Ugh...stupid hair book

[maskedrose]

Well, I work at Barnes and Noble and yesterday I was putting out a bunch of new arrivals in our health and beauty departement (my favorite :) ).

We have quite a large stock of hair books, some of which are really quite good. Our newest addition is called Great Hair by Nick Arrojo, and of course I had to flip through it before putting it away. The first thing I stumbled upon was his "makeover" section, where he gave chin length or shorter cuts to 6 longhairs!! Grrrr....

One had a gorgeous waterfall of red that went past classic, probably to her thighs and others had beautiful hair between waist and TB, I'd say. It really made me sick to look at the before and after shots, especially with the red head. I showed it to one of my coworkers, whose long, curly ponytail never fails to make me jealous (and he's a guy!!) and we both commiserated over the loss of such amazing hair.

I know this is a topic that is talked about over and over again, but seriously, WHY do people feel that long hair HAS to be "updated"???

[Samikha]

Most people don't realize that long hair is versatile :shrug: And that is mostly because, well, to get long hair you have to not cut it for a while, so you can't change your hairstyle every two months.

Short hair is also more common - thus more "hip". Because more people have short hair, stylists know more ways to vary it. Short hair is the lifeblood of salons, requiring constant maintenance and being an easy way to start people on dye. "Your hair is short, so you can do all sorts of crazy things and it'll grow out in no time!"

Add to that the fact that a lot of people, longhairs and shorties alike, don't have the faintest idea of just how many different updos there are in the world - well. I never knew! And updos just don't pay off for stylists. You teach them to a person one day and then they don't need you for it anymore.

Finally, most people think long hair is old-fashioned. It is, a bit. It is more comfortable for most people to see others that conform to their own beauty standards, rather than having (IMO) classical, timeless long hair. And if the people in that book wanted to try something new, why not? As long as no one forces them we can't really complain, tempting as it may be;)

Still, I feel for you about the redhead. There is nothing more beautiful than red hair:crush:

[ClareDee]

Maybe it's because it's so easy to "update" long hair. It just has to be lopped off and it's instantly dramatically different.

Shorter hair is harder to make any dramatic change to. Even with regard to colouring, makeovers will rarely go for anything dramatic in terms of colour. It's usually all about honey/caramel tones, etc.

So a very easy way for anyone to produce an impactful makeover show/book, is to round up a load of longhairs and give them bobs or pixie cuts. And, as we saw on Tyra's Age-defying makeover show, people can look amazing with the shorter (albeit high-maintenance) styles. It's just a shame when so many makeovers resort to lopping long hair off, seemingly without much consideration for ways in which it could be kept long and maybe styled differently.

Sorry, rambling now, but I think it's a shame that braided styles, buns etc, rarely get a positive (or even neutral) mention in any hair or makeover-related shows. Those kinds of woven or knotted styles seem to be off the radar in the media, most of the time. Yet I know I'm certainly not alone in thinking hair buns are really beautiful when they are well done...

I know, it's just that the fashion world is fickle. It's about quick changes from season to season (and from day to evening). They see long hair and their first instinct is to change it up. Anything you have been wearing for years (including hair, winter coats, scarves, etc) produces an allergic reaction in the fashion world. It must go, it must be changed, replaced, quick :shrug:
Ah I can't wait to be a real longhair so I can get properly indignant about all this ;)

[taliarose]

It's an unfortunate side effect of the culture we live in. We're not the "norm" here and we love ourselves for this very difference. They don't understand us for the love of our hair and we don't understand how they can cut theirs. One of life's little mysteries.

[Merlin]

"Even bad books are books and therefore sacred" - Gunter Grass

Why is this book 'stupid', just because you disagree with it doesn't make it stupid. There are a lot of books with which I disagree, but I'd never suggest that they were stupid books.

Actually, some people just want a change and get their hair cut because they're bored and they want to have short(er) hair.

They're not all there to decorate our world ;-)

[Deborah]

I think it is mostly about $$$$ :soapbox:

As long as hairdressers and those who sell hair products can convince us that we NEED more haircuts and fancier products and dyes and perms, etc., ad nauseum, they make more money and we dish it out.

Think about it. If everyone wore long, beautiful, natural hair, what would hairdressers do? What would Redken, Clairol, etc., etc. do? They need people to need cuts, perms, coloring, straightening, etc., etc. Heaven forbid we should be happy for a minute about how we look! We need to FIX it!! Better do a makeover!!

It's all $$$$ Don't fall for it!

