Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

Hair - Cowsills

I remember reading a book as a child called The Gift of Magi about a very poor couple who wanted to buy each other gifts. She had long thick hair that she had cut off and sold to buy him a watch chain. Unknowingly, he sold his watch to buy her combs to enhance the beauty of her hair. Hair was so valuable that money could be made just for having it. Then there is the image of Lady Godiva riding through the town on her horse with nothing but the length of her hair to risk exposing herself. It seems that this spectacle was not a regular occurrence but rather something done once on a dare from her husband. The villagers were all ordered to stand behind closed doors during the ride and all complied save one. Tom, the original Peeping Tom! I love folklore :)

Throughout history, both men and women have had a obsession with hair. Men have long denied their impending baldness with the "comb-over" to hide what everyone sees is there (or not there as the case may be). Who hasn't smirked at the bad "rug" that men have worn to hide the shine? Donald Trump comes to mind as one who is often ridiculed. Thinking to pictures of famous men throughout history, baldness is not an image that is prevalent. Perhaps because the life expectancy wasn't great enough to allow the natural loss of hair to occur before death or maybe it was the bad "judges" wigs that the society members donned that hid the signs, but either way men seemed to always sport a lion's mane of locks. Consider Einsteins' wild tresses or Mozart horizontal curls adorning the side of his head and for a real good laugh, Don King was just bizarre. It seems that only in the past few decades that men have sworn off the flowing mane and intentionally shaved it all off or short razored. Maybe they are retaliating against the mothers who refused to have their sons flowing locks cut. When the trip to the barber shop was finally made the passage into boyhood was likely more traumatic for mom than son. Particularly in the era of the male heirs wearing dresses to go with their curly locks as infants - although that was likely a cost-saving practice. Even culturally, there has been a change from the blowing in the breeze wild afro to the closely shaved tight spring-like style. Sometimes even going so far as shaving designs or patterns into the stubble that is left behind. 

But men are lucky in the respect that they don't generally spend the time and money on hair care that women tend to. Society has always looked favourably on the graying man using words like distinguished to describe the wisps of age that invariably appear. While women go into panic mode and begin to pluck the single offender at first sight ignoring the wives tale that purports 3 will grow back to replace the one lost. Fortunately, while hair colour products were once marketed exclusively to the aging woman, now teens are embracing the colour change world so no-one ever need know when a woman is doing it to stamp out the signs of age or just being fashionable. For we are also defined by shade of our tresses. Brunette are boring, blondes are dumb, redheads are feisty. Culturally, the asians and darker skinned people sport black hair while the northern Scandinavians were fairer in complexion and hair colour. Now all bets are off - pick your colour, nothing is off limits included pink, green and blue! For many years it has been said that men are more attracted to a long flowing haired blonde over a mousy brunette for a sexual encounter. And many a lonely heart looked at the washed out blonde staring back at them in the mirror with high hopes.

But what isn't fashionable is the bald woman, even though it is more accepted. To help change this line of thought, the childhood example of female perfection - Barbie - is now going to be bald and come with a selection of wigs as a show of support. Hair throughout history has always been seen as a sign of health, youth and prosperity. Indeed women with long hair were believed to be more suitable as mates and reproductive partners (even non-blondes).  Flowing locks were a sign of sexuality and even today this remains the norm as seen on the catwalk, on the Hollywood red carpet and yes even in pornographic movies. Today, when one sees a bald woman, it is automatically assumed that she is suffering from cancer and the side-effects of the treatment. I can't imagine that anybody, knowing the potential circumstances, would openly mock the bald or balding woman but they are still viewed as unhealthy and fragile. But there are other reasons for hair loss that may not necessarily be a death sentence or major medical setback. Alopecia is one, heredity is another and there are more causes both permanent and temporary. 

The profound sense of loss for a woman is the same regardless of the cause. The very definition of beauty is intertwined with the presence of one's mane. Pick up any magazine and look at just the pages touting the products for hair care - the sheer numbers are astounding. Now look at the other ads regardless of the product being pitched, make-up or cars, the hair of the woman in the ad is dominant. You will notice the same phenomenon in the commercials during a television program. Consider to the importance placed on the female locks during the television show or movie - sometimes subtle, sometimes not so much. For a woman, the loss of hair is like the loss of part of their sexuality - after all, how many times are we told and shown that men like to run their fingers through our hair. And yes, women do the same to men, but as often, a woman will caress the smooth skin of the bald man with just as much zeal and sensuality. 

