Good hair is pricey

Janica Kaneshiro | Staff Writer

Straight, curly, dyed or natural, whatever the style, there are plenty of students at Mason High School who know a thing or two about good hair and the effort required to achieve it. According to Senior Kayelin Tiggs, good hair takes time.“I have to wake up at 4:45,” Tiggs said. “I have to keep [my hair] combed, and I have to wrap it at night or it gets totally messed up in the morning. I basically have to straighten it every morning.”

Sophomore Daulton Clark said that he gets flack at times from other guys for trying to create the “perfect look.”

“They usually mess it up or something, because they know I like having it all perfect.” Clark said.

Clark said that those people can get on his nerves; he also knows his routine isn’t anywhere near normal, especially for a guy.

“I shampoo and condition [my hair] twice, and then I blow dry it,” Clark said. “Then, I wear a hat because it keeps it from getting all poufy, and then I blow dry it again after wearing the hat for a little bit.”

Maintaining stylish hair can also be expensive, according to Tiggs. “It was 185 dollars to get my hair done last [time].” Tiggs said. “I probably spend 300 dollars a month, because I use salon products. They’re like 50 to 75 dollars a bottle, and it gets pretty expensive.”

Clark said he also understands the expenses of good hair.

“[The most expensive thing I own is] my hair dryer,” Clark said. “I got it for Christmas one year as a joke, but I actually use it. It’s pretty funny.”

Clark said that among other reasons, he likes to keep good hair to set the example and that he might have different motives as well.

“If people don’t wash [their hair] or it’s messy, it bugs me,” Clark said. “I just don’t like looking at it. Besides, the ladies like it when I have nice hair.”

Senior Kelsey Harris said she feels like hair care is a part of overall hygiene. “If you have good hygiene, you have good hair,” Harris said, “It’s just me taking care of myself.”

For Tiggs however, her hair is more of an obsession.

“I’m very obsessed with it actually.” Tiggs said. “If it looks crazy, I get really upset, and I get upset when people talk about my hair, too. When they make fun of my hair, it makes me really mad.”

In fact, Tiggs said that she’s so obsessed, she’ll take extra measures just to preserve her efforts.

“If I don’t have an umbrella [and it’s raining] I will use my coat to cover my head instead or during track season, I will put a shower cap on,“ Tiggs said.

Harris said she has her own obsession, routinely dying her hair. Harris has a system of coloring her hair and she said that it’s bad to mess with her system.

“In the summer, I like having my blond hair,” Harris said. “I get it lightened a couple times over the summer, and then once fall comes, I normally get a little bit darker, like I’ll either get strips or two tones underneath just because it’s normally what I do.”

She also said that she once changed her system, taking on the fully brunette look, she now regrets it fully.

“Last year, I got my [died] hair completely brown,” Harris said. “I won’t ever do it again. Life is short; I just didn’t want to die not knowing what I looked like as a brunette, so I gave it a shot and it ended up being the biggest mistake ever.”

Tiggs said she feels like good hair is an essential part of looking good overall.

“You can’t have on a cute outfit and have your hair all messed up,” Tiggs said. “Your hair can make or break you.”

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