Penny For Your Thoughts
By: Nancy Whitaker
It is always fun to go to an outdoor concert, sit under the stars and listen to a band. I not only enjoy the music, but am always impressed with how people from all walks of life come together in one setting.
One of my favorite things to do is “people watch.” We are all very diverse human beings with different talents, styles, educations and “hair doos.” The one feature I have been noticing lately is the many different kinds of hair styles we have. Whenever I think I have either had or seen everything in the world of styling hair, I always see a new one.
Now, the styles are those with the many different colors. I have seen hair colors of burgandy, blue, purple and green. I am seeing more guys wearing longer hair and girls wearing spiked colorful hair. The other day I saw a person with a big spiked mohawk which was multicolored. Now, of course that style is not for me, but it is fine for a younger, cool person.
Growing up in the 1950s brought in many different styles of hair as guys grew sideburns and combed their locks into “duck tails.” Girls were seeing pony tails, page boys, French cut bangs and twists. Guys were greasing up their hair while girls were pin curling and rolling their crowning glory in curlers. I remember those old brush rollers we used to put our hair in at night and trying to sleep on them. Yes, I tried it and it hurt.
Remember when the Beatles made their debut on National TV? These 4 young guys from England burst into the music scene and brought a whole new era of music and hair styles. I looked at them and sort of liked what I saw, but wasn’t quite sure if it was too long or too short.
Does anyone recall ever getting a permanent which gave you a huge curly do? Yes, I had one and did my daughters. I also remember the era of the beehive. In fact I know some ladies who still wear them. Yes, I had one too. Then there were pixie cuts, shags, point cuts and teasing. Yes, I have had those hair styles too.
Another popular style for women was the Dorothy Hamil hair cut. She had her cut short in the back and sides, but had some hair on the top which made a really cute hair style. Yes, I had one of those too.
One thing I notice about men is if they are losing their hair, they tend to comb it backwards or forwards to hide that bald spot. Personally I like bald heads on guys. The other evening while at a concert, I saw a guy who was bald on the top of his head, but had a really long fringe around the outside. To each his own.
Then the art of frosting your hair became popular and today they call it highlighting. Yes, I tried that too, but most of my life I have been a blonde. However, only me, the bleach bottle and my hairdresser knows for sure if I am a true blonde.
Not too long ago, you could buy clips of feathers or a long strand of colored hair to attach to your own hair. I did this too. Some of these styles and colors may be made for the younger generation, but they are a lot of fun to just play around with.
I would guess that every generation has been concerned with how their hair looks. I often see photos of early French and American men wearing white curly wigs.The wear of wigs in men started to be very popular at the end of the 17th century, during the reign of of Louis XIV. In 1680, in fact, Louis XIV had 40 wig makers designing his wigs at the court of Versailles. Oh my. I doubt if that style of wig ever makes a comeback.
In 1770, wigs were also extended to women. As the years were going on, women wigs were being made taller and more sophisticated. Men’s wigs were generally white, and women’s wigs of pastel colors, such as pink, light violet or blue. Depending on how wigs were ornamented, they could reveal a person’s profession or social status. Wealthier people could cost expensive wig designers and better materials. They were made in general with human hair, but also with hair from horses or goats.
Near 1715, wigs started to be powdered. Families had special rooms for “toilette”, where they arranged and powdered their artificial hair. Wigs were powdered with starch or Cyprus powder. To powder wigs, people used special dressing gowns, and covered their faces with a cone of thick paper.
And we think we may have strange hair styles? So, as I sit and people watch, I notice that several guys are wearing pony tails. Perhaps that is an old reappearing style or maybe they never changed it.
You often look at people and see that while some have thin fine hair, others will have a full thick head of hair. I have also seen men with no hair on top, but will have a full, long, full beard on his face.
I am always noticing new hair styles and colors. Personally, I think it is fun to see just how creative we as humans actually are. Recently I saw little boys very proudly getting mohawk hair cuts and they looked really nice on them. However, I don’t want one.
Probably the closest I will come in keeping up with the current color fashion, is to buy some hair chalk and maybe put in some blue, pink or purple. Hey, I will try it, if you will.
What kinds of hair styles have you seen during your lifetime? Have you ever sported a duck tail or sideburns? Ladies, have you ever had a bee hive? Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny for Your Thoughts.
