When it comes to our hair, it seems we're never satisfied: we encourage it on our heads and rip it from our bodies. Natalie Craig wonders if our follicle fixation has become a little unhealthy.
We crimp it, colour it, boof it up and bleach it. We love it cascading in waves from a woman's head - but not from her bikini bottoms. Technology has made our ability to change it almost limitless. But are we starting to care too much about hair?
It used to be as simple as a cut'n'colour or, for men, a $10 clip at the barber. As for the hair ''down there'', ladies might trim the hedge occasionally, while blokes let the garden grow.
But now it seems the smooth guy's the stud. Check out the most recent Cosmo centrefolds or pick your favourite nude St Kilda footballer and it's clear fuzz-free is in fashion. Women, too, are buffing their bodies and, in particular, pillaging their pubes. And while the hair downstairs is endangered, upstairs it's flourishing, with extensions and transplants creating the effect of a horsey mane.
Indeed, it seems possible today to have as much or as little hair as you want. Among the latest trends are eyebrow transplants, in which hair from the back of the head is surgically inserted in the browline, permanent pubic-hair removal by laser and men's ''XXX'' pubic waxes. (Apparently, removing the lawn makes the tree look bigger. Ahem.)
Wigs and hairpieces are also back in vogue. Better-quality linings have eliminated the furtive scratching of wig-wearers and the human-hair variety can be custom-fit then cut and coloured in a specific style.
Until recently, those who have lost hair through illness or a medical condition have been the main beneficiaries of these new-age wigs and hair transplants.
Laser hair removal, meanwhile, has reduced the anxiety suffered by the abnormally hirsute: for example, women who suffer from polycystic ovaries and who can develop a true excess of facial hair.
But it seems men and women are also increasingly choosing wigs, laser hair-removal and transplants to achieve a specific ''look'' or to feel more attractive. The costs can be astronomical but plenty are willing to pay.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/ ... z1d3MjNGpV
Bald is beautiful...
Bald is beautiful...
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”