Hair

When we look look back in time, we will invariably find that there has always been a great to-do about hair, whether in religion, fashion, and, more recently, in politics. Clumps of hair were enclosed in the walls of Romanian churches because it was believed that the magical powers of hair could ward off evil. As popularized in movies and books, people have kept locks of hair to remember their loved ones by.Every period, country, and profession has a distinctive coiffure, be it the pompadour of the courtesan, the wareshinobu of the maiko, or the chignon of the prima ballerina. Hair has raised issues small and great: to powder or not to powder, to don a wig or a fro, to wear hair curled or straight, to shave or to wax-- what is that quality of hair that so preoccupies us about it,despite its vestigial function?

Hair, for many of us, is not merely an appendage; it is a status symbol, an affirmation or renunciation of one's identity, a yardstick by which one can measure self-esteem, a means by which one can feel good about oneself. We often go to the greatest lengths of bother just so our hair will be fashionable and presentable. We have often been intrigued by the faddish shampoos, conditioners, treatments, and serums that promise to rejuvenate, restore, strengthen, straighten and smooth hair. But what for? To what end? When one considers the expense and effort we generate in order to make hair decorative, one has to wonder if it were not better to forgo hair altogether.

Hair loss is viewed in our culture as nothing short of tragic. People comment about women who have lost hair in such an offensive fashion : "Sayang, ang ganda niya dati." I cannot reconcile myself with the way people deal with other people who really don't need to hear their inconsiderate views. It is as if a woman is only an object and, upon losing her hair, she ceases to be an object of femininity and becomes a symbol of decay. I commiserate with cancer patients who have lost their hair but, at the same time, cannot help feeling slightly envious. They are no longer obliged to abide by the standards of beauty, because their illness has given them an excuse. They are no longer bound by the ritual of hair; they only need to tie a scarf over their heads. However, losing hair is traumatic for them, because it emphasizes their mortality and their impending death. Thus, their bald heads become testaments to their suffering and their tenacity to live.

For the rest of womankind, baldness is not an option. Many people are scared of losing hair because of their vanity. Others (including myself) are simply too scared to shave their heads, for fear that they would be ridiculed, disowned, or dubbed as Buddhist nuns or punks.

But think about the time, money, energy,not to mention the hundreds of liters of water you could save every year if you had a bald head. You would have, on average, an hour of free time added to your day. You would only need a hat of a scarf to cover your head; you would feel cooler in hot weather, because most of our body heat escapes through the head. You would no longer agonize over a bad haircut or atrocious dye job for weeks. You would not have to feel guilty about tipping the hairdresser. The environment would certainly be less polluted if you went bald. There would be fewer algae outbreaks, fewer instances of fish floating belly-up in the streams, and fewer forests cut down. Maybe, when people realize how overrated hair is, they'll decide to stop feeling so sorry for themselves, and resolve their personality issues. When people don't feel the need to criticize a movie star's hair, makeup and wardrobe on the the red carpet, improvement might be possible.

Imagine a world full of egg-headed people going about their business, happy, self-assured, and responsible, who care more about their fellow man than their supply of hair accoutrements;
a world wherein differences are reconciled, and people who don't prescribe to the current rituals and norms of hair are not punished nor discriminated against...

I seem to have lost you at the words "egg-headed".

Ah, well.