Do you remember?

When I look at photos from the past, I think: WHY? Why on earth did my mother let me walk around like that?! I cringe at the trends from back then, which I dutifully and thoughtlessly adopted. Did I even have an opinion as a teenager? Terrible but so hilarious that we are going to reminisce about those memories. Do you remember the time?

I remember it well, the day I discovered tweezers. I think I was about fourteen. I think I spent an hour plucking until I had my ‘ideal shape’. There were literally still three hairs on my forehead.

I thought this was so cool. A regular parting was so boring, so I made a nice zigzag shape. Trendsetter, right?

Fortunately, this was a trend that I think I only followed for about a month: the black lip liner. My friends, on the other hand, walked around with it for at least a year and a half. And you could easily use your eyeliner for this. It was the same color anyway.

With my dark hair, I was so incredibly frustrated that you couldn't see it. I also wanted those stiff strands in all the colors of the rainbow. Poor me.

The first time I dyed my hair, I did it behind my mother's back. I was dark brown, and two platinum blonde streaks seemed to me the best idea in the world. Only to turn them green (!!!) two months later. You can imagine how beautifully that turned out...

The gelquiff was hot in the mid-nineties, when I was about eight. My sister and I probably put half a jar of gel in to make the somewhat greasy quiff stiff with a can of hairspray.

Do you remember, Fallin’ by R&B Queen Alicia Keys? Although I had no clue about love, I could relate to it so much. I had to have that hair too. So, as a fifteen-year-old pale kid, I walked into a black hair salon to get fully braided. I can still remember their surprised faces. I was so happy with the result.

Those earrings that were as big as UFOs and made your entire earlobe sag. I just accepted that this would get inflamed.

I didn't have one of those plastic net chains but three. It was also fun that when you went into the sun, those imprints were left behind. I looked like a walking Christmas tree, but I felt so beautiful. How is that possible?!

Wow, how did this trend come about? Who thought of this? Admittedly, I never did this myself, but I was secretly quite jealous of my classmates. It was like there was always something gross on your tooth, but apparently, no one saw it that way.

When you came back from summer vacation, there were at least four girls in class who had some weird Jamaican braid from somewhere in Spain or whatever. I did too, you understand.

During my first class party and thus my very first shuffling experience (well, with bodies against each other, I dared) I had that beautiful glitter gel in my hair. The boys didn’t understand anything about it, but at least I stood out.

Now you try to hide bobby pins, but back then those things in different colors that served no purpose were such an addition to your hairstyle. Especially those from Miss Selfridge, remember?