I don't know when my obsession with hair started, but I think it can be traced back to Janine. You see, I think the hair obsession started when I became Janine's personal guinea pig when she read in a magazine that you could dye hair with kool-aid. Guess who she asked to test it out on? I think I was in junior high then, and Janine was the cooler older sister, so I went along with it, and then I really loved it. I started wanting to bleach and dye my hair crazy colors, and cut it off and shave it underneath. Janine, of course, encouraged me, much to my parents' dismay. I have many, many hair disaster stories, and I am a sucker for a boy with cool hair. High school was the first time I saw a boy named Opie with that floppy skater hair - the long hair flop in front of his eye with the rest of it shaved! He was so cool, but I was too chicken to ever talk to him, and I think he had a crush on Janine anyway. [Ed. note: No, he did not! I hung out with him once and talked to him the whole time about how cool Jess was.] But here are a few stories for you, and some hair advice and tidbits. Enjoy!

Tip #1 - Everybody should shave their heads at least once in their lives!
OK, I admit that my most recent head shaving was accidental, when a friend of mine told me she was going to trim my hair for me. She told me she could do it with a clipper without actually shaving my head. But she did, my hair was gone all exdcept two longer pieces in the front. I hated it, but I must admit, it felt soooo good in the summer, and during the growing out phase, gave birth to some of my best hair styles yet. I had the cutest little pixie cut, and now it's all uneven and mod cut and still growing! If you just shave it off, you will discover new hair styles that you might never have had the guts to try otherwise. My only other advice is this: If you shave your head, and you are looking for a really close shave, do not just take a Bic disposable razor and go at it in the shower. It causes severe razor burn on your head. I know this from experience (it's a long story). Good luck and happy shaving!

Tip #2 - Let your friends cut yer hair
The reason I say this is because I always keep my hair choppy, and I happen to think that it looks awesome. Choppy, messy hair is so NOW! But if you go to like some ten dollar chop shop place and ask them to give you a choppy. uneven cut, they'll either a.) look at you like you are nuts, b.) layer or feather your hair by mistake or c.) give you a speech on how beautiful your hair is, and ignore the choppy request and give you some bob cut so you look like a tart that just got a ten dollar haircut. Friends, on the other hand, will charge you nothing and just go at it. They'll do whatever you want because they are just so psyched that you let them cut your hair in the first place. And if they are doing a lousy job, you won't feel bad yelliung at them. The only other way to get a good choppy cut is to pay like eight hundred dollars and go to a salon in New York with Kate Moss or something and get it done by some hip hairdresser to the stars.

Tip #3 - Find a good hairdresser anyway
Now, I do support the friend as hairdresser theory, but on occasion, there will be royal screwups. Bleached hair turned orange, a really awful haircut that you just can't stand, something of that nature. And let me tell you, you cannot put a price on a really good haircut done right. Pay any amount you have to if your hair needs fixing that bad! There is no excuse for bad hair - ever! When you find a good hairdresser - keep them, get to know them, send them flowers and cherish them.

And here is a quote from one of my favorite songs - "Hairdresser on Fire" by Morissey: "I sense the power/in the fingers/within an hour the power/can totally destroy me/(or, it could save my life)" I think that about does it for me. If you have any questions, or need hair advice, just write to T.O.S. and I'll try to help ya out. Good luck and keep on cuttin'.

You see, hair can make or break you, so here are a few hair tips and facts I've picked up along the way.
- Your hair is the thickest between the ages of 15 and 30.
- If you run out of mousse or gel, and you need to tame your hair, shaving cream will make it stiff and gunky, the way we like it. Punk rock.
- Moisturizer is also good to keep around as an anti-frizz for hair. Just a dab will do ya.
- My advice to you is that you wash your hair every other day, or if you must wash every day, alternate shampoo wiuth soap. It'll keep your hair nice and straight and stringy. But if you do wash with regular soap, be careful, because it can cause dandruff on some people. If that's the case don't do it very often.
-Use conditioner only as needed. Oily hair doesn't need conditioner every day day, because your scalp doesn't need it if it's already oily. Duh.
- Visit the web site The Hair Temple.