By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
May 18, 2004
Call it the Mia, the Farrah or the Rachel. Whatever it’s called, hair is as important a fashion statement as what we wear and the makeup we choose.
Actually, make that more important. You can have a zit on your face and a ratty old sweat suit on your bod, but when you’re having a good hair day, everything’s good.
The fact is, hair matters. Just ask any woman who’s cut hers and hates it. Dress it up, curl it, cut it. Whatever you do to it, hair makes a statement.
“Hair is really political,” says Chicago hairstylist Leigh Jones. “How you wear it, the length, everything. People who see short Afros still think that’s a militant look, and that pervades into how we think about people, especially women.”
A few thousand years ago it was the absence of hair that was in vogue. Both male and female Egyptians had standing appointments with their barbers to get their heads shaved clean. It was considered chic then to wear brightly colored wigs dyed red, black, green or blue that would’ve put Cher’s ample collection of hairpieces to shame.
But if you’re wary of going too radical with your haircut, try growing it out.
Long hair is always in fashion. Just ask any man. Or Demi Moore for that matter. The actress who gave herself a buzz cut onscreen in 1997’s “G.I. Jane” has opted for a super long, sleek look at age 40-plus.
“Long hair on a woman has the same effect on a man as blond hair,” Jones says. “It’s a big deal. Most men prefer long hair on a woman who may actually look better with a shorter style. It’s just one of those things. Look at all the beauty pageant contestants. Almost none of them have short hair. That’s why so many women are doing weaves or getting hair extensions.”
There’s another bonus to having long hair, too. It’s a lot cheaper to maintain than shorter cuts that need trims every four to six weeks. Now there’s a hair-raising concept.
