(feature story)

A short haircut is convenient when you don’t always have time to wash your hair and take care of it. Long hair can get in the way. However, saying “Goodbye” to it is often a blessed gesture, which means a willingness to sacrifice oneself, to give up luxury. The more notorious things are around, the more temptation women feel to cut their hair. Why does war affect us in such an unusual way?

At all times, a woman’s hair is an adornment of her appearance, a kind of halo, which could even indicate her status (the length and color of her hair could say about her noble origins.). Short hair automatically meant a lower status and could be identified as a severe illness, insanity, or a manifestation of holiness. Nuns have their hair cut off during the initiation process as a sign of renunciation of worldly life.

Short haircuts were a trend in the first wave of feminism. The ‘Roaring Twenties’ became an era of even more significant changes. The length of hair and the length of hemlines have shortened, and the general understanding of what it means to “be a woman” has changed. At that time, this type of haircut was a symbol of an independent woman who managed her own life successfully and contributed to the political life of the world on an equal basis with men.

So after the end of the First World War, the era of short haircuts began. Eventually, from an eccentric and almost scandalous hairstyle, haircuts moved into the category of ordinary. And if during the Second World War women in the rear styled their hair in the so-called Victory Rolls, waves of victory, then closer to the front line, nurses and soldiers tried to shorten their hair so that it didn’t interfere with military duties and didn’t spread parasites, such as lice or fleas. After the WWII, many women did not grow their hair, because it could remind them of a life that will no longer be the same. Besides, a lot of girls came back with their first gray hairs…

Today Ukrainian women feel the same. We strive to change ourselves, which is why the hand so often reaches for scissors. Many showbiz stars have cut off their long, lush tresses due to the loss of loved ones, depression, or unwillingness to spend resources like lots of water and money for expensive shampoos. Some have even donated their hair to charity (for example, to make wigs for children struggling with cancer).

Psychologists advise don’t to put off a trip to the hairdresser if hair burdens you. In addition, it will refresh your look and save a lot of time. Do not be afraid of changes, because they bring our victory closer and closer!