As I was
driving home that night, I was thinking, "Well, if it's salt that
does it, why don't I just pour some salt water on my hair before I go
outside?" And thus began the Great Salt Experiment.
Before I
took Una, my dog, for a walk, I dissolved some salt in a glass and poured
the salt water over my head. But I soon found out why it wasn't the best
idea in the world. As soon as it dried, my hair was stiff and sticky,
much the same way it feels after a swim in the ocean. And I always assumed
that was from the pollution.
I didn't
figure a summer's worth of this would do anything wonderful for my hair,
so I abandoned that idea. But then I came up with Plan B.
If it's
the combination of sweat and sun that lightens the hair, I figure I have
a brilliant plan. My daily routine has involved exercising, taking a shower
and then taking Una for a long walk. I'll simply reverse the order, walking
Una immediately after exercising. This, of course, means I'll also have
more of an incentive to work up a sweat.
Now that
I know what caused the great highlights I used to have, it makes more
sense to me that I used to get them. The summer between high school and
my freshman year of college, I was in a drum and bugle corps, which would
practice outside daily and march in shows and parades, working up a sweat.
The summer
following my freshman year of college, I was a counselor at a summer camp,
where we were outside pretty much morning to life, running around, playing
games, working up a sweat and also swam in a chlorine pool practically
every day.
And the
other summers I spent in college and grad school, not only did I walk
everywhere at Penn State, but I spent a good deal of time outside, hiking
at parks and things like that.
It was only
when I entered the workforce that thing changed dramatically and I spent
the better part of most summer days inside, in air conditioning.
It will
be great to see if the Great Salt Experiment has any sort of an effect.
I figure it's worth a shot. And it's cheaper than a salon.
|