Why do we love so much our manes?

[sibilum]

Yesterday I was thinking... why we humans love so much our hair? I mean, it is not just us in the LHC, it is EVERYBODY in most cultures! Maybe most people don't spend time on hair forums but I would guess 95% of humans care about how their hair looks in a lesser or greater degree.

Is there a biological explanation for this?

[talecon]

my goal is to grow my hair out to classic length then dye it white for a while. when I get tired of it I'm cutting it into a short bob. I cant speak for anyone else but I only care about my hair for style.

[mellie]

It is interesting, isn't it? I guess we care so much about it because it is such an outward sign of health, perhaps?

So when choosing a mate, biologically we are drawn to one who seems the healthiest?

[smilinjenn71]

There *does* seem to be a strong emotional attachment for most people. Don't get me wrong, I like for my hair to look good and presentable but I'm not reallly 'attached' to it. I suppose I view my hair as an extension of myself but certainly not who I am.

For the most part it seems women feel more feminine and desirable to men by having long hair. I'm not really sure what draws men to grow their hair long. Perhaps a guy could enlighten me there.....

[Unofficial_Rose]

Hair is the only aspect of our appearance which is easy to change - you can't change anything else other than having plastic surgery.:p

It can be so very different on the same person as hair style is very much a matter of choice (as is colour, these days), so we use it to express our personalities/how we see ourslves.

Speaking as one who has had every conceivable hairstyle and colour :eyebrows:

[iriska]

i remember reading somewhere (wherever), that healthy shining hair and healthy shining nails were a sign of health, hence a sign of good reproduction capacity. and that hence, male humans were more attracted by female humans with healthy & shiny looking hair and nails because instinctively (although this is unconscious) it showed good reproduction capacity on the female human's behalf, and that all animals's goals was unconsciously to reproduce and perpertrate the specie...
yes, i know, this is not romantic at all, sorry for the biology lesson lol
but i guess that's why we always want shiny healthy hair and put on nail polish to make our nails shiny...

[sibilum]

i remember reading somewhere (wherever), that healthy shining hair and healthy shining nails were a sign of health, hence a sign of good reproduction capacity. and that hence, male humans were more attracted by female humans with healthy & shiny looking hair and nails because instinctively (although this is unconscious) it showed good reproduction capacity on the female human's behalf, and that all animals's goals was unconsciously to reproduce and perpertrate the specie...
yes, i know, this is not romantic at all, sorry for the biology lesson lol
but i guess that's why we always want shiny healthy hair and put on nail polish to make our nails shiny...

Don't be sorry, that's exactly what I wanted to know, the *biological* reasons! It makes a lot of sense. ;) I think that may be the same reason for men. I am not only talking about long hair, but any kind of hair. Many men go crazy when they start to go bald, for example.

[sibilum]

It is interesting, isn't it? I guess we care so much about it because it is such an outward sign of health, perhaps?

So when choosing a mate, biologically we are drawn to one who seems the healthiest?

Yeah, I think this makes the most sense! ;)

[Just_Isabel]

i remember reading somewhere (wherever), that healthy shining hair and healthy shining nails were a sign of health, hence a sign of good reproduction capacity. and that hence, male humans were more attracted by female humans with healthy & shiny looking hair and nails because instinctively (although this is unconscious) it showed good reproduction capacity on the female human's behalf, and that all animals's goals was unconsciously to reproduce and perpertrate the specie...
yes, i know, this is not romantic at all, sorry for the biology lesson lol
but i guess that's why we always want shiny healthy hair and put on nail polish to make our nails shiny...

That's pretty much what I wanted to say. I also read somewhere that healthy, strong looking hair is a sign of health and that we're (subconsciously) attracted to it because of that.

Culture is also an important factor, I think. But I don't think it tells us why we tend to like hair, but how - which styles we consider attractive will depend on what we associate with those styles, for example long hair for women = femininity in our culture.

[Tangles]

Hair is the only aspect of our appearance which is easy to change - you can't change anything else other than having plastic surgery.:p



Not QUITE true (some people easily lose/gain weight, become tan, wax their eyebrows frequently etc), but you're right in that some people focus on their hair (it's not a bad thing!) to distract from things they don't like about themselves.

