I AM NOT MY HAIR...OR AM I?

I can already hear that India Arie song playing in my head: "I am not my hair, I am not this skin, I am not your expectation..."; telling me that one's beauty goes beyond one's hair but sometimes I feel the need to challenge such statements. I ask myself what makes a woman's beauty and if having beautiful hair wasn't that important, why do people spend so much money on making sure that their hair looks right? Whether they spend it on haircuts, perming, chemically straightening, cutting dying or braiding. Why are people prepared to spend such huge amounts of money? This applies to people of all racial backgrounds and hair textures. Certain religions, such as Judaism and Islam, even believe that a woman's hair makes her beauty that is why a man's wife cannot show her hair in public. I sometimes really wonder if spending huge amounts of money on your hair is justified because it tells one so much about who we are. I personally take myself quite seriously when I need to get a haircut or my hair straightened and the hairstylist does something wrong, I'll definitely be quite upset, especially considering the fact that I'm paying for him or her to get it right. So let's not underestimate the power of a great hairstyle, it can change your face and the way you look and it will probably be the first thing someone notices when they see you and thus it will attract compliments. Have you ever noticed how in any makeover show, once the complete makeover is done with the hair, the makeup and the clothes; people are always more receptive to the hair because that's what you're stuck with. The clothes are going to come off and the makeup will be wipeoff eventually, but your hair is yours and it will be with you for a while and you should treat it with care... because healthy hair is happy hair and happy hair is beautiful. So if you had to ask me if I was my hair... I'd say: absolutely, because if my hair looks beautiful... I will feel too!