Aged 7

My mother heated oil and applied it to my hair as a conditioning treatment. 

Olive Oil? Coconut Oil?

She washed it. It dried. It was very greasy. She never did it again. 

 

Aged 7 

Mummy: Have you put margarine in your hair?

Me: No.

Mummy: You have been putting margarine in your hair.

Me: No. Why would I put margarine in my hair?

 

Aged 8

Mummy: You have been putting margarine in your hair

Me: No I haven’t.

Mummy: Yes, you have been putting margarine in your hair.

 

Aged 9

Mummy: You have been putting margarine in your hair

Me: No.

Mummy: Yes, I can see that you have been putting margarine in your hair.

 

Aged about 13

Sitting in the living room on either side of the coffee table. My mother on the sofa. Me on an armchair.

Both eating cheesecake. Strawberry cheesecake. 

In silence.

My mother picks up my piece of cheesecake from my plate and rubs it into the top of my head. 

I stand up in silence and go to wash my hair.