[xeternalsilence]

I know that for me, and probably for many other people, if I'm wearing my favorite outfit that makes me look great and my skin is clear and nice looking, but I'm having a "bad hair day", I look and feel awful no matter what.

The opposite is also true. I could be wearing baggy sweat pants and a t-shirt, but if my hair looks great, I feel a lot better and am much more confident.

I think that for me and a lot of other people I've talked to, hair honestly does control our overall appearance more than anything else.

[Drynwhyl]

It's probbably in our primal nature...look at the animals. I thing we use it for atracting the opposite sex, look at the peacock for example. ;)

[florenonite]

i remember reading somewhere (wherever), that healthy shining hair and healthy shining nails were a sign of health, hence a sign of good reproduction capacity. and that hence, male humans were more attracted by female humans with healthy & shiny looking hair and nails because instinctively (although this is unconscious) it showed good reproduction capacity on the female human's behalf, and that all animals's goals was unconsciously to reproduce and perpertrate the specie...
yes, i know, this is not romantic at all, sorry for the biology lesson lol
but i guess that's why we always want shiny healthy hair and put on nail polish to make our nails shiny...

This is pretty much what I wanted to say. I remember discussing with my friend, who's a psychology student, the fact that I don't want children, and she was insisting my body will make me change my mind because on a very subconscious level, the body feels a need to reproduce, and to mate with a healthy person in order to do so. We were also discussing pheremones, and I remember hearing of a study by which girls were subjected to various guys' sweat, and were never attracted to their brothers' sweat.

Hair is a very obvious outward sign of health, because if you're unhealthy so too will your hair be, and so people want healthy-looking hair. A lot of things that are very classic definitions of beauty, like clear skin, long shiny hair, lack of excess body fat (though this has gotten excessive lately with stick-thin models and airbrushing) are all indicators of the health of the person in question. There's a reason zits are unattractive, and likewise there's a reason that fried hair is generally considered unattractive, too.

[Sissy]

I think hair is just something that defines who we are. Hair is seen as beautiful in many cultures. I can't really explain it. I only know that my hair is very important to me and I would mourn if I lost it.

[aprilmay]

I was trying to explain to my sister in law how the trim she gave me a few years ago made me miss my hair. I agreed to a 4-6 inch trim rather than a 1-2 inch. She thinks I am crazy. I need a trim now, but am not sure what to do about it. Usually DH does the job, but my ends turn out uneven and flipping out rather than laying flat or turning under. You can see this in my signature pic. I think my hair is longer now since that is about a year ago.

[BranwenWolf]

In most animals, (and humans) the hair is the first thing to deteriorate in ill health. I noticed this with the animals I've worked with. My mule improved so much in body conditon when I started her on a supplement, and got a nice glossy summer coat.

So, long healthy hair = health, as most others have posted. In my area long hair gets attention because it's different from the norm.

It also says in the Bible (Old Testament, I think) that a woman's hair is her crowning glory. :)

[Debra83]

:soapbox:

Also speaking from a Biblical perspective, since before the fall in the garden, pride has been found in God's creatures - even Satan tempted Jesus in the Garden with things to do with "the pride of life, the lust of the eyes, and the lust of flesh", which is described as our major weaknesses in life.

But, it doesn't always have to do with hair. It can be about looks, abilities, intelligence, money, fame, talent, possessions, children...people gravitate to different subjects/objects or sometimes more than one! Whenever we glorify "us" instead of God, that's when it is pride.

[Bill D.]

There *does* seem to be a strong emotional attachment for most people. Don't get me wrong, I like for my hair to look good and presentable but I'm not reallly 'attached' to it. I suppose I view my hair as an extension of myself but certainly not who I am.

For the most part it seems women feel more feminine and desirable to men by having long hair. I'm not really sure what draws men to grow their hair long. Perhaps a guy could enlighten me there.....

I can only speak for myself, but I began to have an inexplicable urge to have long hair back when I was 10 years old. When I finally was able to grow it out years later I loved its softness, how it felt on my skin, and how it looked on me (it looked very different than it does now because it was thick and framed my face). My long hair has never made me feel feminine (!) though I used to be self-conscious about it when I was younger.

Now and then Elizabeth will drape her hair on me as if it were mine, giving me a brief sense (without all the work) of what it would be like to have truly long, thick hair. Wow!

