Behind The Awkwardness: Split Ends
September 25th, 2011
“My ex-husband surprised me after work with a birthday cake. I wanted a picture of my son and I for the scrapbook so was leaning forward to get closer to him. I had not been to the hairdresser’s in 2 years and had age inappropriate hair at the time. The candles took care of that and luckily, my husband managed to put out the flames with his bare hands once he realized what was happening. Of course, he missed the shot of me screaming my head off. I’ve been going for regular trims since.”
(submitted by Sharon)
This is crazy hilarious!!
I had short hair all my life, married at 18 and my husband insisted I keep it short…..when I finally left him at age 47 I grew my hair long and have kept it long…well, to my shoulders….ever since. Everybody I know loves my hair longer. So we should all do what we feel like doing!!!
I had a good giggle at the flames, its hard to think you still could be smiling judging by the ammount of smoke and heigh of flame. I know from my own pyro experiences that stuff can singe mighty fast. I think most of all I laughed hardest looking at your son. His dozy expression looks like he’s all mellowed out on something haha.
Thanks again Sharon
i laughed so hard for the longest time. love the casual smile for the camera! thanks for letting people laugh at your expense — you’re quite the tropper!
My pleasure, qp!
Sharon, you are a hunka, hunka burnin’ love! Lovely that you were able to maintain your skin and your sense of humor! was your son traumatized? This pic is a perfect balance of horrible and hilarious!!
Thanks for the comment, PaulaNancy! I had some minor burns on my neck, only first degree. Yes, my son was traumatized for a while…more from my screams than the fire. Poor kid. We talked him through it.
I am grateful that this is not a scratch and sniff site- singed hair is not a pleasant smell!
No kidding! I remember that acrid smell well. The only thing that helped diffiuse it was to eat more birthday cake.
Lol, my sisters hair caught on fire while she was blowing out her candles one year!
“Going out….in a blaze of glory…”
Wow, way to over-react people. I think some of you are missing the point, the fact is Sharon’s hair is on fire in the photo. The “age inappropriate hair” was a flippant remark, stop over thinking the comment. Lighten up
BTW I thought it was a great photo
Thank-you Dee, for putting the comment in perspective. Clearly it hit a nerve with several people which is perfectly fine, as they all made good sense, but that wasn’t the point of the description. I mean, how else could I have lightened the moment after my hair caught fire, on candles that clearly said “45″? Lucky for me, and what was left of my ponytail, there weren’t 45 individual candles…never mind the extra one for good luck! Cheers!
Oh my goodness! How scary, yet hilarious! I bet your son is going to love this when he is older. At first glance I didnt even notice the little flames crawling up your hair because your face looks so happy and calm! Did you imagine posting a pic of your head nearly catching on fire would draw so much attention about age appropriate hair styles? Ridiculous people.
My son was traumatized at first, probably because of the hysterical screaming once I realized I was on fire. No doubt he’ll appreciate it later. As for the attention about my choice of words, yes, I was surprised. People are welcome to voice their opinions, though I’m not sure Awkward Family Photos is the best forum for the debate. I guess all the time saved on grooming has left us free to comment. Go figure.
You rock, Dee!
Sharon rocks…
I just read all of the idiotic “Killjoy” comments concerning your hair. Lighten up people! Unbeknownst to her, it’s on fire! This happy moment will quickly turn almost deadly. What an amazing pic. Thank Heaven you were unharmed! Glad you shared…
Thank-you for your support, Karla, and your kind words. All comments are welcome, be they positive or negative. Hope you’re having a good hair day yourself.
S
I do believe this is my favorite photo from this entire site.
Beautiful.
Thanks for sharing this.
Dear Average Half-Vampire,
You are so welcome. I did it for you.
S
I hope you really didn’t.
But I too have long (and possibly age-inappropriate, but I don’t care) hair. I once set it on fire while reaching up to get some spices over the stove (burner was on). Unfortunately, no one took MY photo so I could post it here to rival yours. (sigh of jealousy)
But I really do love your photo.
Oh, and I just had to throw in the “age-inappropriate” bit. I was feeling a little left out here as the only one not to mention it.