But ironically as much as hair on the head is a coveted crown of glory for women, other body hair is seen as so much of a curse that pain is endured in it's removal. And with each generation or so even less is tolerable. It is also a cultural preference. While the plucking of the errant hair of the eyebrows produced a more polished look for some, for others every last hair was removed so that the eyes became more dominant and a line was drawn in. Personally I saw this as having the exact opposite effect for it seemed too unnatural. But I have known those who have gone this route quite unintentionally in their effort to make both sides match. Fortunately, the invention of the razor ensured that we were not forced to spend hours in front of a mirror plucking each follicle from our arm pits. While I agree that especially with sleeveless garments the look of shaved underarms of a woman is more appealing, I wonder where this practice began and why. It was but some 30 years ago that on the topless beaches of Italy, it was quite common to see the bare bossoms flanked with sprouts of the dark European hair poking out from under the arms. Of course this was a time before the world shrunk with the advent of the internet and we became more knowledgeable about other cultures and even adopted them. Then the sight of a woman shaving her legs in the bathroom sink sent waves of panic that someone was attempting suicide with a razor. Yes for the Europeans all hair that was adorning the body was the will of the creator and even the moustache on the menopausal grandmother was viewed as a right of passage, a sign of respect and worn as a badge of honour. 

I wonder what the Europeans of that time would have thought of the practice of the bikini wax? Ah, for all of those who thought that tweezing the odd hair from the eyebrow line was enough to make the tears water, it doesn't even compare to the overall body experience of the application of the hot wax followed by the ripping of multiple hairs. The waxing of the legs accustomed to years of nicks, rashes and ingrown hairs is a new adventure in pain. But the Brazilians added a whole new dimension to the simple bikini wax by taking it a step further and for the cosmopolitan woman of today, it is more the norm than the exception to wax the most sensitive of areas. Even man-scaping is gaining in popularity although not to the extreme of the woman except in the porn industry. Natural is just not good enough in a society obsessed with anti-septic germ free environments, the new look is considered cleaner and healthier. One school of thought is that in a society with a broader view of sexuality and more openess to varied sexual partners, there is a clearer view of potential STD's. As much as the uni-brow is not accepted, all areas of the body are expected to get individual hygenic attention regardless of sex. 

The bandana that is perched on top like a decoration telling the world our neighbourhood affiliation, the doo-rag with its' long tails hanging down or the turban hiding all but a few wisps, we are identified whether we show the world our hair or not. Second to the women in society being identified with the presence of a healthy head of hair, must be the Sikh man. The faith dictates that hair must never be cut as a symbol of respect to the perfection that is creation. The turban keeps the hair clean, neat and tidy. For the Sikh it is as sinful to cut one's hair as Westerners feel about incest - it ensures a one-way ticket straight to hell. So many would rather face death than the barbers chair. But did you know that the hair is very tightly wound up in the turban day after day, this constant strain and pull at the roots of the hair often lead to a form of hair loss - Alopecia. And what of the Sikh who must undergo cancer treatments and lose their hair? I saw someone with a turban and no facial hair and while it struck me as odd, it wasn't until later that I realized why. I suppose that to save face a turban would continue to be worn even though there may not be tresses wound within its length. Sometimes a cut requiring stitches means that a small patch of hair must be removed to expose the injury. Would this be permissible? 

Worship it or hate it, suffer to pull it out or cry when it falls out, either way it  says a lot about us. To degrade a person and ensure that they will conform with the will that is deemed necessary, hair with be cut short or shaved off. Prisoners and slaves were often forced to keep their hair closely cropped, as a means of identification. Maintenance of hair has always taken time and money, none of which the poor and defeated had. Consider the ritual of entrance to the army. Step one - buzz cut. The original purpose of this was in the pursuit of health and to avoid the infestation of lice and fleas which were commonplace in the trenches of war and never changed through the years because it was found to ensure a level of compliance especially with those in need of discipline. Interestingly, Elvis Presley was so admired for his thick dark locks that the barber shop that reduced his mane to fluff on the floor has been designated a Historic Site by the state of Arkansas. Throughout the mid-century, the only young people who willing cropped their mop tops were those in the forces of the military or rebellious members of society (skinheads) and other members of gangs who wanted to be identified as such. An old rocker with close cropped hair is just an old man with a guitar trying to recapture some lost youth. How willing would you be to invest you hard earned money with the banker who has a lengthy ponytail hanging midway down his back? How serious would you take the physician with her close cropped spiked hair with blue tips? It's not just the clothes that define us! 

Sometimes we can't change the force of nature and the fate of our life. But we will spend fortunes on maintaining what we have, trying to replace what we have lost or removing it from places where most will never even know we do. And behind the scenes the scientists and advertising agencies are working diligently to ensure that hair on the head is coveted and revered and a direct reflection of what we perceive as our self worth. 

All the while artists like India Arie will try to convince us otherwise. Wouldn't it be good...

"I am not my hair

I am not this skin

I am not your expectations no no

I am not my hair

I am not this skin

I am a soul that lives within"

  

I Am Not My Hair - India Arie