Jezebel
If you live in Japan and you're wondering where the economy is headed, just check out women's haircuts. A Japanese cosmetics company has noticed that when times are good, hair stays long. Short haircuts mean stocks and bonds are about to plunge. Kao, the second-largest cosmetics firm in Japan, has been getting its data from the streets of Tokyo and Osaka for the last 20 years. Reports InventorSpot (via Reuters), "The hairstyles of roughly 1,000 women are noted each time and the results eerily mirror the rise and fall of Japan's major stock indices." And, says Reuters, right now, short hair is in. Recession? Anyone?
Meanwhile, here in the U.S., a weak economy means fewer cosmetic surgeries. The number of Lasik vision corrections is down, reports the International Herald Tribune. "There's a strong correlation between consumer confidence and U.S. Lasik procedures," says Joanne Wuensch, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets. "People don't spend money on Lasik if they feel like things are really bad." And yet! No economy is bad for getting your tits done.
Millennium Research Group is forecasting a 5.5% increase in breast implant sales this year. Explains Aviva Shedletzky, a senior analyst with Millennium: "Our society is so focused on youth, and people really want to look good. So as long as there's at least some discretionary income, people will keep getting them."
Frankly, it seems long hair would be better in a bad economy — haircuts can be expensive! But are finances and cosmetics linked on a personal level? Do you scrimp on lip gloss when the chips are down? Or do you consider beautification a necessity, right up there with food and rent?
Stocks & Blondes... Japanese Women Style Their Hair to Suit the Times [InventorSpot]
Japanese Women Hairstyles Track Economy Ups And Downs [Reuters]
Cosmetic Procedures Decline As U.S. Economy Weakens [IHT]
Comments
I chop my hair when I get annoyed with it, and grow it out when I'm poor ($80 haircuts add up right quick!) Though I found a new way of getting good haircuts- hair modeling! Sweet.
The economy is looking bad, I have to get my 'smart' hair on. Don't they know strenght is located in the hair?
Since I buy all my makeup at Walgreen's and get $20 pedicures, the state of the economy doesn't really affect my overall cheapness/prettiness.
I think the short hair/bad economy connection has to do with rut-breaking. I mean, how many of us have gotten a drastic haircut after a breakup/job loss?
My hair is half shaved off. We must be in BIG trouble!
Thank you magical, prophecizing haircut!
my hairdresser is japanese and she ROCKS. i just wish i actually styled my hair to take advantage of her artistry. i lazy.
For what I save on haircuts when I have long hair, I spend 10 times as much on conditioner and other products.
Ugh, this is my most girliest trait, I think, but when I get really depressed or bummed out, I need to change my hair.
At the last elections I woke up the day after, saw that Bush won and proceeded to go to Rite Aid to get some bleach (the more drastic the change, the worse I feel). Of course, then the bleach spilled and I had to color my hair with something else, which was just a perfect fucking ending to a horrid day.
Wah, I feel like such a lame-o after having admitted thtat.
I oscillate between cutting and coloring my own hair and getting it done. So, I end up getting it professionally done about twice a year.
All the make-up I use is pretty expensive, but I don't use much. I just try to monitor when I need it replaced and buy it on eBay....and hope it's not fake.
Short hair is actually far more time consuming and expensive for me. What with all the product and blow drying. The long hair lives in a ponytail and only gets washed 3x/week.
@ineffable.me: Don't, I busted out crying in a staff meeting the day after that election.
The economy is in a rut. I am switching from weaves to wigs until I finally grow my relaxer out. Cannot afford to buy the hair or pay the overpriced hair dresser.
@tailfeather: word. my 30 dollar haircut and self polished nails don't cost enough to change, no matter the economic situation. $25 for lipstick? pshaw, try walgreens lipgloss for $5.
Weird. I almost got all my hair chopped off on Friday, but drank beer instead. Better move.
@ineffable.me: I chopped 10 inches off my hair when my boy broke up with me just before I moved out here to be with him, then drunkenly dyed it red in the stress before the move. Luckily, both were quality decisions.
SkinnyBonesJones is the go to girl for hair. Have you ever seen how freakishly shiny it is?
And that is a compliment.
@charlotte corday: For real. The haircut I got in Japan was the best haircut I've ever had in my life. If I could afford it, I'd fly that woman out here a few times a year just to cut my hairs.
My cosmetic-buying and haircutting habits reflect only the economy of sanity in my brain. I'll get a $80 cut and then go for 7 months wearing it in a bun. I'll buy $1 eyeliner one day and then $50 mascara the next.
@charlotte corday: So is mine, and same here. I want someone to teach me what to do... that's easy and attractive (may be impossible with my hair).
@Rhody: exactly. i tend to fuck with my short(er) hair waay more than i did with my bra-backstrap length hair for 2+ years.
@Archetype: oh i didnt bother going to school that day. there was a really obnoxious republican/christian/quasi-punk/conservative/homophobic/anti-abortion girl who had a baby and have her up for adoption* in my class and I knew that she was going to say something stupid and I was going to have to smack her and i didnt want to get kicked out of school for that.
*while noble of her to give the baby up for adoption, my hopes in pointing this out is that you get a sense of what a hypocritical dumb bitch she was.
What's the old saw about hem lines? Don't they go up and down according to the economy too?
As Jack Donaghy says, your hair is your head suit. Perhaps they're just "suiting up" for a new job search?
