Hair Museums

As I work on my MFA thesis, I've been rummaging through the 19th century. Which means I've spent countless hours in musty museums, and been known to linger over-long at spots like the Western Trails Museum at Knotts Berry Farm.

From the dim inner sanctum of this fascinating 19th century collection, my teenagers chafed at the rumble of amusement park rides just outside, the thrilled screams of the riders. My kids tried to hurry me up, but I just kept getting side-tracked, by pot belly stoves, button-up shoes, three-foot tall coffee grinders. When I saw the framed hair wreath, I let out a shriek.

"Mom, what?!" asked my daughter.

"Did you see this wreath? It's a hair wreath. It's made of hair. You know, human hair."

My son tugged me by the arm. "C'mon, let's go!"

We rode many rides at Knotts, but I have to say the hair wreath thrill almost equaled the adrenalin rush of the Timber Mountain Log Ride. I already knew about hair wreaths, having discovered Leila's Hair Museum by surfing the web. But to see one in person like that, well, it made my day.

On our heads, hair grows gray and falls out and stuff. When hair is woven into a decoration like that, it's striking how permanent it becomes. Once it's no longer attached to us, it transforms into this relic of who we once were, a silky filament of our existence, preserved in time, taking on a persona all its own.

Nothing short of creepy. But if you think hair wreaths and hair jewelry are creepy, you should see another kind of hair preservation concept, found in this Hair Cave in Turkey.

Eeww.

Hair food

I have a daughter going off to college, which has reminded me of dorm life and cafeteria food.

At that juncture in my life, I was a vegetarian. Alternative food choices at cafeterias in the (ahem) late 1970's were not all that appetizing, if they existed at all. Hence, the salad bar became my mainstay. My source of protein? An enormous bowl of peanut butter set on crushed ice at the end of the salad bar, right next to the slices of white bread. I ate peanut butter for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the better part of two semesters.

Predictably, this shift in my diet to a high-fat (and carb) regimen widened my hips; unpredictably, it seemed to have a spectacular effect on my hair. In addition to growing faster than it ever had before, my hair turned thick and lustrous. I had so much I didn't know what to do with it, and struggled mightily with French braids, topknots--stuff I'd never tried before.

All that mirror-gazing gave me time to wonder on what had caused this serendipity for my hair. I narrowed it down to the peanut butter, and proclaimed this theory to my skeptical roommates. My assumption had no scientific basis, until lo these many years later, when I've thought to look it up.

According to "Healthy Hair" type web advice, peanut butter is good for hair. It contains biotin, a vitamin conducive to hair growth. Oatmeal and legumes also have biotin, and oysters (though there's little chance that food graces college menus). (Top Ten Foods for Healthy Hair at Webmd.)

This info got me wondering what other hair issues might have their source in diet. I'd seen a Facebook post by a friend claiming wheat was the source of her psoriasis. I asked SF about it, and here's what she said: "What I did was I took omega fish oil and went on a diet that consisted of only meat, vegetables, fruit and nuts. No dairy, no wheat. In just a few days my scalp got better and better and cleared very quickly. I added back dairy later, but just recently I tried wheat again and the itch came back."