do people have a distorted view about hair?

[Ishje]

do you think people in general have a distorted view about how healthy hair should look like?

I mainly think about the commercials for hair products I see on tv.
some of them just like nobody could really reach that effect.
of course I understand that company's do everything to make their products seem like the best.
but I have the feeling this makes that people's idea's about how healthy hair looks like sometimes is not accurate anymore.

do you think people with healthy natural hair will be looked at different because of this?

I hope there is not yet a thread about this, I searched back but could not find anything.
I am just curious to other peoples thoughts about this subject.

[tinywife]

YES! These ads always made me hate my hair. Plus the coney products they're selling made my hair look even more unlike the model's.

[redheadlynn]

YES! These ads always made me hate my hair. Plus the coney products they're selling made my hair look even more unlike the model's.

I think people have a distorted view when they believe, like my cosmetologist cousin, that if they just buy more of the newest product, that their hair will be as glossy. (When the truth is, if she'd stop using 10 different products and stopped bleaching her hair every other week, she wouldn't have a frizzy mop!)

Those models get TONS of shine spray and whatever else put on their hair, and the angles are manipulated. Sometimes it's not even their hair! :rolleyes: Many don't even use the product they are endorsing...they don't have to.

I don't believe people think that shiny hair is unattainable, but they think it's solely attainable by expensive products. :(

[Anywhere]

Yes. I believe once there was a shampoo advert. that had a teensy disclaimer at the bottom saying the model's hair were extensions?

I think people expect picture-perfect hair 24/7.. which is just unrealistic for most people.

[milagro]

I think you're onto something. Those commercial and ads and magazines' images are so far from real life people should be continually unhappy about their hair even it is quite healthy. For almost two decades healthy hair was supposed to be straight as well as glassy-shining and three-average-heads thick. It's been changing a bit recently but yet...
I also notice advertisement has made a big change in color perception, most women I know think their natural color "dull". Well, most natural shades are dull comparing to chemical dye samples , say nothing about Photoshop :D

[trolleypup]

do you think people in general have a distorted view about how healthy hair should look like?
I think that anyone who takes media and commercials at face value is going to have a distorted and negative view of their hair, skin, body, clothing, etc etc etc. Basically anything that is visible or perceivable at a glance.

[Madora]

Those tv ads with glorious, fine as silk hair, that swings so seductively and seems so incredibly gorgeous...ugh!!

People think by using X product their damaged, over teased hair will magically look like the ads. What a farce!!

Quite frankly, I don't think many people realize that it takes time to develope a truly healthy, beautiful head of hair. People don't want to take the time to maintain it...they'd rather get "instant" results by using X, Y and Z product.

[lapushka]

Not that it's not awesome, but just look at Evangeline Lilly's hair in this commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyqH-oV74Ic), then compare it to her "natural" look in Lost. I loved her hair in Lost way more, because of the natural, airdried, realistic, look, and -yeah, I know- even that hair is created, styled, to look a certain way. My point is, it far more resembles normal looking hair, and I think it's a lot more beautiful.

[angelfell]

The garnier fructis ads are the worst IMO. Long, tame hair that shines beyond belief. Sure, the hair around my scalp + a few inches down, because of how naturally straight and dark my hair is, looks like the commercials.. but the rest, although I classify it as healthy, is not near that. So.. boo :(

[Ishje]

I came to think about this when I watched "style by jury" (to me a truly horrible show, I won't watch it again)

there was a woman with gorgeous long hair, very healthy and pretty.
the people in the jury (I believe they are actors but still) said that she looked like she did not take good care of herself because of her long hair.
since then, I have started wondering why people think that.
and the only thing I can come up with is that media shows an image that is not accurate.
and that like Anywhere said is unrealistic for most people.

this is nothing new of course, but I wonder what it means to people who do take good care of their hair.

Milagro yes, you are right, I have been noticing more and more that dyed hair colors are mostly colors that are not natural at all.

trolleypup true! unfortunately.

Madora I think that is absolutely true! many people don't realize how much time it takes to get your hair truly healthy.

[purplebubba]

If you ever get a chance to read some of the fine print on the hair product commercials you'll see something such as "perception based on use for 14 days"

In other words the products do not actually repair the hair or make it smoother. They just put something on the hair to make the person think that their hair is being fixed or make it look different.

