Hogged

I have a love/hate relationship with manes.

I have to admit, I'm a purist when it comes to hairdos. I want a neatly pulled mane, I want it all to lay flat on the right side of the neck, and I want it to STAY like that. I don't want hair flying in every direction and it drives me crazy when it does. I want everything to look neat and tidy, and not like I have a wild hairy mountain goat that doesn't get properly groomed. I WANT ORDER, MANE HAIRS. YOU STAY PUT.

But they never stay put. I can painstakingly pull and braid the hair over, but it always flies right back to where it doesn't belong. I spent almost two years perfecting Gogo's mane, which reached a beautiful pulled pinnacle right in time for the AECs. TWO YEARS worth of painstaking braiding and pulling and meticulous care, but I did it.

The perfect mane:

Oh, how beautiful. 

Well, here's what it looked like MOST of the time:

OH GOD WHY.

When she retired, I couldn't stand it anymore. I threw up my hands and said F*!@^ it, I'm shaving the whole thing off. (I did the same thing with Quincy, ironically. His mane was just as horrible!)

She looked a little bit naked at first, like they all do...

But when it grew in a little....

BAM! That is one sexy look. 

Now that I have O, I am having a similar hair issue. O's mane, even with excessive braiding over and pulling, is just plain EVERYWHERE all the time. 

QUELLE HORREUR. 

I brushed, I pulled, I braided over. I watched it fly right back to where it wanted to be - everywhere. I tried again. Again, it went off like the atom bomb when it came out of braids. BOOM - hair everywhere.

Finally, I snapped. NO MORE OF THIS HAIR. She's not show-ready yet, so I don't need to worry about braids (and anyway, if you have a hogged mane that's perfectly acceptable at events). I decided that if I hated it, it would grow back, no harm no foul.

That settled it. It was time for a roach.

Bzzzz.... what's that sound? MY CLIPPERS SINGING THE SONG OF THEIR PEOPLE? 

ALL GONE!

That's not exactly a flattering picture - she was asleep and her neck was understandably sagging because of it. I'll get better ones tomorrow.

When it grows in a little, and I can sculpt it a bit.... OH YEA. It's going to look completely amazing. I REGRET NOTHING. Well, except not getting better pictures of it today.

Stay tuned, because not only did she get a shave and a haircut today, but she also JUMPED for the first time... more on that soon!!