Hair Flair

Warning: girly post.

As I’ve stated before, dancing is an unusual activity in that it is athletic, but also artistic, and therefore most dancers want to look good when they dance. This can pose various problems. Makeup must not run. Clothes must stretch. Shoes must be comfortable. And all jewelry must be secured.

Speaking as someone who has had earrings fly off in the middle of a fast Lindy, reminded of said fact by the man the earrings had flown into, the last is perhaps the most important. Drippy mascara and a giant rip might cause one embarrassment, but it doesn’t hurt anyone else. Sparkling missiles do.

And that goes for hair adornments as well as the more traditional jewels. As much as I love my rhinestone clips and bands, they won’t stay in my hair. At least, the way I wear my hair; I don’t like it to be lacquered within an inch of its life. But I have found something fun to add a bit of dance safe sparkle to one’s hair…hair on a clip.

These things are called various names…if you do a search for “clip in hair” you will find them. (I like easiLites for real ones, Clarie’s for synthetic.) Both real and fake have their ups and downs. Real hair has an inherent creepiness…just whose hair was it? The up side is it looks, well, real, even when it is dyed wild colors. You can put them in and curl them as you would your own.

The synthetic kind is plastic. It looks it. However, since it isn’t real, you can find pure colors and tinsel not ever found with real locks. Another down side is you can’t use a curling iron. Trust me on this one. I wasn’t stupid enough to do it on purpose, but one evening I was in a hurry and…let’s just say I ruined a perfectly good iron.

Both are easy to put in, stay firmly in place, and are easy to remove. For the holidays they are especially nice. New Year’s Eve I’m wearing a glittery rainbow top and hair flair to match. Ahhh, New Year’s…where too much sparkle is never enough.