Whew! The lecture is over. :thud:

[ChloeDharma]

I was watching LK today (which is a UK morning telly program) a little while ago and there was this "expert" on doing makeovers and the presenter asked him if mature ladies (that was the makeover theme) could still have long hair. It really did irritate me that there was a vibe of needing somebody's permission to have long hair. Anyway, he was like "yes, but it needs to be shaped well and coloured..." you know the type of thing. Well, their definition of long was still shoulder length at most and heavily layered so that most of it was short. I can't remember everything said now but i really did have my jaw drop momentarily at how rigid it all was and just how much authority this person presumed to have (and was given by the woman asking him)
I did have a point when i started typing but i seem to have lost it.
Anyway, i think all we can do is take comfort in not submitting to this mindset.
Merlin, not trying to put words into the OP's mouth but i think her irritation was that it seemed to reflect an anti long hair mindset that can be quite common and results in women (and men) who would prefer to keep their hair being pressurised to cut it off...from what i gather the book used long hair to represent hair negatively and automatically imply that it must be cut to be improved...i might be completely wrong of course.
As for the books thing, in a way i agree with you, though in a way i don't....i mean if i saw a book that said all women must obey their husbands i'd be very quick to call it stupid (just using that as an example) ;)

[maskedrose]

"Even bad books are books and therefore sacred" - Gunter Grass

Why is this book 'stupid', just because you disagree with it doesn't make it stupid. There are a lot of books with which I disagree, but I'd never suggest that they were stupid books.

Actually, some people just want a change and get their hair cut because they're bored and they want to have short(er) hair.

They're not all there to decorate our world ;-)

I wasn't implying that all books that I don't agree with are neccessarily stupid - I work in a book store for heavens sake! I love books - all books - even this one I could appreciate. There was lots of good information in it, but that particular section really rubbed me wrong.

Books are sacred, no doubt about it. This one just didn't sit well with my inner long hair :)

[amaiaisabella]

I know this is a topic that is talked about over and over again, but seriously, WHY do people feel that long hair HAS to be "updated"???

Maybe I'm oversimplifying it, but why does "updating" long hair mean cutting it off? Shouldn't updating equal maybe shaping the hair in the back into a U or V shape, maybe adding some layers, so long as you keep it around its original length? With my type hair, I need some kind of layering, otherwise the hair just hangs in a very unflattering (on me, at least) curtain around my face.

"Updating" long hair means keeping it long, hence keeping the "long" as an adjective. The way this stylist is referring to it is simply having a very large cut. I guess that doesn't sound as dramatic, no? :rolleyes:

*edited to add* I'm not referring to you (the OP), but more the stylist/author's use of the term. :)

[Raven69]

Ugh, I here you! Just yesterday I was watching Tyra's show and it had this one 23 year old, who had hair to the floor!!!! Though she didn't take proper care of it, it was very thin, light blonde - it didn't help that she was very pale and her hair was also scraggly looking. People thought she was 43 years old, not so much because of how long her hair was, but because of her overall appearance. Like what she was wearing and the fact that she never wore makeup! Tyra chopped it off at the base of the neck so it was shoulder length!!! If I wasn't at work, I would have cried for her! Then of course the stupid stylist lopped it off till it was just below her ears! In a 'side bob'! or what ever you call those boyish hair cuts! Ugh!! I wanted to beat that stylists up! You don't have to cut your hair so darn short to be considered 'beautiful'!! Look at all the celebs who have long hair! Though they have people to take care of their hair for them and their faces...

[Sarahmoon]

It's a sad world that you have to wear make-up to look your age :( Or should I say, to look in your early 20s cause that seems to be everyone's goal.

I wonder what Tyra's natural hair looks like. I can't believe it's wavy/curly dark golden blonde...

[Raven69]

Well, I am not talking like the whole nine yards, but a little eyeliner, mascara and some lip gloss and she would have been fine. She looked very plain, like her outfit looked like what someone in their late 40's would wear and it was a creme color, not a color she should be wearing due to her light skin and light hair. Since being in the military I rarely ever wear any makeup anymore, and if I do it's usually only 3 items: eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss.

But yeah, makeover stylists answers are always to make the hair shorter for a more dramatic look since going short is always noticable and different color, makeup and a flashy outfit.

[spidermom]

I've given up growing out my hair for many a cute haircut. I've even become upset with a stylist who trimmed it a teeny bit when I asked for something different. Change can be such a mood elevator. The next stylist took me from BSL to bi-level (mullet), and I was much happier with him than that first one. Go figure.

I think that when somebody submits for a makeover, out with the old and in with the new; it's time for a change.

Now the only change I want is longer hair.

[GlennaGirl]

One of the most obvious and dramatic ways to change one's appearance is by completely changing one's hair. That's why longhairs get cut on makeover shows, and shorthairs get extensions. Straight haired women are given waves for "body" and wavies are straightened for "updatedness".

I personally can't stand Nick Arojo. I think he basically knows variations of one haircut and just does it over and over again.