You also have the ads that say try us for 14 days. Well to me that say let our product build up on your hair for 14 days so it will stay on there so you can go on perceiving that you have better hair.

Nothing wrong with this if the product makes you like your hair better.
Just realise that the product is not fixing anything but your perceptions.

[HintOfMint]

Ads definitely distort what people think is "healthy" hair by disparaging certain hair types. A lot of coarse, wavy hair is considered dry or damaged, when in reality, it can be perfectly healthy and free from damage but it's never going to be soft and silky. Some hair textures don't shine like glass but it's still in good condition. And some people will always have frizz but it's not from breakage but from new growth that simply isn't weighed down or is a different texture. Ads basically are designed in a way to make you think that there is something wrong with you, therefore you will buy their product.

[AspenSong]

I think ads Totally distort what you think your hair/skin etc should look like! I bought into all that for so long....bought every shampoo and condish out there, wanting the shiny, gorgeous hair. I never got close to it until I ditched all that stuff!
Same with my breakout prone skin...I never could figure out why I used what they were using and they had perfect skin and I was a mess - Ironically, I stopped using anything but a tiny bit of Noxzema to wash in the shower, and then only using watered down Witch Hazel or a cold cream to "cleanse" my face at night - Oh look, suddenly clear skin! lol.

I tend to ignore all that stuff now because also, being a photographer....I know anything you see in a photo or tv is a "finished PRODUCT"....90% of the time, it's not total reality. *shrug*

[purplebubba]

And another thing,
Pantene had Stacey London doing their commercials telling everyone that Pantene is the best and within a month or so they redo the whole line and now there she is again pushing the new stuff.

Um if the old stuff was so great why the change?
I guess so those people in the conference rooms can actually have something to discuss and present so they don't all get bored. After all Wall Street doesn't want to hear that you have the perfect product and you're just selling it as usual. You gotta have something new, something fresh, something to get them to spend an extra penny on. Nevermind what the consumer wants.

[marzipanthecat]

Yes.

Not everyone has the right type of hair to look all glossy and shiny like hair usually does in those adverts (my own hair, for example). I can have nice healthy hair but it won't have that glass-like shine (I can't think of any other way to describe it!). My texture is just different.

I do think it gives people a distorted view of what healthy hair can be, too. And I do get cross about the adverts that claim to "fix" damged hair (we all know that you really really can't magically fix split ends).

[Ravenwaves 88]

Even before LHC I never paid attention to those commercials....thanks to my Dad for calling out the BS.

Once I joined LHC and started paying attention, they just made me laugh at how impossible it really is. Plus has anyone seen that commercial I think it's Pantene.....Damage repair line that promises you can do anything you want to your hair and it'll just erase it all away......there is a blonde on the commercial that get's her hair teased in a time lapse fashion and her APL hair gets teased into a big heap of horror on the top of her head.....GAAHHHHHH.......I cringe every time I see it and swear to myself that no amount of money would get me to do that EVER!!!!

[CarpeDM]

I could possibly have a distorted view on how thick my hair should be because every commercial or print ad I see has a model with incredibly (and in my opinion) unrealistic thick glossy perfect straight hair that goes on for miles. It would be nice to see a hair model with thinner flatter hair for once :)

[Tia2010]

The media does its job very well ! I was a makeup artist ...I knew what could be done to make people appear flawless but I still thought , "Maybe this product will really work ." :rolleyes:

When I really started paying attention to what I was seeing in the media vs what I saw on the same people in candid shots , it became very clear just how much the media can make you believe a load of crap !

[pepperminttea]

Those who listen to the media, most definitely. Just as in body types, there's certain hair types that are portrayed as aspirational a lot more than others - often 1a/iii; thick, straight, with a shine that could cause retina damage, and heavily processed with miraculously little damage. Even when I see adverts for curls, they look like heat-tonged curls rather than the real thing.

Yet another reason to read a book instead. :p

[Jessica Trapp]

Photoshop and video editing can work wonders...

[Greenhousegirl]

In general i think everyone has their own idea of what healthy hair is.

[Bene]

I think you can make the same argument that a lot people on this site have a distorted view of hair. I know I do :D

[MissManda]

Absolutely!

