be as young as possible."
I started having kids a little later in life, so when they were little I was going gray. I met a wonderful girl who is a hairstylist and she said, "You need to do something with your hair. Even though you're staying home with your kids, you need to get some highlights." The gray was coming in, which was horrifying. It would come in a big blob, and it just looked terrible. I started coloring the gray and adding highlights, taking better care of myself that way.
"Changing my hair at first felt unnatural."
I was so used to brown, so highlights were really a big change. But the more people said things like, "You look so great with blonde hair," "It looks beautiful," I started to get used to it. But it did feel kind of funny at first, kind of fake. Now I change it to go with the seasons. When winter comes I like to go back to a cooler color, since in the winter my face lightens up and my skin gets paler and the blonde doesn't look as good. I spend a lot of time in the sun all summer long when I am off with my kids, so my hair gets blonde very easily in the summer.
"Fixing my hair is harder with long hair, but the right tools make it manageable."
I found a blow dryer that has an attached curling part. It has the brush attached to it, so I don't have to use a brush and a blow dryer. Now I use the one thing where you pull it out, twist it and hold it for a moment and heat it, and you get straightness with a curl at the end. It lets me have hair that matches my lifestyle.
