The Cost of Looking Good

　

Today I thought we should examine the cost of looking good since my latest book Devil’s Concubine is using the back drop of people’s grooming habits. I felt it fitting that we discuss the cost of looking good, the pros and cons and how sometimes the cost is way too much.

I noticed when I was researching for my book, that people’s grooming habits nearly run the economy and play a major factor in our everyday life. Believe it or not our looks can determine from who we marry down to getting that dream job. Looks means everything in our world and it has a nice price attached to it.

Shampoo, conditioners, mousse, gels, hair spray, stuff to make your hair straight, curly, shiny-- the list is endless. Just imagine: that’s just the hair care. Other stuff such as body wash, face creams, perfumes, lotions, deodorant, it seems endless. Every day it seems something new is coming out and something more improved. That stuff comes at a price even though it may cost eight dollars. Eight dollars adds up fast, when you become obsessed.

Clothing comes next in the obsession of looking good. I mean the latest fashion is every season not once a year. Four times a year, with the changing of the seasons a new clothing line comes out. By the time you start to wear one season another season comes along. People’s closets are so packed we are constantly cleaning it out to make room for the next season, very rarely keeping some key pieces that will go through the years.

Shoes and accessories are in a category by themselves however, with jewelry you can make it work with anything unlike the other that changes with the wind. Grandma’s necklace will go with any outfit any season unlike the shoes you bought last year that now doesn’t match the new spring collection you bought the other day.

Hair salons make quite a bit of business off of us also. Women especially, we go to get hair cuts, the latest style, waxing, manicures, pedicures, nails polished, tanning--again the list goes on with those high end salons. It hasn’t been until recently the market has started to include men who we have called metro sexual with the same services.

We all do this. Repeat; we all do! So that’s why I find it ironic how much time and money we spend on looking good. However sometimes this becomes an obsessive behavior which can lead to serious problems. In fact they have television shows on it and it’s sad.

I remember as a child watching my grandmother doing her hair every morning in her bedroom. She would sit at her antique vanity dresser with a giant mirror. Each side of the mirror had drawers which were full of hairspray, makeup, combs, brushes, curlers, perfume and tons of Avon products. She was a fan of Avon and collected many of the bottles. She would work on her hair at least a good ten to fifteen minutes, sometimes longer depending on the occasion.

She didn’t wear a whole lot of makeup but she did put on a little. Once she had her hair the way she wanted, she would pull out the Aqua Net hair spray, which was popular at the time and spray her hair like a crop duster. That room was so overpowering with Aqua Net it was almost unbearable. In fact she believed in her hairspray so much she should have had stock in it as much as she had stock-piled.

I remember when the stuff went on sale, my grandma loved sales, perhaps that’s where I get my frugal shopping. But once again my grandma should have had stock in Aqua Net. Even when she died and they cleaned out her house she still had tons of that stuff. Cabinets full of Aqua Net, a staple in her life.

Now I have a sister who will buy eye shadow no matter what. She has so much of the stuff I bet she doesn’t even use half of it, but she loves the stuff. Every time she shops she always finds herself buying compacts of eye shadow.

My own daughter loves lipstick and lip gloss. She has so much of the stuff there are times I have to say no, I’m not getting it. Now that she’s a young adult she buys her own and some times when you have to dig in her purse for something you pick up several tubes of lip balm before you find what you are looking for.

I’m sure when it comes to your grooming habits we all have certain products we love to use; I love L’Oreal for makeup, Cover Girl for eye shadow, and Clinque for mascara. Mind you I love these products, but I don’t stock-pile them.

My cousin has a fetish for lotions. She buys lotions constantly and sometimes it’s unbearable.

I say when we start buying it as if we are buying stock we may have a problem.

So how much do you think it costs to have all the beauty in the world? Plenty and some people will go without essentials such as not paying an entire electric bill or skip payment on the card to buy that extra stuff or to try out the latest makeup that was advertised in Cosmo. If you can look in you cabinet, closets and under the bathroom sink and see you have products you have started to use then decided something else came along better then you may have a problem.

Sometimes we aren’t aware of this problem. But sometimes we are aware of such or at least the people around us are. Sometimes such as women who have had children like one of my characters in my story, find it difficult to feel pretty and become obsessed with their looks. People who have been through a horrific accident find themselves becoming worried with looks.

But what can be upsetting for us is when people prey upon those who are weak like in my book. People who worry about their looks, who may seem confident in who they are but behind closed doors, go into a frenzy searching for what to wear to the next gala are the ones who fall victim.

In my novel Devil’s Concubine we see what drives the murderer to target his victims and the price of looking good comes at the highest price around--death.

