Holiday Thoughts on Image

Part 13 in a series by Karen A. Stevenson, President, Studio K Salon

The holiday season is among us.  The New Year arrives, and once again, most will be analyzing their resolutions in an attempt to create new and better habits. 

This coming year, how about a resolution to take better care of yourself?  In 2002, we’ve had untold amounts of women at the salon, daring not to improve their looks, for no other reason than they simply couldn’t comprehend that they deserved to look better! Appearance has so much to do with your overall self esteem.  To give an example, there are many stay-at-home mothers that have allowed themselves to go without keeping up their make-up, or their clothes choices, much less their hairstyle, because they get into a rut of feeling like they shouldn’t spend the money to upkeep themselves, when they are no longer bringing in an income.  Or, they start to shrug their shoulders since no one sees them throughout the day except the local grocer; believing they no longer need to keep up their appearance.   

We’ve witnessed so many women that keep a hairstyle because their husband suggested he liked ‘long hair’ or ‘straight hair’, when in all honesty, the face, or hair, or both, could not bring forth the end result he originally hoped for anyway.  Sadly, there are many women that wish to keep longer hair so they can pull it back in a ponytail, for ease of not taking care of their shorter cut, or more styled cut.  There are women that claim their husband prefers the ‘Farrah Fawcett” look when the woman would have to hot set her hair, as well as maintain a perm, and load it down with hairspray for that style to look nice throughout the day, and the maintenance alone would be a tremendous headache.   

Likewise, we’ve seen men that fight the natural wave in their hair; trying to cut out the curls, texturize the hair until there is almost nothing left, in order to give the appearance of straight hair, when the honest truth is, they have waves. 

We’ve seen women that don’t want to spend money for styling products it takes to create the hairstyle they walked out of the salon with because they once again, don’t feel like they should ‘waste’ the money.  Sometimes, you have to understand, if you feel good about your appearance, you then feel better about YOU!

How can you offer your family the quality of person that you are, if you truly don’t feel good about yourself?  Isn’t it a possibility that you may truly be able to offer more positive attitude at home, if you felt positive about who you are?  If you have low self esteem and your appearance doesn’t seem to give you any sense of pride, could it be if you spend the additional fifteen minutes it takes to create a better look, you might hold your head a little higher when you’re in the mall, or addressing the bank teller, or even offer a bigger smile when you thank the cashier for your change? 

Of course, it isn’t all about appearance.  There are many variables to feeling good about your self, your life, your career, your place in life, your sense of well-being, or what life has handed you.  It mainly has to do with perception, with attitude, with choices.  It’s sad sometimes to watch people that could be absolutely beautiful, remain ordinary, if they’d just believe, just attempt, just have an open mind about change. 

There are many gifted people in this world that have a sense internally of how to look good.  What looks becoming.  What impression they wish to give.  However, there are many people that are not educated in that area, never told by their parents, never had a friend tell them what looked good or bad.  Never had an honest eye that saw the beauty and helped bring that beauty out. 

This year, as you begin thinking of New Year’s Resolutions, don’t allow yourself to become depressed at all the weight you gained over Christmas, don’t allow yourself to get down about how much money you rang up on your credit card.  Think of the positive, the blessings, the beauty.  Look in the mirror and if you don’t like what you see, DO something about it.  Go to the gym.  Take some ‘you’ time.  Go to lunch with a true friend.  Splurge and buy yourself some make-up.  Get your hair done in a flattering, beautiful style that compliments your face. 

Dare to make positive changes.  You’ll be glad you did.  And, everyone around you will be glad as well.