I meant I posted the pic just for you. Haha. Welcome to the age-inappropriate hair club. Apparently there are a lot of us, though who’s to judge. Btw, glad you are okay after your own flaming episode. Imagaine the hot and spicy comments you might have received if there was a photo-op?
Best to you.
I have singed the ends of my hair several times while cooking. Apparently, Elnett hairspray and flames are a dangerous combination. I’m 40, and will continue to wear my hair long…unless I burn it off, of course.
What is the deal with all of you people ragging at her for the “age-inappropriate hair” comment!??! My goodness, the woman’s hair was on fire! I’m glad to know the grammar police are here, too….
who cares? honestly.,. we live in such a screwed up society when hair has an “age appropriateness” level. you want long hair. grow it out. you want a mohawk. go for it. its just dead skin cells. the entire idea that we base so much attention on “looks” is appauling. i can think of a million other things to spend wasted effort arguing over then .. at what age should i conform and have the same hair as every other housewife with no originality.
great pic btw. i almost thought it was photoshopped.
your husband def caught a kodak moment ;D
Thanks, Really. The key thing is that most of us have a choice, with the freedom to choose how we wear our hair and other more important things. And isn’t quality of life all about choice? As for looks, they are fleeting and will fade over the years, or metaphorically, go up in flames.
I find it alarming that more of the commenters seem upset about Sharon describing her hair as “age-inappropriate” than they do by the fact that it is on fire.
Thanks for your comment, Lynn. I figure if you’re going to put something out there publicly, you have to be willing to take the flack so no worries. It’s all good.
That would be “my son and me”.
Thank-you! I’m actually grateful for a comment that doesn’t have to do with my reference to “age inappropriate hair”.
That’s not true….
Long hair is fine for older women, but split-end heavy ponytails with the sense that “I don’t have time to do my hair, ever” is kinda inappropriate past roughly college age IMO. Not that I’d ever tell someone their hair was inappropriate, but I get what the submitter was saying, I think.
I’m a 30-ish researcher, with split-end heavy ponytail and no time to do my hair. Hell, even with enough time “to do my hair” I will continue not to do my hair, as I consider that a waste of my time -meaning, I prefer to sleep 30 minutes more than those vain women than consider the maintenance of hair an inexcusable feminine duty. Oh, the young women with superficial ideas. Disclaimer: my opinion is never humble.
I love you! I am in my 30′s and I too am more into sleep than my hair. That’s why elastics were made!
And… I’m a good bit older than you. I don’t think you want the full list of everything I do atop work and kids. I’ve had what I considered age-inappropriate hair, even. I don’t spend time on my hair even now. I just cut it short (sometimes wash) and wear and make time to keep it so.
But I can see what she’s talking about. I’ve looked back at pics of me in my late 20s-early 30s and felt embarrassed at how little attention I was paying to things that would have improved my self-esteem and not really taken that much more time.
Again, I’d never say it about someone else, but for heaven’s sake, she *can* say her *own* hair was not appropriate and she shouldn’t be attacked for saying so.
Ha, and one more thing
the photo was submitted by “Sharon” and the cake clearly does not say Happy Birthday “Sharon”…….nice try tho.
Wendell! Wendell! read it again….(I know you have time to study it)
I hope he never goes away. Do we have a commenter crackpot category?
I believe it says “Honey.”
Looks like “Sharon” to me.
It says “Sharon”, though at one time, on another cake, it probably said “Honey”.
On the flip side, the cake said “Honey”, of course.
Of course it did. You sound familiar, KenR…do I know you from somewhere?
It totally says Sharon… let me break it down for ya. First you are able to see the stroke of a capital cursive “S”, you can then see the stick of the “h” above the rosette,and finally you can clearly see the “a”,”r” and the “o”…. I’m confident it says Sharon.
However, due to the unburnt hair below the flames & the smoke isn’t near her face but flames are directly under her chin… I do think this one has been photoshopped, the smoke seems to follow the path of her neck to neatly for it be authentic, in my opinion anyway
Ya, only an *EX-HUSBAND* would take your photo while you stand there smiling and ON FIRE!! :/
LOL. I agree…
and maybe it was his plan???
