Go ahead, admit it. You know the shame of a "bad hair" day.
At times, those locks on your head defy the laws of physics. No matter how much water you dump on your head, how much hair gel you paste on it or how much physical force you apply, you're powerless against that cowlick. So you trot off to work, more likely, to the big meeting with the boss, apologizing to everyone you meet over the condition of your hair. You say things such as "It just seems to have a life of its own today" or "I just can't seem to do a thing with my hair today." No matter how well you've prepared for the meeting, your thoughts are consumed by the shock of hair that's jutting toward the heavens as if it expects at any moment to receive an urgent message from the mother ship.Take heart. The mania over those bad hair days is legitimate, says a new Yale University study. The research suggests that people's self-esteem goes awry when their hair is out of place. Interestingly, men's self-esteem may take a greater licking that women's when their hair is awry, according to researchers.
People experiencing "bad hair" days feel less smart, less capable, more embarrassed and less sociable, according to the study, which incidentally was funded by a company that make hair-care products.
Think about it. It's all about packaging. Because our culture makes judgments about people on the basis of their appearance (no matter how juvenile or patently unfair), personal appearances have an enormous effect on people, particularly youths. If the product isn't neatly packaged, it's a bigger battle to "sell" what's within.
Perhaps the underlying issue is control. People acknowledge they can't control the weather, the stock market, the daily commute or, for that matter, their own children. So they relish the things they can control, taming their locks being one of them.
If "bad hair" sets your day off to a negative start, remember this: there's a Yale University study that validates your feelings.
Now that they know "bad hair" can make you feel badly, researchers need to set their sights on bomb-proof hairstyles, sans the Aqua Net hair spray.