Why your crowning glory is a real crown
HERE’S a sentence I never thought I’d write: Kim Kardashian has said something that makes sense. Her hairdresser has “changed my life”, she said and while that might sound a tad on the shallow side, she’s spot on. For the vast majority of women our hair is absolutely central to our existence. If someone tells us they’re having a bad hair day, we get it immediately. Equally, if we’re having a rough old time of it, coming out of the salon looking immeasurably better gives a boost like nothing else.
Apparently the average length of time for a woman to spend with her hairdresser is 12 years. I actually spent over 20 with my ex-tress teaser and wrote in these pages about the emotional devastation when we had to part (long story.) I have had several relationships, as it were, since that one and have found someone with whom I’m very happy and as I go once a week, that is a set-up that has got to be right. A good hairdo is crucial to a person’s happiness. It makes or breaks the way we feel.
Do men understand the way women feel about their hair? In the vast majority of cases, probably not. Men are not judged by their appearance the way women are. As far as I know, no male hairstyle has ever been named after its owner, as Jennifer Aniston’s “The Rachel” once was. Men are far more likely to lose their hair than women (and many women who have done so have described the experience as absolutely traumatic). Equally men can sport grey hair and be told they’re silver foxes, which never happens to women. Men may not realise it but they judge us by our hair. And is that the reason that some sections of society force women to cover their heads? Hair, bizarre as it might seem, goes to the bottom of what it is to be a woman. It’s the very essence of femininity.
And Kim Kardashian, of all people, is in a place to understand that.
❑
A SCANDAL has arisen regarding the Queen’s chief fireplace lighter apparently. Couldn’t tell you what it is as I was stopped in my tracks by hearing that such a being exists. And the word “chief” implies there’s a whole team of them. Makes you proud to be a Brit.