Contents
Influenced by the season, whim, or events in life, we cut them, lighten them, style them, or pull them into a ponytail. We paint strands, braid pigtails, hide our eyes under bangs … It turns out that these everyday transformations give us away!
What is there to talk about? the skeptical reader may object. Indeed, our hair is an atavism that has no practical meaning in modern life. But at the same time, they are extremely important for our sense of self. “Hairstyle is one of the means of self-expression, which I would boldly put in second place after speech,” says psychoanalyst Sylvie Consoli. Since ancient times, in all cultures, hair has been a symbol of strength, energy, life and, of course, temptation. No wonder harlots, starting with Mary Magdalene, were depicted with long flowing hair. And the righteous – either with a covered head, or with strict smooth hairstyles. Times have changed, but the attitude to hair as a tool of seduction and a way of self-expression has remained in both sexes. True, if men are more concerned about their very presence (the fear of baldness, according to the psychoanalyst, follows the fear of impotence), then women make much more demands on their hair. Everything worries: shade, haircut shape, texture, shine, softness. “There are few things that can upset a girl more than leaving the hairdresser with a haircut or hair color that she doesn’t like,” says L’Oréal Paris lead colorist Christophe Robin. – And vice versa, “hitting” the right tone or an unexpectedly suitable haircut is capable of much. I have had several clients whose new hairstyle was the starting point for getting out of depression.
Read more:
- Our hair…doesn’t suit us!
Hairstyles with meaning
However, the choice of haircut, hair color and even hair care products is dictated not only by aesthetic or practical considerations. “Hair symbolizes our freedom. The way they are cut and combed speaks of character traits, hidden desires and even fears of their owner, ”says psychotherapist Gloria Rossi. In her opinion, the hair combed back, completely opening the forehead, indicates the desire to always go forward and confront life without fear, without fear of human rumor. And if the hair is also raised above the forehead (hairpin or bouffant), then this means a passion for power, control and total control. The parting on the left reflects the desire to downplay femininity, the parting on the right, on the contrary, speaks of the difficulty of accepting one’s masculine component. Neatly combed long hair with a parting in the middle is a sign of a search for inner harmony and balance. But only if their owner does not try to comb her hair at the first opportunity. The fear of being disheveled reflects a hidden desire to restrain oneself at all costs, as well as a fear of public opinion. Open temples (when the strands rise above the ears, and in radical hairstyles they are shaved) demonstrate inner looseness and readiness to give freedom to others, as well as the desire for new acquaintances and self-knowledge. Closed whiskey, on the contrary, is a sign of a distrustful introvert: such a person wants to “walk on her own.”
Read more:
- We read through the hair: what does the hairstyle tell about the character?
Bangs, according to Gloria Rossi, are preferred by shy women who are afraid of self-expression and tend to hide behind the “palisade” of hair. Different types of bangs (long, thick, short, thinned) correspond to the level of our need for protection. However, Christophe Robin does not agree with this. He considers bangs just one of the ways to correct facial features and an indispensable part of many fashionable haircuts: “If a woman wants to have an actual hairstyle, of which thick bangs are a part, this does not mean that she has instantly become shy.”
False bottom
But in addition to form, we are also concerned with content. In other words, not only the haircut speaks about the character and life situation, but also the color of the hair, its texture, as well as the attitude towards the hair. For example, a very bright, radical color proclaims the desire for the removal of restrictions and for greater freedom. Those who choose red shades have a strongly hidden desire to break the taboos and get away from the usual patterns. Deep black tone reflects the severity and integrity of the character, and blondes demonstrate softness and the need for love. In addition, the same hairstyle can speak of completely opposite character traits. “Take the usual ponytail. If it is tightly tightened, then its owner is most likely a strong, impregnable personality. And when a woman carelessly grabs her hair, leaving a few strands free, she demonstrates timidity and the need for protection, ”says Sylvie Consoli. Even our touching the hair, in her opinion, can be both an erotic appeal and a gesture of self-soothing. “Torturing” her hair, pulling and even pulling it out, a woman expresses hidden annoyance, the presence of conflict relationships, the desire to reject her own femininity, ”adds Gloria Rossi.
Acting by touch
Of particular importance is the process of hair care. So popular today are multi-stage rituals with applying oil before washing, masks after, as well as a variety of serums, creams, and so on, allow you to put in order not only your hair, but also your state of mind. The feeling that we “manually” increase our erotic potential increases self-confidence and calms. Especially if the result is noticeable both in appearance and to the touch.
The tactile sensations of the hair are so important that many even refuse styling products if they make the strands stiff. Or choose products with weightless textures that gently fix the hair. “When I bleached my hair and ran my hand through it, it was a shock. Dry, hard, repulsive,” says 20-year-old Marina. – And although the color suited me, and my friends said that outwardly their condition had not changed, I began to earnestly restore my strands. Every day she made masks, wraps, used both ready-made and folk remedies. It partially helped, but I finally felt comfortable only when my hair grew back. And there was that same silkiness that I lacked. Since then, I decided not to experiment anymore until the appearance of gray hair.
That is why cosmetic brands take into account not only the aesthetic, but also the psychological needs of clients. From year to year, paint formulas become more gentle, and care products become more effective. After all, the feeling of “before and after” in hair care is extremely important. Even if they are subjective.
How does the heart express itself?
In youth, we search intensely for ourselves and try to declare independence from our parents. Breaking out of childhood, a teenager gains power over his body and appearance and actively uses the opportunity to decide for himself what to do with them. Often this is expressed in a cardinal change in the length or color of the hair. Such experiments stop after graduation and going to work. Subsequently, we decide on radical changes in hairstyles at turning points in life. For example, after disappointments in love, women tend to cut their hair short, thereby, as it were, getting rid of their femininity, which brought them so much suffering.