Oy! Enough with the Crying Already

What is the deal with women and this bizarro attachment to their hair?  There was a gal on What Not to Wear yesterday, who actually cried when the stylist cut off 3 inches of her nearly waist length hair.  Later it was water works to the 10th power when she opened her eyes and saw that he had transformed her previously mouse brown do into a luscious tawny red.  I felt so bad for Tim, the stylist because he really did a fantastic job.  He had transformed her from house frou renaissance wench (which was her actual part-time gig by the way) to red headed bombshell.  What became really annoying for me was when it came time for the BIG reveal, she was so caught up in her hair (“I wanted to be blond…sob, sob.”) that she couldn’t even see how beautiful she looked in her new outfits.  In fact, the more Stacey hooted and hollered, “Shut the front door!”, the more the tears flowed. And, no matter how much Clinton and Stacey praised her new do, “rubinesque beauty, blah, blah, blah…”, the crying continued.  I was stumped.

Now, there have been some instances on this show where I did agree that maybe the cut and color were a little drastic.  Say for instance, the time that Nick chopped off 8 inches of hair and changed it from bottle blonde to a rich brown (her natural color we think?).  Yes, I would agree that lobbing off nearly a foot of hair from someone who hasn’t cut their do since highschool, would send anyone into a follicular panic.  However, it needed to be done, and in the end, she came out looking like a knock out (“Shuuuttt Upp!”).

So what does this all mean?  I guess have just never had that emotional attachment to my hair.  Yes, I have had some colors that didn’t turn out like I expected, but eventually they fade or wash out.  I am speaking specifically about the fire engine red Dennis Rodman carrot top I sported a few years ago.  Clearly, a bad fashion choice.  And, finding a stylist that is comfortable cutting short hair can be surprisingly tough because apparently they DON’T teach you how to cut short hair in beauty school.  Who knew?

My philosophy has always been that my hair is just an accessory like earrings, bracelets, scarves, or your favorite rhinestone nose ring.  It is there to be cut, colored, extended, permed, or straightened.  Too short?  It will grow – a half inch a month is what I am told.  Wrong color?  Go back and re-color it.  Too curly?  Break out the flat iron.  But cry over it?  I don’t think so.

So to all of you out there with hair issues I say this, your hair does not define you.  You, define you.  Your hair is merely something that covers your head and keeps your scalp from freezing and falling off.  It is something to be played with, pony-tailed, cut-off, shagged, razored, or striped.  Hair is the ultimate accessory.  Enjoy it, take care of it, but save the water works for when your boyfriend dumps you on Facebook.  Now, THAT is something to cry about.