A friend of mine was getting her highlights and cut refreshed and as we were catching up she mentioned that she’s going to a big conference and she’s a presenter. Our convo went something like this:

She–“yeah I’m a little nervous because I’m presenting so I thought I should at least have good hair”

Me–“Awesome! You’ll have a fresh ‘do and you’ll let them have it!”

She–“I didn’t really need it yet, I feel a little silly but I figured I would feel better if my hair is done”

Me–“No ma’am! Not silly at all!!! Do you know it has been scientifically proven that when we have a “bad hair day” we actually have a bad day??”

And then I hopped on my soapbox about the correlation between looking good (or at least thinking we look good) and feeling good. And the opposite of this is true. When we THINK we don’t look good we don’t feel good about ourselves. I have a few ladies that like to come in for touch ups at a very low interval of time, and in years past, I would assure them–“Your hair looks fine, nobody can see it, nobody knows but you….” THAT’S RIGHT! And no matter how much I would tell them they don’t need to come in so often they would be there. I finally realized they weren’t doing it for everyone else’s pleasure, they were doing it because that’s what they needed to do to feel their best. I’m no one to judge so I figured, best to shut up and make the people happy.

Then I chanced upon an article about a study conducted at Yale University that proved that when we have a bad hair day, we can actually have a bad day! The study, conducted by Dr. Marianne LaFrance found that bad hair A) Lowers self esteem regarding performance, B) Increases social insecurity and C) Intensifies self-criticism.

(Ah-ha! This explains why I had the worst junior high school experience ever. “Wings” were the style back then, and to do them right, they should be symmetrical and swoop away from your face. This was a recipe for disaster because hair does not grow in a symmetrical pattern, combined with the fact that all we had for hairstyling products back then was cream rinse and aqua net and you have a snapshot of my sad junior high school existence. Lopsided wings that flopped.)

So, what does this mean, in practical terms? Here’s how I’d sum it up–
Self esteem regarding performance…you’re doing a presentation or are up for a promotion or going on an interview–get your hair done!
Increases social insecurity–you’re going to a party, meeting new people, going to a networking event–get your hair done!!
Intensifies self criticism…you’re feeling down, things aren’t going your way, or you made a boo-boo and you’re beating yourself up–get your hair done!!!

When faced with any of the above scenarios you can take this a step further. In addition to getting your hair done, get a mani-pedi, spend a little extra time on your outfit, get your car washed, polish your shoes, wear you favorite perfume (not too much, just enough) or whatever else you think could sabotage you if left undone. We spend all this time and energy to be excellent at our careers and jobs, caring for our family, deflecting stress, forming and maintaining relationships and just living life. And if we have good hair while doing it, we can do it better.