So Many Rules!

First of all, thanks to you who gave birthday wishes.  They mean a lot. 

April, it's so nice to see you here.  I'm happy that you're back in the long hair groove.  You've always had extraordinarily beautiful hair.

Ice Queen (I can't help it; I just can't think of you as Icy and it makes me laugh :) ) and Aamba, thank you.  AutumnLeaves and Ohtawen, thank you also for the birthday wishes, and they're not late at all. In my family, a birthday is a week-long celebration.

I also want to say hello to luluj, my newest Canadian reader.  I really appreciated your kind words about the Gibson Tuck and my blog in general.  How delightful that you have a 6 week old granddaughter!

Well, today I was browsing the Internet and I came across an interesting article about suitable haircuts for various facial shapes and ages. As usual after reading these articles, I am just flabbergasted by the sheer number of rules that the "experts" have for us.

Seemingly, according to this article, the universally flattering haircut is shoulder length. No matter what our age or hair type, I guess that we all should have shoulder length hair.  So say goodbye to your beloved pixie cut or your waist length locks!

Now, there is one exception about having long hair.  It must be in a deep V-Shape so that the hair is no longer than the shoulder at the front, and there should be layers as short as the lip or chin.  This is the only universally flattering long haircut.

There are a number of rules for short hair too.  We mustn't wear our hair too short if we're tall, or we may look too masculine.

Also, my goodness, there are a lot of rules about bangs as well. My head is swimming with all of the rules.

And my favourite line in the whole article is, "That said, anyone with hair below their breasts is committing a huge beauty faux pas and as their friend, you might gently encourage them to see a stylist."

Just imagine telling someone with a glorious waist length mane to see a stylist and get their hair cut!  Or telling a woman with short hair that she looks too masculine.  Ridiculous!

While I understand that beauty writers need fodder to write about and hair stylists need to create styles preferably for repeat business in 6 weeks or so, it seems that there is no allowance for self-expression. Maybe what is not the most flattering hairstyle "on paper" is actually beautiful, because the wearer loves it and is therefore exuding self-confidence. I see this so often on both short- and long-haired women.

Also, when it comes to long hair, these articles never take into account the fact that long hair is so versatile, and can be worn in so many different and flattering ways.

I remember as a young woman reading the popular beauty magazines and buying into so many of the things they said. I am so happy that I am now only trying to please myself and not the so-called experts. It's really time for we women to think for ourselves.