The causes of bad hair days

by phil on Friday Jul 20, 2007 8:46 AM

Dear Philosophistry,

I was wondering what causes bad hair days? It almost always seems to correlate with me being in a bad mood. Am I in a bad mood because of my bad hair? or does my bad mood cause the other?

- Vexed Valley Girl

Dear Ms. Vexed,

It's the latter that's the cause. Your bad mood is what caused your bad hair day, but not in any direct physical way—it's not like your anxiety is directly putting a funk in your hair that makes it unmanageable. Even though anxiety is a form of stress, which means you start sweating more, and your body is releasing different chemicals than when you aren't stressed, the shower and styling products should counter-act that.

The cause of a bad hair day is the forgetting or mismanagement of your hair immediately after exiting the shower. If you are anxious in the morning, then instead of having a peaceful, dream-like shower, you will be worrying about things, whether it's the War in Iraq or your crazy boss. As a result, you will come out of the shower still lost in thought, and when you start to dry your hair with a towel, you will be careless and rough. Then when you continue your routine, your hair will have already settled into its disheveled state, which is hard to correct even after you blow dry or style it.

After taking a shower, it's best to immediately shape your wet hair to the way you want it to be when it's finally dry and styled. You don't have to use any styling products immediately, just a drying towel or a comb. And it doesn't have to be exactly how you will want it when you get out the door, just close enough that it will be easy to style once you're ready to.

Also, learn methods to counter-act anxiety. Practice meditation, cut down on your over-time, and take time to "smell the roses" as they say. The combination of both anti-anxiety methods and proper after-shower care, will dramatically cut down on your bad hair days, which will in turn, decrease your anxiety.

- Phil