Random thought: does hair care make you nervous?

When I meet a man who obviously spends way too much time making his hair look pretty, I instinctively mistrust him. I’m not saying I’m a hair expert — I don’t even own a comb — but it does say something about a man when he feels the need to apply several unguents to his head every day.
I associate this with falsehood because in my professional life, the people who pay excessive attention to their appearance are the same people who think looking good is equivalent to being good (or doing good). They would prefer to do something flashy or impressive, rather than quiet and intelligent, just because it might raise their status within the organization.
Hair gel might not cause venality or superficiality, but it does seem to be a sure indicator of those qualities. Has anyone else noticed this? Were there any saints with great hair?

14 comments

  1. You describe the difference between the geeks and the suits, rural people and city slickers.
    A greater cultural divide than is perhaps often realized.

  2. Come to think of it — most saints were “normal” or had some physical qualities that were not considered “beautiful”.
    Hmm – I don’t recall a saint with particularly beautiful hair.

  3. I believe that St. Margaret Clitherow did have beautiful hair. She did dress up for her martyrdom and had on all kinds of bows. She was going to her glory.
    While I agree that this can be excessive, I think that it is important to try to look nice. For instance, I want my children to dress nice–they are the jewels in my crown (if my soul is good enough to get one). I think it is important to look nice for my husband. I trust him but when he goes out in the world and the women are dressed up. I don’t think he should have to come home and see me looking a mess. I think hair mousse, hair volumizer etc. are some great inventions.
    On the other hand, I would have never married my husband if he worried about his looks excessively. He is bald and if he ever tried to get a toupee or anything, I’d be more than a little concerned. I do get to get rid of the clothes that need to be retired. I think that sometimes, husbands have no idea what wives save them from.

  4. Aquinas was on to something when he pointed out that drunkenness was a worse vice in women, and softness worse in men.
    I too generally distrust men with perfect hair, because it makes me wonder where their hearts are, as Eric stated here. I’m not talking about guys (like me) who spend a combined total of 30 seconds on their hair each morning, spreading some gel on top to handle the old cow-lick. I’m talking about those non-news anchor news anchors out there who look like they spend five hours a day on their mats. Men, by default, just plain aren’t supposed to be concerned with that sort of thing.
    But they aren’t supposed to look like slobs, either.

  10. The Cavaliers founded my beloved commonwealth of Virginia, so I’ll have to go with them.

  11. I’m gonna wash that man right out of my hair….Heinz Kerry does South Pacific….

  12. On of the nice things about getting old is that my hairline has receded just far enough so that my hair parts nicely and stays that way. All I need is a dab of shampoo and I comb it while its still wet.
    About 30 years ago some barber convinced me that I should use shampoo rather than bar soap. He was right.
    Fortunately, since I live in a house with many women, I have 57 different kinds of shampoo to choose from. I never run out.

  13. I have it on good authority that Eric’s hair never exceeds about a quarter-inch in length, so combs aren’t an issue.
    A good male friend of mine has very curly hair. He needs some particular hair products so it doesn’t get matted. So I figure he gets a pass on this one. But in general it seems to me unfitting for men to fuss too much with their hair.

  14. St. Catherine of Siena is said to have had nice hair — or at least it was her most attractive feature. She cut it off to avoid marriage.

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