Chatty has previously whined about mentioned her lackluster locks

    But, Chatty never says die - so she is always on the lookout for ways to improve their appearance.

    Chatty’s mother and grandmother used to “set” Chatty’s hair with flat beer, but the mists of time had obscured that memory - until a visiting friend mentioned that she was using beer as a setting lotion. Bells went off, and Chatty tried it again.

    It works, folks!

    Unable to leave well enough alone, Chatty figured that if setting her hair with beer was good, adding MORE beer to her hair routine might be even better!

    Musing idly (an activity that takes up much of Chatty’s time - usually with few results), she wondered if there were any shampoos with beer in them.

    For Chatty, from an idle musing to an internet search is just a few keystrokes, and – surprise, surprise – there is a shampoo made with stout (which is a rich, heady, dark brew for those of you pale beer fans – think Guinness…)

    The reviews of this product were positive, but Chatty is not going to plug the product, because she hasn’t used it. She hasn’t used it because the medium-sized bottle is $18.75, plus shipping and handling, and Chatty is too cheap cost-conscious to pay that kind of money for an experiment.

    So, more idle musing, another internet search – this time for “beer shampoo recipes”.

    Lo and behold – there it is – thank you, ehow.com

    Chatty has some stout, so she reduces the 12 ounces to 3, and adds it to her regular shampoo.*

    As luck would have it, her hair is just-washed, so she has to compose herself in patience for a couple of days before she can try it (because for Chatty, washing her hair too often is much worse than washing it not enough.)

    Chatty has kept the shampoo in the fridge, although the recipes differ over that suggestion. But it’s hot here, and cold shampoo feels nice!

    Chatty can’t smell any beer, but the shampoo is very very sudsy, where it wasn’t sudsy at all pre-beer.

    Chatty leaves the shampoo in throughout her shower, to give the beer time to work (as advised by the professional shampoo people.)

    It rinses out completely, leaving her hair squeaky-clean. She doesn’t use crème rinse, because she wants the full effect of the beer - so she carefully combs out the tangles, lets her hair dry a bit, spritzes on MORE beer, sets her hair in giant Velcro rollers, and lets it dry.

    Result? Shiny, bouncy hair that actually held its shape (with the help of a bit of back-combing and hairspray) until Chatty went to bed!

    Amazing. Added to this unexpected delight is the fact that beer leaves NO flaky residue, unlike some of the volumizers and setting gels Chatty has tried in the past.

    Chatty’s hair will never be anything but thin and fine - but at least now she has found a way to disguise this sad fact, albeit temporarily.

    Which is something!

    And, for those of you who want extra shiny hair (this is said to work for both thick and thin hair), Chatty has heard that one part vodka to two parts shampoo works a treat. This straight from the fashion runways of New York and Paris.

    Yes.

    However, Chatty has not tried this - because while Chatty is willing to sacrifice a bottle of beer to the cause...she's not as sanguine about the possible waste of perfectly good vodka!

   * If any of you decide to try this, Chatty suggests that you steer clear of "lite" beer (she's talking calories, not color) because you want all the beery goodness possible. And don't BOIL it - just reduce it slowly over medium heat - and you will still have to watch it, because it foams like crazy. If you can find a "natural" stout or ale, it will have fewer chemicals in it - which Chatty has read is better.