The Bible and the Headlines: News You Can Use – Big Hair

By Editor | February 21, 2024

By David Bachelor, PhD

Last week marked the start of the season of Lent. This season in the Christian year is marked by sacrifice and self-denial. It follows the rule that ‘less is more.’ According to some headlines, not everyone is swept up in this penurious spirit. For these folks, the rule appears to be ‘more is more.’ At least if it’s hair.

The trigger event for the upsweep of hair articles is this year’s Grammy Awards. Fashion Magazine’s February 8th edition covered the event from the perspective of celebrity follicles and asked, “Are We Heading into a New Era of Big Hair?” Particular attention was paid to the coiffure of pop diva Miley Cyrus who, “…took to the stage flaunting a larger-than-life mullet” (‘mullet’ harkens back to a fashion popularized by Miley’s father). The article noted another family hair inspiration: Cyrus is the goddaughter of Dolly Parton. Dolly’s alleged credo is, “The higher the hair, the closer to God.”

A New York Times piece built upon the Cyrus/Parton connection in the February 16th article, “The Return of Towering Hair.” Its writer noted that for Miley it’s a new trend, but Dolly Parton maintained big hair even when it was not the rage. To explain the current infatuation with bulk a celebrity hairstylist opined, “Big hair can signify power.” The stylist did not comment whether with this power came added responsibility.

Even our British cousins are going large. The Feb 16th Telegraph featured “Big and Bouncy ‘Texan hair’ Is In – Here’s How to Get the Look.” With a nod to Miley Cyrus, the real credit for the Lone Star look was given to two of the Republic’s famous daughters: Beyonce’s platinum tresses promoting her current single “Texas Hold ‘Em” and Jerry Hall’s “tumbling blonde curls” in the fashion magazine Chloe. Even the Royal Family is trending Tejas according to the Telegraph which notes Queen Camila “…is a source of Texan inspiration for mature women with shoulder-length hair,”

There is a royal in the Bible who trended towards big hair. For King David’s son Absalom his coiffure was a public spectacle. At Absalom’s annual haircut, the Bible notes, “At the end of the year when Absalom cut his hair because it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and his locks weighed five imperial pounds” (2Sa 14:26). Now that is big hair! Unfortunately for Absalom his hair was also his undoing. While trying to evade capture from his enemies, Absalom rode under a tree and his hair got caught in the branches (2Sa 18:9). The same verse says, “Absalom was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.” His enemies found Absalom suspended from the tree and killed him (2Sa 18:14). Maybe Absalom’s example is why the New Testament warns men against big hair, “Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory?” (1 Co 11:14-15).

The Lenten approach to follicles is given in 1 Peter 3:3-4, “Your beauty should not come from elaborate hairstyles and flashy clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” This truth never goes out of fashion.

Posted in Lifestyles