India Arie sang:

I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations, no no
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am a soul that lives within

I love you, India, and while I agree with the skin and expectations parts of your song--I am the soul that lives within--I have to admit, I am my hair. I remember getting the infamous haircut of '06 (pictured right). I went to my trusted hair guru, Eddie (who coincidentally cuts hair like Edward Scissorhands) and asked for "Nelly Furtado bangs." It was the perfect idea... or so I thought.

What happened? When Eddie finished, I noticed my bangs were a half of an inch shorter than I had hoped. Fear! Half of an inch may not sound like a lot, but when one can see eyebrows and a quarter of an inch of forehead under bangs, one gets alarmed. (Oh yes, I freaked.) As a result of my hair mishap and my hairdresser wanting me to look like a Harajuku girl, I sported a headband for two months.

Luckily, my bangs grew out to the Nicole-Richie goodness that they are. And, while I am not my skin, I am not your expectations, and I am the soul that lives within, I am also very much my hair, thank you. I can't deny its significance--it's a part of me and it's important.

I'm not alone on this notion, I know. A survey conducted by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery found that--out of more money, more friends or more hair--59 percent of survey takers chose they'd prefer more hair. That's right--over half of the lot chose an aesthetic over finance and humans. Go figure.

So yeah, I am among the many women obsessed with my scalp and what's growing out of it. And, I can sooo relate to the ladies featured in this Chris Rock documentary, Good Hair:



Are you hair-obsessed, too?

--Ysolt