I can't tell you how many times I've had to explain to my friends that shampoo has nothing to do with the way my hair looks and behaves. It is very sad to see them get so disappointed when I don't tell them about some miraculous product, but they won't listen when they ask for more details. :(

Another thing I found amusing was when I watched a commercial for volumizing shampoo and the hair they described as being flat was obviously quite volumized, so when they showed what they called "voluminous" hair, it was uber-uber-volumized and about five times the thickness as an average head of hair and way thicker than the thickest hair I've ever seen IRL.

[Jessica Trapp]

I think you can make the same argument that a lot people on this site have a distorted view of hair. I know I do :D

This made me LOL! :D

[sneakybea]

Not that it's not awesome, but just look at Evangeline Lilly's hair in this commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyqH-oV74Ic), then compare it to her "natural" look in Lost. I loved her hair in Lost way more, because of the natural, airdried, realistic, look, and -yeah, I know- even that hair is created, styled, to look a certain way. My point is, it far more resembles normal looking hair, and I think it's a lot more beautiful.

This is the precise example I was going to bring up. If Lilly's hair in the commercial had been on anyone else, it would look quite lovely to me, but knowing how her hair looked on Lost, it not only falls short, but sends the message that curly hair, or at least natural looking curl, isn't shampoo commercial worthy. And I loved her hair on Lost! I also hate that so many ads and products seem to associate "smooth" hair with healthy hair, partly because it's such a vague term, and partly because smooth doesn't seem like something we wavies/curlies can aspire to. At least, I know my hair doesn't do smooth, but people have said it looks healthy nonetheless.

[beez1717]

I've always thought that hair that shines too much has way too much grease in it! Am I right or am I right?

[MissManda]

I've always thought that hair that shines too much has way too much grease in it! Am I right or am I right?

I'm not sure about that one. I always thought overly-greasy hair looked rather dull, actually.

[2peasinapod]

In my experience, greasy hair looks limp and stringy, not overly shiny.

And, I would also like to credit those commercials for my unrealistic expectations about hair. For years, I thought I had bad hair because no matter how many products I used, my hair was never smooth, shiny, and tame. I wore a pixie for years. Now, I realize that my hair never looked like that because it's dark, wavy, and thick. My hair also looks best if I just leave it alone. :doh:

Sadly, though, there are lots of people who don't realize this, as has been pointed out.

[marzipanthecat]

I can't tell you how many times I've had to explain to my friends that shampoo has nothing to do with the way my hair looks and behaves. It is very sad to see them get so disappointed when I don't tell them about some miraculous product, but they won't listen when they ask for more details. :(


Oh yes. This.

People usually get rather put out when they ask me what shampoo/conditioner I use to get my hair like this, and I give my (entirely honest and truthful) reply of "Um, let me think..." and try to recall what I happen to be using at the moment. I actually don't have any special favourite regular hair-washing stuff, and certainly nothing magical! And people are often a bit put out when I say I don't use whatever expensive salon product they reckon I am probably using.

Interestingly, whenever I get into these conversations with women and their mothers/grandmothers are with them (especially when these women seem to be past retirement age), quite often the older women will say "I bet it's all down to eating well and living healthily!", so I assume this is some post-war nutrition education thing (my own grandmother always thought like that too). I'll ask next time!

[marzipanthecat]

By the way, I get asked about my hair a lot by total strangers. I assume I look very non-threatening to talk to!

[Ishje]

thank you all for your answers! :love:

[Tiina]

Yesterday I was having a conversation with my mother about hairdye. She loves it like I love chocolate. The more, the better. She dyes her hair in a colour similar to her own, not to hide the greys (she has very few of them) but because she believes it makes her hair more healthy. Thicker, shinier and more manageable. There's nothing wrong with her natural hair except that it isn't as awesome as in the commercials. However, a few weeks later when the dye starts to wear off she wonders why it looks worse again... :shrug:

She also believes that the ends of her hair start getting damaged after just a month or so. I guess it's just easy for most people to believe in what hairstylists and ads say. Afterall, surely the stylists and shampoo makers must be "experts" at all things hair related?

[enfys]

I bought a volumising shampoo because I wanted volume. It gave me more volume.
I bought a smoothing serum because I wanted to really smooth out braids. It gave me smoother hair.
I bought a strong hold hairspray to hold my hair for a long time. It held, strongly.

