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Who doesn't love 'good hair'? A good old hair flip, that killer 'fro or a cascading bunch of shiny locks?
Traditionally, the focus has been placed on women's hair. Over the years this has changed, especially in Cape Town with the unstoppable rise of the man bun, hipster culture and an overall more accepting attitude to longer hair in the workplace for males in general.
Yet, women living in the Mother City have now been singled out as the vainest according to a survey done by Caffeine Shampoo brand, Alpecin.
According to the survey, which was presented by Plus 94 Research, of the 505 women (all over the age of 30) polled, 60% of Cape Town women say that their hair plays a crucial role when it comes to how attractive they feel and their level of self-confidence. This is compared to 58% in Durban and 46% in Johannesburg.
Relying on looks to boost confidence is often seen as a source of vanity. Yet, this is not necessarily a valid argument in my books.
Dove Hair South Africa recently ran an online survey on Women24 to gauge the kind of relationship women have with their hair and how their hair makes them feel. The results showed that a woman’s relationship with her hair elicits various emotions.
Image: Giphy
80% of women surveyed felt that their hair affected their day-to-day mood. Particularly, when asked to share one word that best describes how they feel about their hair, 30% of participants responded with "identity/personality", 40% "challenging" and 30% "confidence".
Your appearance becomes part of who you are, and goes beyond that of pure vanity.
Sphelele Mjadu, Unilever Personal Care Manager says, “Hair is often seen as an important extension of who we are, however we all have different relationships with our hair and like any relationship, progressing or retaining a long term positive bond with your hair takes time, commitment and trust."
So, which hair issue has the biggest impact on our everyday mood and emotions?
Hair loss. Usually seen as an issue men deal with more than women, especially as they start to age, but this is changing rapidly.
In a study done by Dr. Sara Gottfried MD, 30% of women have reported hair loss from age thirty and 50% by the age of 50. So seeing those statistics, it’s no surprise that that nearly 40% of women polled in South Africa, i.e. 53% of women in Cape Town, 39% in Durban and the 19% in Jo’burg, said they were experiencing hair loss which in turn affected their self-confidence, how they felt in terms of attractiveness and even led them to some of the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
In another study conducted by Bountiful Hair, women with natural hair was polled as having a lower self-esteem to those with treated hair. The study found that many women perceived natural hair to be messy and feel less desirable or inadequate to their straightened or treated hair counterparts.
Have you been struggling with hair loss? Share your story with us.
