Women and their locks |

We may not be able to explain how or why, but it’s a fact: women have a special kind of relationship with their hair. It is worth reflecting on this sometimes ambivalent relationship between hate and love, with nuances of attachment, nostalgia and some exaggerations.

There are many curious facts and fables around the relationship of women with their locks. In Brazil, we have the curious story of the wigs of the Portuguese court when they arrived in Brazil, which were actually linked to a lice infestation that forced everyone to go bald. To hide their bald heads, they used wigs and these became a sign of nobility. Other images remind us of the special role of hair: the belief in the Middle Ages that red hair was a sign of diabolical activities, Magdalene wiping Jesus’ feet with her long hair, Rapunzel and her long braids that allow her lover to reach her, and so on. Customs vary according to time, social class, local culture and many other factors.

Trends, fads and sentiments

In summer the color of the moment is blonde, in winter the warmest tones and off we go alternating colors. Now the flat iron is the star making hair ultra smooth, now everyone wants wavy hair. Fulana’s fringe, Beltrana’s locks and Siclana’s hairstyle are copied. If we’re going to follow so many trends, we’ll end up going back to wig fashion!

Some fads make us slaves. Those with curls want to tame them as if they were dangerous beasts, those with limp hair want volume, an ideal is created that is always what is not in us. Beautiful hair is what took work to build, sculpt and we’re mistreating the poor thing.

That there is a relationship between what we feel and how we react to our hair, oh, there is! In the United States there are two interesting expressions: “good hair days” and “bad hair days” to express, on the one hand, the days when we are feeling good about life and, on the other, those days when our hair is standing on end, that is, in a bad mood, in a bad mood with life. Just as the way our hair is styled influences our emotions (it’s a huge challenge to maintain a good mood if hair that wakes up rebellious and with a life of its own decides to stay up!), the reciprocal is true, and our emotions directly influence the state of our hair. hair

– and everything else in our bodies.

Changes reflected in hair

How many of us haven’t caught ourselves wanting to change the cut or the color or the way to arrange the locks when experiencing some change in life? Some defend that the end of a relationship is the champion among the reasons to look for a beauty salon urgently! In times of emotional low, there are people who neglect care. In some cases, the hair even becomes more tangled and reflects the disorder inside the head. Common symptom in times of worry and stress: hair loss! “Hot head”? There come the white dandruff shells. There are those who develop symptoms of trichotillomania, which consists of pulling one’s own hair, where the person is motivated by an irresistible impulse and the symptoms are linked to worries, repetitive thoughts, stress. The list of symptoms is extensive, many of them linked to emotional components that cause it, but that do not exclude the search for professional help to treat it: dermatologists and psychologists can contribute a lot, treating the results without leaving the causes aside, otherwise the symptoms they will return.

But not only through illness do we connect to our hair. Have you also noticed that hair and skin gain more strength when we are happy with life? If we have high self-esteem, we take better care of ourselves, we eat better, our immunity is up to date, our mind works better and if we are in contact with our soul, it is not necessary for our body to show symptoms for us to pay attention to what is important inside. of us. If we already take care of ourselves, new signs will not be needed for us to pay attention to self-care.

beyond the labels

How is your relationship with that part of your body that contours your expression, portrays your health, expresses your femininity to the world? Short, long, straight, curly, wavy, gray, painted, dark, light, voluminous, thin: more than labels, more than meeting the expectations of others, it is important to feel that this part of us is in congruence with who we are. Our hair is part of our body and the expression of our personality. They express the beauty of the feminine, whether in the long dresses that frame and dress us, or in the shorts that highlight the features of our beauty, or in our cutting movement to keep up with the times, or in our act of allowing their growth to flow. It is important to feel our body and its contact with our intimate world. Paying attention to the hair can be a starting point, but they are just part of this picture so full of rich and impressive details composed by the female body and soul. Pay attention to your hair, see what they say about you. Enjoy and also notice your nails, your curves, your eyes… See yourself in full and take care of yourself, woman!