Did Ray Smith in this past weekend’s Wall Street Journal shine a light on an issue that we in the industry have unconsciously (or consciously?) kept under our hats forever? Were we too close to the see the obvious – the proverbial forest through the trees (the hair in the hat)? Do we all have our heads in the sand (along with our hair and hat)? Or, as cited by the industry men in Mr. Smith’s article - WSJ.com - How to Have a Better Hair Day*- is this really a non-issue – much ado about nothing (particularly if you’re bald)?
As far as I’m concerned, it’s prudent for the industry not to ignore the problem of “hat hair”, but rather to address the issue head-on. In fact, this is an opportunity. Here are some general thoughts with regard to “Hat Hair”:
* “Hat Hair” can be mitigated by a. short hair cuts b. lighter weight hats such as those made from fine straws like Panama, baku, and paribuntal or light, supple, thin-bodied felts c. a good fit – not too tight and d. by consideration of sweatband differences (more on this later).
* After a hat is removed from one’s head, hair will relax, take in moisture from the air, and in a short while show little or no evidence that a hat was worn. I have heard, anecdotally, that baby powder can be sprinkled into one’s hair after hat removal and when combed out, voila, hat hair is gone. (I welcome all home-remedy suggestions.)
* Perhaps (I don’t know this for a fact) a good 19th Century/early 20th Century barber took into consideration where on a head a hat would lay and cut a client’s hair with the lessening of “hat hair” as an objective. Let’s talk to hair stylists about this.
* When one considers the small negative effect of hat hair against the positives of protection against sun-related skin problems, keeping dry in the rain, keeping warmer in the cold, a nappy fashion statement, a new image and the like -- hat hair is a small problem indeed.
These thoughts, although salient in my opinion, do not address the WSJ article directly. We should seriously study the question: What properties in a hat help alleviate “Hat Hair?”. Is Smith correct that the new elasticized sweatbands help? I think some science, at least some field-testing, is in order. I plan on doing just this. Stay tuned.
here here. I was shopping for a good Ivy hat and came across your site. I'm not sure why but I find the idea of a hat blog interesting. I think I may post a link to it in my blog if it is ok. Good comments about bad hair days too. I mean you can never have a bad hair day if you always wear super rad hats. I mean duh. I love the Ivy hat I have and always get complemented on it. I hope to get a new one from you guys soon (by you guys I'm refering to villagehatshop.com not sure how you are affiliated with the site). Anyway so long and thanks for all the hats. =^..^=
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