One of the
well meant advices that usually annoy me is “Treat your hair like antique
lace”. Sure the thought behind it is good: You need to be gentle and careful
when handling your hair and you can’t un-do the damage you cause.
But, and this
is my problem: Some times you need to be firmer with it when handling. For
instance, the treatment my hair goes through when putting up my hair is
definitely not something that antique lace could survive! Does it mean I
shouldn’t put my hair up? No. An updo is a fantastic thing that will protect
your hair from being caught in things, protect it from tangling, protect it
from being dried out too fast, protect most of it from sun and wind and keep
your hair safely and securely out of your way for the rest of the day. And at
the same time keep you looking good, maintenance free!
It’s not
that its bad advice per say, it just feels a bit wrong when I know how “rough”
some of us treat our hair when it’s necessary…
Could this be related to the fact that your hair is coarse? Maybe this advice is just more geared towards fine hair?
ReplyDeleteAlthough I admit I would never put antique lace through the same things as my hair (I wouldn't wear antique lace every day but putting it away and just wear it for special occasions is not really an option with hair ;) ) as someone with fine hair I have to be very careful with my handling. For example, merely twisting the hair a bit too hard when bunning breaks hairs.
Not everything works for everyone. Coarse hair can take all sorts of abuse that fine hair cannot tolerate, and straight/slippery hair is also different from wavy or curly hair, which can be fragile.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the advice is obviously meant as a metaphor. I have never had antique lace around and wouldn't know how to treat it. In fact, if someone gave me some antique lace, I'd probably get grossed out and toss it in the garbage. But I understand this advice as meant for hair.