I discovered a thing about hair the other day that was genuinely brand new information to me. And at my age (35) it’s astonishing to learn something new.
Okay, okay! I’m not 35. I’m 39!
OKAY I AM 41.
The new thing that I have discovered about hair goes like this: hair is malleable when it is hot but the shape it forms when it is hot only sets when it is cool. Lots of you will already know this, but bear with me because others won’t and this is significant.
It suddenly explains what a “cool shot” setting on a hair dryer is. I have a few irritating wibbles and cowlicks in the front bit of my hair which are almost impossible to get rid of. Iron them out with a pair of flat irons and they immediately and inexplicably stick straight up in the air. The answer is to blow dry them hot, hot and flat and then apply the cool air, which will set the hair in that shape.
When it comes to curls, it’s even more useful to know this. If you are curling your hair, curl it and then support the curl for a few minutes in your hand as it cools, (having removed the curling iron), because as it cools, the curl will set and form.
You’re welcome!
This week I wrote in The Times about how lockdown created mass alcohol dependency - if you are a subscriber you can read it here. If you are not a subscriber, did you know that the most basic subscription package to the digital edition of The Times is free for 1 month and then only 50p per day? I’m not being paid to promote this but obviously I have a vested interest as I don’t want newspapers to die.
I’m also in the middle of writing a tangential piece for Style in The Sunday Times specifically about “Mummy Wine” culture and I want to know what you think about this, particularly your experiences with alcohol after you had children.
Did you drink more? Less? Did it go in cycles? Do you feel like Mummy-Wine stuff is a necessary destigmatisation of mothers’ need to just fucking drink to cope and that it has highlighted a real failure to support mothers particularly but also parents in general in this country - or is it just plain cringe?
Please leave a comment in the helpful box below. If you would prefer to be completely anonymous, I always enjoy hugely receiving your emails: esther@onthespike.com
I'm a biochemist and one reason that is not discussed about women drinking at the end of a long day is because alcohol is cheap energy. Your body/brain gets quicker, easier energy from alcohol than literally anything else, including sugar.
I have never been a big drinker (with occasional exceptions) but with two kids I drink a lot less. I don’t understand how anyone can drink significant amounts knowing at best they’ll have to be up extremely early in the morning, and worst case scenario will have to be on call for an emergency in the night. I suppose the anxiety about being the one who has to make sure everything is done and the kids are alive has outweighed the ability to enjoy a drink. (I’m typing this having left them at home this evening to go out to a comedy night and have several drinks, but 1. I’m not drunk, maybe slightly tipsy and, crucially, 2. I have *nothing* to do with tomorrow morning’s routine. So I’ve managed it quite carefully.)