The Shower Cap Chronicle

I wrote about a certain rite of passage a while back. When my son was first reading it, he thought I was going to say it was cable TV that I was struggling to avoid and then caved and bought. I'm still resisting cable, but we did get a digital converter and an antennae.

Some people were unsure what the big deal was about a measly shower cap. Some people understood my dilemma immediately. Shower caps were worn by grandmothers or mothers, not hip and happenin'gals!

Perhaps a little background is in order:

When I was growing up in California, I had wash-n-wear hair. Who didn't? There was a brief stint with the curling iron when they became popular in the late 70's, but for the most part hair was worn long and straight and parted in the middle. Since I had long and VERY straight hair, this was simple!

Also, I must confess, I hated taking showers.

The main reason for this is that our house was always cold.

Not really, Mom! It was great!

I could see my breath in my room.

Only on the coldest days, Mom. Most of the time, it was just a little chilly.

I couldn't wait for the spring thaw.

Because our house was mildly chilly (Eskimos built igloos in my closet), I learned how to avoid exposing any skin to a cold and drafty shower for as long as possible. See, not only was our house mildly chilly, we never had real water pressure or lots of hot water. The water pressure in the shower was so low, we practically had to run around in the shower to get wet!

Baths were a luxury. I remember once heating water on the stove to try to have enough hot water for a nice, long soak. Mom soon nixed this and told me to just get in and get out. Moms have a way of getting to the point like that. So, I showered only when I absolutely had to and the other times I would do a spit and polish at the sink with the space heater full blast.

Ah, the memories!

Mom always had a shower cap hanging in the bathroom and I'd played with it once or twice, but I never saw the real purpose. Mom bravely showered daily, but didn't wash her hair each time. I never really thought much of it but remembered the times she would dry her hair at night and then put some curls in it in the morning before work. All this at 5:30 a.m., plus putting out lunch money or lunches, making her own lunch, then heading off for her work day; I still don't know how she did it.

Since I no longer have my wash-n-wear surfer girl hair, I found a new reason to avoid showers. I hate having to dry and iron my hair. I would try to keep it from getting wet when I showered, or I would try to wrap it in a towel (cumbersome and usually slipped off). Since I was already a pro at the spit and polish at the sink, I once again kept showers to a minimum.

Don't judge me.

Since washing hair daily is actually harmful to hair and scalp, I guess one day I had an epiphany - what if I were to get some kind of cap to keep my hair dry while I was in the shower?

Ok, those of you who have figured this out long ago can go ahead and laugh. Some of us take a little longer.

Now, with my handy-dandy shower cap, life has been a dream. It works so well, in fact, that Himself thinks it's an every day solution.

I have to take a shower and it's a hair day.

Why don't you use the cap?

Using the cap won't help in this case! I actually have to wash it.

But the cap! The cap!

On New Year's Eve, I used the cap. I was thrilled when a teen girl turned to her companion and, after pointing to me discreetly, whispered, "See? That's how my hair was SUPPOSED to look. Instead, I got this horrible haircut!"

If she only knew.