*just joking Sharon, he was sweet enough tho to send u the cake*
Ex-hubby is still a friend and despite his plans to upset the balance of things, I still have way more hair than him. Lol.
Sharon, you’re awesome!
She’s smokin’ hot at 45…
that was perfect!
Best comment! Love it…
So funny! In a flash (literally), I’ll bet your face went from all smiles to shear (no pun intended) panic! I think this is one of the best Awkward Family Photos I’ve seen.
Thanks, Chris. A good friend of mine says it’s my own 15 minutes of “flame”.
Man, that’s the best line of all. Wish I said it!
I didn’t read the description, thought the smoke was gray hair, and thought they couldn’t remember if the kid was 4 or 5! Now THAT would be AWKWARD!
I can see where you would get that.
That is exactly what I saw at first. Then I looked at her face and thought she looks way too young for gray hair like that and realized it was smoke.
I would have guessed she was mid to late 30s.
Bless you, Shannon, for thinking I look younger. I look even younger now that my hair is shorter and layered and the gray has been washed away.
That kid doesn’t look a day over 40.
HA!
We have a winner…
I love how you don’t even seem to know your hair is on fire.
looks kinda photoshopped to me
No way!
ABSOLUTLELY photoshopped, and a bad photoshop at that.
You must be the expert, Ashley. I didn’t pick up on that and I was there. Let me assure you, if I don’t have time for grooming, I certainly don’t have time to fake my hair on fire through tedious photo editing.
Make a wish and then blow out Mommy’s hair!
LOL
Best one!
Age-inappropriate hair? Really? Each person should decide the length and style of their own hair, maybe with some input from their stylist. Who decided that long hair is for younger women and shorter hair for older women. That is like saying not to wear white after Labor Day.
Totally agree with this…and are we sure she turned just 45 in this pic?
Yeah, who made that rule and why do we follow it?
I think she was just being colorful in her description. I don’t think it was meant to be taken to heart.
@justme. Yes, you are correct. The description is meant to be self deprecating and at my own expense, with no offense or judgement intended towards anyone visiting. Laughing about it afterwards helped defuse the scariness of what might have happened. Besides, I was under the impression that this site was for those who don’t take themselves too seriously. And my hair is still long at 48, just not as long.
You go girl!
It did sound a little overly self-deprecating and a smidge judgy. You look pretty young to me and I would never have thought your long hair was age-inappropriate.
Not to mention that in this day and age long hair is accepted on older women. Look at all the over 40 stars with long hair. If you can maintain it and it suits you, anyone can rock it.
Chaos in 3… 2… 1…
Were those dreadlocks? I love the happy look on your face as you don’t yet realize that you are on fire!
No, they weren’t dreadlocks but they were probably headed that way. I had a really long ponytail with a bad case of split ends. I thought it was the cheap dollar store candles making all the smoke until I felt the heat on my neck. Then the happy look was gone and I screamed.
Long hair is meant for younger people and as you get past your mid 20′s most people are much better flattered by shorter hair for both your grown up face and the fact that your hair is usually not able to grow long AND stay healthy looking like it did when you were young. She is saying she had long unhealthy hair and thats why it went up in flames soo fast.
Nonsense. Long hair is “meant” for anybody (male or female) who can grow it and take care of it and likes how it looks. How silly, to make up rules on how other people should or shouldn’t wear their hair.
And I think even your own no doubt young and healthy locks would go up in flames if you dangled them in an open flame.
Oh, that is just ridiculous. I set my hair on fire in college. It was not age-inappropriate nor was it unhealthy. Hair is flammable when you put it in contact with a flame.
Wow, I thought the cliche about women cutting their hair when they hit a certain died decades ago, around the same time women got the vote and were allowed to have jobs.
Sarah, when did you join the Hair Police ?
Wow, you’re wrong all over the place.
That is a VERY outdated concept. Right up there with waiting for the fashion magazines to come out every spring, and then spending a whole weekend changing the hems of all your skirts and dresses so that they are “this year’s hemline.” True story; my mom told me about how all the women did that back in the 1950′s.