Paper back
http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Concubine-Carla-Landreth/dp/1621417816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358178253&sr=8-1&keywords=carla+landreth

Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Concubine-ebook/dp/B00AOSEM52/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358178253&sr=8-2&keywords=carla+landreth

We All Have Hair Fetish

　

They call people who have a hair fetish trichophilia. But after researching my latest book, Devil’s Concubine, I discovered this little fetish is more than just liking hair-- it’s a strange addiction.

For those of you who are unaware of this fetish, I should explain what is a Trichophilia? Trichophilia comes from the Greek “trica” meaning hair and “philia” meaning love. It is when a person sees hair, mostly the head hair, but other hair as well, such as chest, pubic, leg, under arm, stomach, as erotic, becoming sexually aroused, by either feeling, cutting, seeing or being groomed. Hair color and hair styles also play a factor in trichophilia. This certainly applied to my murderer in Devil’s Concubine.

Hair doesn’t have any intrinsic sexual value; however, hair is recognized for its erotic significance, especially in women. Hair plays a major role in art and literature as a sign of beauty, vanity, eroticism and even fashion. Hair can determine how healthy we are and effect our religious beliefs. Hair can sometimes give off subconscious flirting signals or tell when we are nervous, such as when we play with it. Hair can even attract us a mate since head hair is regarded as a person’s secondary sexual characteristic.

But does this determine if we are trichophilia? My research was astounding.

I live in a small town where beauty salons and churches are in competition and it was no wonder I found many ladies going to the salons on a weekly basis.

My aunt has gone to the beauty salon every since I was a child. Rain, sleet, snow or shine, that woman goes to the beauty salon every Thursday at four o’clock. Unless it falls on a holiday then she would have her hair done the day before. Every Thursday she will get into her car and drive miles from her rural home into town just to get her hair done. She will be there for at least an hour before she pulls a scarf over her hair, which by the way her hair is so stiff from the cans of hairspray they sprayed on it she really doesn’t need the scarf but she insists, to make her way back home in time to cook supper for my uncle. She’s been doing this since she was in her thirties and probably before then. So for about an hour and a few bucks she’s done until next week. Is she a trichophilia? The answer will surprise you; yes.

Now I know my aunt isn’t getting sexually aroused by this little trip that she takes every Thursday. In fact I doubt if any of the old ladies that go each week to get their hair done is there for the immense sexual pleasure. But they are getting a dose of production of endorphins every time they go into the salon; studies show this and that is what is so surprising.

Imagine laying back, wonderful smelling soaps being massaged into your hair, there is laughter from the people around you along with gossip. This is an endorphin high for them.

But it’s not just old ladies filling up the shops that are feeling this endorphin high as they say. The younger ones are getting a big charge off of it as well, probably more so than the older ladies.

Women have stated on more than one occasion, I always flip my hair to make sure they notice I have been to the salon or I did up my hair especially for my date. These women are sexually charged from their hair. I might add these women get in groups and have to quickly point out their latest do when they are congregated together, which leads to an endorphin high when they receive those compliments from one another.

It’s not just women who are reaching this endorphin high from their hair. Men also have a fetish with well groomed hair. Perhaps not to the extreme as a woman but they do have this thing when it comes to their heads as well.

Hair care products have become a million dollar business and with advertisements announcing they have the most new innovative product that will make your hair thicker, vibrant, fuller, curlier, straighter, softer, younger looking and so forth, who can not help become a little obsessed with their hair? Do we become the next victim of trichophilia? The answer is no, but we are teetering towards it.

Hair fetish isn’t anything new. In fact as a baby I bet you didn’t realize you were fascinated with hair. You touched your own head feeling the uniqueness of this feeling and let’s not forget the many times you played with a parents’ or an adult’s hair fascinated by the strands presented to you. By the time you are able to hold a brush we are brushing, touching and styling our hair. This will carry us to the day we die.

My question I put before you is would someone kill because of this fetish? And if so, why? As I did my research for Devil’s Concubine I figured my murderer was on an endorphin high when he scalped his victims. The character has many factors that play a role in his decision to hunt down a victim, trap them and then take their hair in such a horrendous way.

So we must determine when do you cross the line to be considered a trichophilia or someone who just wants their hair done on a weekly basis? There is no clear-cut answer. We all have some form of this, if you care anything about your hair. But when we become so obsessed with our hair, when we will kill for hair is when it becomes trichophilia like in Devil’s Concubine.

Paperback:
http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Concubine-Carla-Landreth/dp/1621417816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357569558&sr=8-1&keywords=carla+landreth

E-book:
http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Concubine-ebook/dp/B00AOSEM52/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1357569558&sr=8-4&keywords=carla+landreth