@BiscuitDoughJones: oooh, if you're ever in dc, my girl is awesome. i just feel guilty being all "i can't have pink highlights" when she and i both reeeally want them on my head. stupid job.
May I suggest hair school for all you ladies skimping in haircuts because of price? My local Aveda Institute charges $17 for some of the best cuts I've gotten in years. Granted, you really have to be ok with an amateur cutting your hair and, yes, maybe miss a few hairs, but overall, best cuts ever.
@amoureuse: Do you use weaves when you're growing relaxer out? How does that work? I don't know wtf to do with my skank-ass head (I could iron, but I hate) now that the straight's 1/3 grown out and I don't wanna go back for more chemicals.
I love her pink hair.
The same can be said with lipstick shades. I guess when times/economy is not so hot, women buy darker lipsticks, like plum and deep red. Good times are brighter colors.
I cut my own hair, (and by cut, I mean lop off the ends as needed) but I'll pay whatever it takes to make my sodding skin clear. Crappy skin is apparently the price I pay for having a lovely, clear complexion in junior high/high school when everyone else was crusted over with acne.
Bad break-up, awful election, feeling lousy..etc. are sensible reasons to get a drastic haircut. It's the one thing you can control and feels like a fresh start.
@tailfeather: Yeah, I cut my own hair to tell you the truth. I'm poor, and I don't trust anyone else with my hair. They always, ALWAYS fuck it up.
@kataroo_kangaroo: awwww you sound exactly like me. Stupid boys. Sorry. Bit isn't short hair cute? (I'm saying that because I miss my long hair now....)
@kataroo_kangaroo: whoops. re-read and I'm wrong. I MADE the move and then got dumped.
@kataroo_kangaroo: I want to do that, but I am kinda nervous to.
I tend to change my hair dramatically in the fall, because that time of year depresses the hell out of me. I spend way too much money on crap for my hair no matter what length it is, but when I'm broke I just buy stuff on sale or look for new cheaper brands.
And I would take Lasick over new tits anyday. I want that surgery so freaking badly, I'm considering talking my boyfriend into a quickie marriage because his healthcare covers it.
@chelotoyou: Don't get too drunk when you have the urge to cut. That's how I ended up with my current mullet-like style.
and for once (once!), it worked the other way around for me-- new hair cut, THEN spanky new boyf! rather than the usual, bad-break-up-crazy-hair-change scenario.
Hey, we have to support the failing economy. I say more haircuts for everyone! When you get your economic stimulus check, blow it on a rinse-and-set or a perm!
I've never gone completely overboard on cosmetics or hair supplies. I do the $1 VO5 shampoo and the $8 Garnier Fructisse conditioner to balance that out. And I only go to Sephora for the eyeliner and lipgloss. Everything else is a drugstore purchase. I'm totally cheap.
@Muffyn: He'd been begging me to come out, so I finally gave in, lined up my job here, quit my job at home and everything, told him everything was set and I'd see him in 2 weeks, then he was like, "uh, yeah... i don't think i'm ready for that kind of commitment." So I told him he could suck my imaginary dick. And, yes, I love my short hair! Sometimes I miss my long hair, but I like being sassy.
@The HZA: Behold the beauty of the champagne brunch. Totally lowers your inhibitions.
@leMaldeTete: I get a full weave. And don't do it because weaves thin out your hair. I used to get micro braids and lacing and it ruined my hair. My hairline is completely jacked up so I had to resort to weaves to cover the hair loss. I am on the verge of shaving my head and completely starting over.
I finally got professional highlights on my hair last time I went my stylist.
I am thinking about growing it out and getting a loose perm. Crazy, I know!!!
I'm poor as a bitch and have been doing my own trims. Nothing says "financial stability" like a SINK FULL OF YOUR OWN HAIR.
@bowlingfordollars: She washes it in the blood of the Unjust!!!!
@amoureuse: Damn. it. Thank you for being a voice of reason at least. I need to just let this shit ride and deal for a while... otherwise, yeah, we should have a head shaving party.
@kataroo_kangaroo: I love you for telling him to suck your dick. That is my fav insult!
@katastic: "You shaved your head?" "Yeah, the hair's still in the sink if you want to glue it."
@Archetype: I locked myself in my room and cried for a DAY. THE WHOLE DAY.
Long hair is waaaaay cheaper and less effort than short in my experience. I chopped waist-length hair up to supershort pixie last year and holy EFFORT.
I'm going to see my hairdresser soon. My hair is really curly and bleached right now, so I'm going to get her to help me rock a white girl 'fro for the next while, I like the idea of a round-head silhouette. I don't know what this says about the Canadian economy.
My idea of paying attention to my budget consists of getting cheap shampoo once in a while, to make up for the rest of the time when i spend WAY too much. I used to have a MAC hook up, but alas, no more. i get real cranky when i have to actually purchase a new lipstick.
I just chopped off 10 inches after having not cut it in a year. Grew it long for a few reasons: 1) I'm cheap and don't think you should spend more than $50 on a haircut, 2) I'm lazy. But the main reason was that at a certain point I realized if I let it grow another inch or two I could donate it to a wigs-for-kids charity. That felt good.
So um, yeah, recession. Nope, no thoughts.
@Muffyn: It's so effective. Boys just get this stunned, deer in the headlights look.
I'm also a self-chopper. I keep my hair long, all one length, and wash 3 times a week with the $3 shampoo and conditioner. I can't imagine how it could get any cheaper. But yeah, my spending on other "girly" stuff has dropped off lately.