My Hair

October 4, 2009 – 12:09 pm

Red Spikes

I notice that the sea level is rising. I notice wars and poverty. I notice that I need a haircut. Having good looking hair is a social necessity. It’s like having pleasant manners and knowing when to say “Thank you.” And when I’m having a bad hair day, that means that my whole day is ruined, not just my hairdo.

Is my hair a trivial subject not worth writing about in an educational setting? Nothing could be further from the truth. Our external appearance is extremely important socially. We judge new people instantly upon meeting them, and these first impressions may not change for a lifetime.

I don’t sleep with rollers pinned in my hair all night, or use hairspray to keep my hairdo in place, but I always have to take care of my hair. I have seen women with blue crew cuts and men with red spikes sticking up from the top of their heads. Personally, I like a haircut that does not require much attention. Unusual hairdos that cry out, “I am different,” generally require a lot of time, money, and gel to keep them that way.

Like most women, I don’t cut my own hair. Every month or two, I visit a hair salon, where my haircutter decides what would look best.

I was born a strawberry blond. That means that my fair hair as a girl had tinges of red. By the time I was in high school, my hair had darkened to a medium brown. I started to go gray in my twenties, and I used henna products to color my hair and hide the gray. Henna is based on the color red, and for many years I was a red-head.

Later in life I stopped using any hair coloring, but some of my conversation students objected, saying, “You’re not an old lady! Do something about your hair!” After being a gray-haired old lady for a while, therefore, I followed their advice and dyed my hair blond, just as it was as a child.

I feel younger now, simply knowing that other people think I look better.

Some Questions for Discussion:

(1) Do you ever want to change the color of your hair? Why?

(2) How often do you get your hair cut?

(3) If you tell your haircutter you want your hair a certain way, does he or she listen to you and follow those instructions?

(4) Do you like going to a hair salon?

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