AirTime

From Billy Idol to Bieber

The evolution of my daughters hair | BY JENNIFER SCHAEFER

heck out that hair! It looks like Billy Idols!

A smiling, 30-something guy made this
comment as I was balancing my 18-month-old
daughter on my hip while she giggled over a

train display at Seattle Center.

I smiled back, because remarks about Kayas inch-long, spiky
blond locks were commonplace, with many people comparing my
toddler to various rock stars from the 1980s. With all the attention
she garnered, it was almost like traveling with an actual famous
musician, in miniature.
Kayas crowd-pleasing hair was a
gradual development. At the time of her
birth in June 2009, her head sported a
light-brown patch of fuzz, which
promptly fell out, as is common in newborns. By the age of 3 or 4 weeks, her
cranium was charmingly bald, and
paired especially well with her sweet,
toothless grin.
Then, within a few months, the emergence of what my husband, Joel, and I
began to refer to as the hair began.
Around Kayas first Halloween, an
abundance of perfectly straight, platinum-blond strands sprouted, their color
and texture a replica of Joels in childhood. As the months went by and her
crowning glory continued to grow
reaching the length of about 3 inches by
the time she turned 1it did so vertically, standing up from her head as if
electrified. As the hair grew, so did the
number of compliments and endearments she received from the
people we encountered. It seemed that wherever we wentfrom
the grocery store to the playground to the mechanicher hair
struck a chord with folks young and old.
The many 80s referencescomparing Kayas natural spikes
to the elaborately coiffed punk styles of British rockers Billy Idol
and Howard Jones or to the wild red do of Australian film actor
Yahoo Serious of Young Einstein fame (remember him?)were
mostly made by 30-something parents of my generation. One
fellow toting a newborn in a Bjorn at the park referred to Kayas
hair as the perfect 80s glam-rock style.
A woman with twin toddlers in tow at our local farmers
marketwho was shopping alongside us soon after my daughter

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had awakened from a nap, with her locks standing particularly

highhad a different take, remarking that Kaya had the best
hair in Seattle!
Older men and women who saw Kaya often fondly reminisced
about their own offspring, saying with a grin something such as,
My child had chicken hair just like that!
Youngsters would frequently react with a good-natured
chuckle, poking their moms or dads in the ribs and whispering
(or so they thought), Look at that kids funny hair!
Eventually, the hair began to pitch forwardit was still spiky,
but stuck out at a more horizontal angle. Over time, it flattened
into a darling shaggy style reminiscent of a mulletphotos of
which I will undoubtedly pull out to
embarrass her one day, when I show
them to her fianc.
I resisted cutting Kayas hair for as
long as possible, but its rapid growth
keeping pace with the rest of her healthy
little bodymade a bang trim necessary
around the time of her second birthday.
Familiar with the silky texture of her
tresses, Joel wielded the scissors admirably, shortening the hair in front, and
evening up the sides and back with a few
deft clips. I carefully sealed a few of the
blond strands into a baggie to tuck into
her baby book.
Still, the comparisons to pop stars
have continued, even in our own home.
While building a block tower with Kaya
the other night and admiring his haircutting handiwork, Joel made a most apt
comment: She has a Bieber! referring
to Justin Bieber, the 17-year-old Canadian
singer and heartthrob known for a stickstraight hairdoa slightly longer version of the traditional bowl
cutthats had tweens and teens the world over swooning.
Im sure this latest fringestyleisjustoneofthe many
coiffures Kayawillsportoverthe years. As she grows up, friends,
fashionsandherownfancieswillnodoubt exerttheirinfluenceas she decides what to do with her genetic inheritance. I
look forward to watching her hair evolve and changeand even
more towatchingher personalityandaspirationsdevelop.
Whereverherhair ... andherlife ... take her,mygreatest hope is
that shell be happy.
Jennifer Schaefer is an associate editor of the Alaska Airlines Horizon
Edition.
Photo of kaya by Joel Schaefer