The products I buy do what they claim to.

If people can't see past the pictures, and think that is reality and that's how their hair will look then they will be disappointed. I don't blame the media; it obviously totally works and it is an industry. They need sales.

The copy in adverts can't lie; somewhere there will be a disclaimer. Read that and the bottle itself, and just take the photo as decoration.

[jojo]

As a whole people have forgotten how healthy hair looks, were living in a world where extensions, straightening irons, shine sprays, shine creams, curling tongues, coney this and coney that products are the way to go apparently, so therefore people perceive product overloaded and hair heated and twisted and straightened as the norm. Then when they see somebody who's hair is in their natural state; wavy, curly, straight with our fly-aways which of course are normally sticking out when not flattened, they see it as damage and not very nice hair if that makes sense.

If we look back to the 70's the majority of peoples hair was in its natural state, yes people dyed their hair but more allowed it to air dry. Its like boob jobs theres so many of them around nowadays we see it as normal, we don't bat an eye lid because this is what society has got used to.

Its not until you come onto forums like this that you actually appreciate hair in its natural state and I bet everyone of you has come onto this site and gone wow at the peoples hair, me included and not just the extreme length ones either the condition of the hair ive seen on here has wowed me more than the length and its because of that ive stopped around. Sure its nice to straighten; it looks nice, it feels nice but it isnt really its just an illusion to the eye, if only more people realised that natural hair is the nicest!

[Mirsha]

The way I see it: people feel the need to believe in snake oil, thus they do.

I grew up with every cheap shampoo in the book and believed that conditioner was an excuse to make more sales for years.

Honestly, I wouldn't recognize healthy hair if you stuck it in my face. All I cared/care/will care about is how it looks, because that's the point. I see it as something to enhance your beauty with, do whatever you want with it but at the end of the day - if it doesn't look good you wont feel/look good.

IMHO of course.

[boudica]

Wow! I recently moved to LA and am confronted every day with people who seem overly plasticized. It's very tribal here, and the pressure to be unnatural is huge.

Yesterday I was in a cafe in an upscale neighborhood and I saw the long legged 'perfect' people who had succeeded in making this their lifestyle. To maintain themselves is a full time job.

A woman came by the cafe trying to sell the services of a salon. I asked if they had good conditioning treatments, and they had a deep conditioning treatment for $375! (It wasn't even the uber-expensive Brazilian Blow Out that leaves your hair more damaged than before.)

I've only been on this forum for a few weeks, but as I looked through their menu of choices, I noticed that not one of these processes would I allow to be done on my hair whereas before I would have looked at these pricey processes with a bit of misty longing. Then I decided to tell the woman about this site and how open and honest it was about products and haircare. After about 5 minutes discussion she was holding her long blond super-straight hair and looking at her ends with concern. I hope she comes here.

The more I travel and the more places I work the more I see fashion as tribal, and that includes hair. Things that everyone around you does become invisible, and deviations from tribal markers separate you from the tribe. There is us and there is other.

The more time I spend in LA the more I see things that cost a lot as being hugely tribal. It's one of the barriers to entry for a certain tribe, but it's only one of those barriers. People will spend much more on things for identity than for necessities. (I used to do marketing in another life.)

I want to thank all you people for being here and contributing to such a positive change for me. I feel much saner about my hair now than before I came here.

[Ishje]

that is a nice story Boudica :) interesting as well!

[perkidanman]

I got to realize after going "no poo" that a lot of "norms" in society nowadays haven't been around long and mainly focus on making you feel inadequate.

You can't have deliver your baby at home with a midwife. What if something goes wrong? You HAVE to have it at a hospital.

Your body is naturally stinky, you HAVE to use this clinical strength antiperspirant.

Your hair is greasy and disgusting, you HAVE to shampoo and condition with our complete line of products.

Add infinitum.

I bought into all the hype for years. It wasn't until I started going to an art business school that I realized what was going on! Honestly, has anyone ever had a hair problem that was "fixed" by a product? NO, they control it for a bit and make you dependent on them for the result. I'm done with spending $20 for a bottle of shampoo that is specially made for my hair type. It looks best on its own.