Desperately Seeking Hairstyle!

WANTED:  Hair-STYLE!


Another day, another ponytail.

Mid-life new-mommyhood has thrown a whole new kink into the life of my hair.

Let's just call it what it is-- a disco

 tragedy.  Too straight to be curly, too wavy to be straight, 

too gray to be brunette, too dark to be blonde...too frizzy to go au naturel, and too thick to blowdry efficiently without standing over my own head.

It's a daily struggle to find a way to leave the house without:

a)embarrassing my teenage daughter,

b)spending a fortune on products,

c)taking 40 minutes to blowdry,

d)chasing down a ponytail holder (last known address: securing cabinet doors in the kitchen, hoping to keep out a curious toddler),

e)all of the above nonsense!

Being almost 5'10", I've gotten used to the fact that pixie-perfect short hair

 usually looks best on pint-sized, Hollywood bodies.   Think Paris Hilton.  And post-baby, that ain't me!!  Nothing screams "soccer mom" like a Geraldine Ferraro knockoff on a middle-age gal wearing a "loose" sweater and comfortable shoes!

But with a terrorist toddler to tend, how does a mom who used to have some style (not to mention energy!) get put together enough to feel good leaving the house?   Blowdrying usually involves a little guy with a runny nose clinging to my calves and drooling baby toothpaste on my shoes.   So most days, the ponytail prevails.

I read in some hipster-mom magazine that the new "fresh" ponytail involves some crown

 teasing, spray shine, elastic and a hairband.  Note how my attempt looks more like a bad science project, or Kilauea on crack!

If anyone knows of a fabulous, easy-care, low-maintenance/high-style do that works for seriously color-treated hair that's curly-straight, do tell!!  In the meantime,  I'll be bent over the kitchen cabinets, unwinding elastic from the knobs and standing guard over the tupperware in my ponytail!