MASKS MAKE LIFE EASIER FOR WOMEN

Most everyone complained about wearing masks for a year. Masks are hot and sweaty once you’ve been walking around for awhile—even during cold weather outside. But they’re worse in hot weather. All of us breathed a sigh of relief when the mask mandate ended and we could go back to being our old selves. Wearing makeup and styling our hair again was a treat. And yet, when the delta strain of covid-19 cases surged this week, it was deja vu. Back to the dark days of mask wearing, before the vaccine was available. But a funny thing happened as I prepared to go shopping. I realized I didn’t need to fool around with eyebrow pencil, blush, foundation or lipstick. Didn’t even have to worry about my hair. I could drive to the store and walk around incognito. I hate to admit it, but masks make life easier for women.

Have you ever observed the cosmetics section of a pharmacy, and marveled at all the products available? Entire walls of lipsticks, eye liner, blush, foundation, mascara—it’ staggering. Then on to the next aisle with rows of fancy shampoos, conditioners, hair treatments and hair sprays. No wonder Revlon and Loreal are so profitable. With a lot of time, effort, and expensive products, plain Jenny can become Jennifer Lawrence or Lopez.

Cosmetic manufacturing profit margins must have dived during the pandemic, although they didn’t make any public statements to that effect. All I know is that I didn’t buy a single new tube of lipstick. Or any other cosmetics, for that matter. And I learned to cut my own hair.

The pursuit of beauty has become a bigger business than I can ever remember back in the fifties and sixties. Yes, there were ” beauty parlors” where affluent women could get their hair done and nails manicured. But there were no nail salons, eyebrow threading kiosks, false eyelashes, botox bars, skin treatment parlors.. Those were the stuff of Hollywood stars, not real women. And yet, with the help of a little lipstick, we still attracted boyfriends. And it was a lot less work getting ready for a date.

Let’s face it. Masks makes life easier for women. And save money, too.

June 29, 2020June 29, 2020

DO YOU LIKE SAVANNAH’S HAIR?

My ambivalence toward perfectly beautiful women started when I was sixteen. Girls and boys went “steady” in those days. You wore the boy’s class ring on a chain around your neck. If he was an athlete, he let you wear his letter sweater to the movies. And so it was that my first boyfriend took me to see A Place In The Sun with Elizabeth Taylor. With a sinking heart, I knew I could never be that beautiful. Everything about her was perfect. Which I could never be. I’ve often felt that way about national tv news reporters, including the perfectly groomed Savannah Guthrie of NBC. But now, due to the pandemic, she’s let her hair down, so to speak. Do you like Savannah’s hair?

Back to Elizabeth Taylor. Most sixteen year old girls are pretty, just because they’re young. And yet, at that age, I didn’t appreciate the advantage of youth. Consequently, when I looked in the mirror, I saw a freckled nose, frizzy hair, a pale complexion, and a mouth full of braces. I thought of myself as “skinny,” not thin. There wasn’t a chance in the world I would ever have the cleavage of Elizabeth Taylor in a strapless evening gown. While I loved going to the movies, I often left feeling like a frump in comparison to the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelley.

Women in television are held to the same high standards. They must have perfect hair –never gray– and makeup. Smooth complexions. Long, shapely legs under short skirts. Female TV newscaster look far more glamorous than their male counterparts. Popular newsmen can be overweight, bald, pockmarked, have big ears ,wear glasses,, and still land high paying jobs. Although a few, like David Muir, are obviously picked for their hunkiness, it’s not really necessary for a male television reporter to make it to the top because of his good looks.

Covid-19 has changed all that perfection for female reporters. They’ve had to go it on their own. Do their own hair and makeup, put up with unflattering lighting. But I like them more now. Their ordinary hair reminds you of your sister or best friend in college. Everyone made fun of Judge Jeanine Pirro’s flyaway hair one night on Fox News. But I thought it made her appear softer, and down to earth.

Savannah looks more relatable now that she's doing her own hair. Do you like Savannah's hair? — She’s doing it herself now, during the covid-19 pandemic. Do you like Savannah’s hair?

Some people are upset about Savannah Guthrie’s hairstyle. One woman tweeted that she ought to be ashamed of herself for not getting her hair done. So, she’s supposed to let some infectious hair dresser breathe on her, just so she can have stiff, beauty parlor hair? I don’t think so. Truth be told, I think she seems more genuine without the perfect hair, clothes and makeup. Do you like Savannah Guthrie’s and Jeanine Pirro’s hair? I do.

April 8, 2020April 8, 2020

WARNING: BAD HAIR DAYS AHEAD!

Back In the 70’s, there was a Clairol commercial for electric curlers. : Curlers in Your Hair? Shame on You. My daughter was in Junior High then. She and her friends loved that song. They made fun of “old” ladies who ran around with curlers in their hair. They also laughed at women with stiff , hair sprayed “beauty parlor hair.” Then, those young girls grew up and they too, depended on weekly trips to the local hair salon. Now, what will they do with all the beauty parlors closed because of coronavirus? Warning! Bad hair days ahead.

Many women my age have been having their hair “done” once a week for over 50 years. They must be avoiding mirrors now. Younger women know how to blow dry and style their own hair more frequently. Many wash their hair every single day. But even if you know how to style your own hair, it still needs cutting or trimming every few weeks. My short hairdo is beginning to look more like a shaggy dog. Frizzy, with split ends. Fortunately, I’m a swimmer, so I’m not dependent on a beautician to style my hair. But I’m afraid to cut it myself.

Then there’s hair color. If you pass the hair color racks at drug stores or grocers, you can see that most women have learned to color their own hair. But many don’t—especially the more affluent women who can afford to have their hair colored every few weeks to the tune of about $50 a visit. Famous women have it the worst. Morning talk show host, Kelly Ripa, is showing off her gray roots. I’m seeing lots of blond television reporters with dark roots.

Al cloche hat will get you thru bad hair days — Warning: Bad Hair Days Ahead. Order a cloche hat to camouflage bad hair days after the coronavirus quarantine ends.

I’m willing to bet that beauticians are going to be overwhelmed when the COViD-19 stay-at-home order ends, and the beauty salons are back in business. Meanwhile, what are women going to do with their bad hair? (Not to mention their manicures and pedicures). I guess they could go online and order a wig. Or maybe start wearing a turban. Hats may make a comeback. Remember the cloche? We may be seeing a lot of them in those first few weeks after the pandemic ends and women are out and about again.

Whatever you do, it’s a good idea to have a back-up plan. Warning! Bad Hair Days are Ahead.