In this day and age, you can wear your hair any damn length you please, to hell with what your age is… and might I add, thank goodness. I am 44 and my hair is STILL (gasp!) long, and it looks just fine, thank you.
But I do keep it away from open flames.
I am almost 47 and have long curly red hair. I get compliments all the time. Long hair, short hair….whatever one wants they should do. Life is short.
I’m 45 and my hair is waist length and very healthy and shiny. All you have to do is condition it a few times a week. It is not difficult or time consuming. I will never subscribe to the thinking that once you are past 40 you have to look like a man!
I have short hair and I don’t look like a man.
Sarah, I think I’m gonna grow my hair long now (at 38) just because I can….and so I can come back here in a few months and say “Nanny-nanny-boo-boo you said I couldn’t and i did it anyway” to you.
haha! Sorry people i was trying to be cliche and facetious in my comment but it did not come off that way i suppose…i was distracted by my 15 month old son climbing all over me(i guess thats another reason the experts say you should not have a baby in your 30′s lol) I have long hair myself and i am 35 and i completely agree you can have your hair any length at any age if you like it.I was simply stating the unwritten “rule” that we all know has survived for decades.It is not MY opinion but many have it.
I don’t find Sarah’s comment hard to understand. Have you ever seen someone whose hair looked 20, and when she turned around, you were surprised to see a 50 year-old face? It’s a jarring experience. I work with a 66 year-old woman who wears her hair in a style you’d expect on a 15 year-old. The contrast is not flattering.
First, maybe you missed where Sarah herself admitted she was trying to be facetious. And second, it isn’t about age… it’s about whether or not you can pull it off regardless of your age. Some people look better with long hair than others. I’ve seen women older than your co-worker who looked great with long hair… and I’ve seen younger people who don’t look good with it.
Can we consider that point thoroughly ground into the dirt, now? Long hair is OK. Let’s move on, shall we?
Lady, you got worse problems than age inappropriate hair, you have no feeling in your neck, and your sense of smell is non existant!
at 51 my hair is longer than hers was, so I guess it’s REALLY inappropriate! (I know what she means though, at times I wonder if people aren’t looking at me saying, omgosh, she is a grandma now, she should have one of those “grandma” cuts!)
All of our hair is longer than hers……LOL Actually not funny at all, until I read the caption I did not realize her hair was in flames and that was smoke! Sheesh! I am not cutting my hair (I am 50), my Grandma had beautiful thick salt and pepper hair at 90+ year old down to her butt, although it was always in a bun.
That’s the way they did it, my grandma is 95 now and her’s has been short for years, but her mother’s generation (going into the late 1800′s) always let it grow and grow until the bun would weigh 50 lbs and give them headaches……and I don’t think they stopped doing that when they hit middle age, either.
My grandmother had the same very long hair in a bun and when she died at 100 she still had that hair.
How long was it? Did she ever cut it?
…age-inappropriate hair? How?
and to think she thought it was just a hot flash…
FTW… this was an awesome comment.
“Age-inappropriate hair”? Really? Looks like you lost a few brain cells in the fire as well.
Wow, yeah it was totally necessary to be so mean about her choice of words.
Actually, I lost quite a bit of hair. The loss of brain cells is simply part of the natural aging process. But thanks for your concern.
Hang in there, Lauren… one day we’ll find a cure for “rude”.
LOL! As far as I’m concerned, Scott, YOU win for that comment. Thanks!
I think the most awkward thing about this is the use of the phrase “age inappropriate hair”. WTF does that even mean?
I kept trying to figure that out, too. I still don’t know what that means.
Before I read the description, I thought the awkwardness was the boy receiving a 45th birthday cake.
Love this comment!
Me too! LOL
YIKES!!! This is a crazy photo!
Yes, yes it is. It might literally be insane!
Not so much “age inappropriate” hair as “too damn close to the burny stuff” hair…
ROFL!
What a photo!
That’s awful and hilarious at the same time.
“Sharon, you look so HOT for 45… literally…”
WIN!
“I see your hair is bur-nin’…”
You must be as old as me.
Age inappropriate hair?…
For 45 you’ve still got it!! In fact, Baby, you’re on fire!!!