Study: Bad Hair Really Can Ruin Your Day

by Ruthie Friedlander | 11:54 am, April 17th, 2010

Remember how stressed you were about how to wear your hair for prom? Maybe it was your wedding, maybe your 16th birthday, or maybe just the first day of school; the way women feel about their hair is a good forecast of how they feel about themselves.

A recent study conducted by ShopSmart, a magazine published by Consumer Reports, confirmed this theory and proved that bad hair really does bring about bad days.

USA Today reports:

The poll showed that 44% of women say their mood has been affected by a bad hair day. A fourth (26%) have cried after getting a haircut, and a third have regretted a style change.

Major hair hang-ups? According to the poll, the following were cited as the most prevalent issue; in order of importance: thinness, color, curls/frizzy, dry/damaged, too difficult to style, too straight, too difficult to tame, gray, and/or hair loss.

That’s quite a laundry list. But considering that almost half of those polled claimed the state of their hair affected their mood, we’re not surprised. In fact, we could add our own hair problems to the list: oily, knotty, split ends, product-overload.

“Hair is a big thing for women,” said Lisa Lee Freeman, editor in chief of ShopSmart, “if it’s not behaving it can be a bit traumatizing because you still have to walk out of the house and be seen in public.”

Only 19% of those polled could say they loved their hair. It’s no wonder women spend the big bucks getting their hair done — the study showed women get their hair cut an average of five times a year, spending around $195 annually. Hair is something you always take with you. It’s not like a bag; something you can change depending on the season or the latest trend.

So tell us, how do you combat your bad hair day blues?