Saturday, August 20, 2011
Guess it ran out of ammo. RIP my faithful hairdryer of 20-odd years, Pistol Airo.
I can't even remember how long I've had this hairdryer, but it might be up to 20 years old. It was a Christmas present from my Auntie Libby; she had a great knack for giving presents that thrilled the recipients and this was no exception. I'd never had a hairdryer before – I don't even think I used one. I would just towel dry my hair and wait for it to dry.
I even used to sleep with my damp hair in lots of tiny little plaits so the next day I'd have crimped hair. It was a big deal when I got a crimping iron, which I think happened in early high school – perhaps even at the same time as the Pistol Airo.
I can't even remember how long I've had this hairdryer, but it might be up to 20 years old. It was a Christmas present from my Auntie Libby; she had a great knack for giving presents that thrilled the recipients and this was no exception. I'd never had a hairdryer before – I don't even think I used one. I would just towel dry my hair and wait for it to dry.
I even used to sleep with my damp hair in lots of tiny little plaits so the next day I'd have crimped hair. It was a big deal when I got a crimping iron, which I think happened in early high school – perhaps even at the same time as the Pistol Airo.
So I was pretty excited, but Auntie Libby was mortified when she noticed that the box said: "Pistol Airo: the man's dryer". She had thought it was a nice travel-size dryer – or, alternatively, a small dryer for her young niece.
Personally, it has never bothered me that Pistol Airo is 'manly'. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realise that its name was some kind of macho gunslinger pun on 'pistolero'. I even paid tribute to Pistol Airo on Crikey, in the comments of a story I wrote about gendered consumer products.
You can see how much I have used it – the silver paint has largely worn off to reveal the grey plastic beneath. There is lint stuck behind the grille and hair wound around the fan – if I let the dryer too close to my head it sucked my hair painfully into the back. It is not very powerful and my hair is quite thick, so if I wanted to get a nice smooth result I had to section off my hair.
I had been thinking about getting rid of Pistol Airo and investing in a proper, powerful hairdryer – whenever I stayed at my parents' house and used my mother's hairdryer, I got lovely, shiny hair in half the time Pistol Airo took. But I couldn't bring myself to throw Pistol Airo away because of its sentimental value.
Here are some of the looks Pistol Airo helped me achieve:
June 2005: dressed as Marsha Queen of Diamonds for the Superheroes Ball.
March 2008: DJ dream team Plump'n'Rosie in action at Penny's 30th at Shit Town.
December 2008: New Year's Eve, with Leanne (left) and Tash (right).
February 2010: Perhaps time to get my fringe cut.
July 2011: First time I cut my own fringe.
June 2005: dressed as Marsha Queen of Diamonds for the Superheroes Ball.
March 2008: DJ dream team Plump'n'Rosie in action at Penny's 30th at Shit Town.
December 2008: New Year's Eve, with Leanne (left) and Tash (right).
February 2010: Perhaps time to get my fringe cut.
October 2010: Veronica Corningstone hair to go with nylon '70s frock.
July 2011: First time I cut my own fringe.
This morning, while drying my hair with my head tipped upside down, I heard a clunking noise, as if a part had come loose and was rattling around in the blades. The motor slowed down, there was a smell of burning and I could see something glowing red-hot inside the mechanism. I turned Pistol Airo off for the final time. Goodbye, old friend.