Bill D.

[sahiba]

It's probbably in our primal nature...look at the animals. I thing we use it for atracting the opposite sex, look at the peacock for example. ;)

I love this explanation the most .:D One of my relative has thick long hair , maybe a little longer than Aisha.She always makes a braid and when she walks her braid ( which is covering her a**) moves like a rope and it always attracts the ''looker's " attention towards that area as well.

Therefore, the motto of the wise: always have gorgeous butt to compliment gorgeous hair.:foot: Guess I need to go for a workout now, who knows when I'll have her length. :run:

[inspiral]

some cultures believe that our hair is like our antennae, and oftentimes very spiritual people are recognized by the length and beauty of their hair.
i think of hair as kinda like, a timeline, that records everything that you experience, so when you want to shed your skin and start anew, or when you are mourning, moving on, you cut it off. it absorbs the energy of your surroundings, so if you have been in a very negative bad depressed state, cutting off your negative soaked hair can be cleansing. it also reflects your overall health, and reveals your personality. the cut and style reflects many things, are you trying to change yourself, are you cutting pieces away, are you covering something up, are you taking care of yourself, are you allowing your natural self to blossom. long, natural, healthy hair reveals someone who is comfortable letting their unique self shine, someone who isnt fighting against themselves or trying to change what nature created.
its interesting to see the correlation between the stages of my life and the styles of my hair. when i was younger, i did a lot of experimenting, coloring, cutting, perming, and when i wanted a new, fresh, different look i would change my hair. then as i got a little older, and began to be more comfortable in myself, i realized that what really flattered me most was my natural color, my natural curl, and allowing it to grow long.
here is an interesting webpage about the native american beliefs about hair: http://www.manataka.org/page1936.html
a lot of times i have heard people say, and i have said myself in the past, "its just hair." but i think it is more than "just" that, it is part of us, it is an extension of our being, and it serves a definate purpose, just like any other part of ourselves.:D

[Katze]

I think hair is the only thing on our bodies specifically there to be decorated and played with. I just wish you could do more to decorate it and change it more easily (for example, I often want thin, neat dreads, but not forever)!

[sibilum]

I love this explanation the most .:D One of my relative has thick long hair , maybe a little longer than Aisha.She always makes a braid and when she walks her braid ( which is covering her a**) moves like a rope and it always attracts the ''looker's " attention towards that area as well.

Therefore, the motto of the wise: always have gorgeous butt to compliment gorgeous hair.:foot: Guess I need to go for a workout now, who knows when I'll have her length. :run:

:rollin: That makes a lot of sense... heeheee... I think I will need some workouts too when my hair is longer... :rolleyes: or I will just use updos, since I'm not very fond of them! :o

[sahiba]

Make updos , but ensure you have sexy neck and back .:laugh:

[sandigirl]

I LOVE long, shiny hair.
I think long, shiny hair is beautiful. So do many people.
My long hair is a big part of who I am. I have been getting compliments since I was 12. My hair/eyes/and smile are some of my best physical features. I take really good care of them. In a group of people I will always notice the long-haired first.
I have had horrible dreams of someone cutting my hair and woke up in a panic. I was crying hysterically in my dream, so maybe my hair represents some kind of strength/uniqueness/individuality to me?

[culleq3290]

I've been thinking about that for a while as well. I've read that hair naturlly attracts people together. In my opinon its about taking care of yourself and being healthy. :)

[CheshireGrin]

i remember reading somewhere (wherever), that healthy shining hair and healthy shining nails were a sign of health, hence a sign of good reproduction capacity. and that hence, male humans were more attracted by female humans with healthy & shiny looking hair and nails because instinctively (although this is unconscious) it showed good reproduction capacity on the female human's behalf, and that all animals's goals was unconsciously to reproduce and perpertrate the specie...
yes, i know, this is not romantic at all, sorry for the biology lesson lol
but i guess that's why we always want shiny healthy hair and put on nail polish to make our nails shiny...

I suppose I'm a freak of nature then. I love hair on other people that is teased and dyed to death, I'm also not put off by cracked dry nails, and prefer the pale fragile types.

Then again, I hate kids and never want to start a family. :p Maybe this stuff is real after all.