No matter how hard I try, the hair framing my face never sits how I want it to.
It bends back toward my hairline too far up and gives the effect of a man with a receding hairline holding desperately onto the hair still clinging to the corners of his forehead, approaching the scary reality of the inevitable combover hairstyle. Luckily, I do not face the impending baldness, but I do face the all-too-annoying actuality of possessing wavy hair that hates to follow what I want.
As I have discovered my way of caring for my wavy hair in the past year, headbands have become a staple.
When I finish misting my hair with water and re-scrunching it with a microfiber towel every morning, I cross my fingers that my face-framing hair will look perfect. But when it doesn’t, I find myself reaching for the curved wood lining my vanity mirror that serves as a hook for most of my headbands or the pocket on my over-the-closet shoe hanger that holds the rest of them. Typically, I end up changing my outfit to match the headband accordingly.
As a self-proclaimed headband connoisseur, I have a few styles that I love best.
To start it off, my most frequent genre of headbands is the elastic, floral-patterned loop style. From fabric to mesh to crocheted yarn, I love this style in any fabric. These headbands allow me to add a spin to a plain outfit with a twist of pattern. Though the pattern is obviously the focal point, a round, elastic headband is easily the comfiest style ever. Typically, headbands have a plastic framing that ends up pinching my head after about an hour. Eventually, the feeling goes away, but I think it’s just my skull going numb. So, when given the chance, I will always reach for an elastic headband, and a pop of floral remains my go-to.
Though I just complained about the uncomfortable feeling of a normal headband, I love a good thin headband—even if it pinches my head a little. Thin ones also pinch my head less than thicker ones. My best advice when it comes to plastic headbands is to look for ones that seem to taper in less at the ends. If the headband looks insanely small in the store, it’ll feel that way on the head. I once found a pack of Goody headbands that look like typical, thin plastic headbands but can form to the shape of the wearer’s head. I still have one of these headbands, and I would definitely recommend it. The one issue I have is that it sometimes slips toward my face if I am looking down, so I try not to wear it if I am going to school or have work to do where I am often looking down at a desk or table.
Finally, there is one style of headband that I have been dying to try but haven’t yet purchased. I am obsessed with zig-zag comb headbands. I think they look so cool. My one reservation is that I try to have a middle part even when I wear a headband, which could look odd with the nature of the zig-zag headbands. I know I would have to pull my hair straight back, and I’m worried that my tendency to avoid that will make me hate the headband I’ve been infatuated with.
I love my collection of headbands and look forward to growing it, and hopefully, I’ll see people around me lean into the joy of these styles.
