Cosmetics and Hairspray

Bailey Hill
English 105
October 7, 2012
Dr. Graber

Friend, Foe, And Everything In Between

Cheerleading is a bit insane let’s just be honest about the whole situation. It is even more insane when it is competitive cheer. It is different than high school in the sense that we do not cheer for a sport. There is a lot going on when getting ready, girls are applying a hefty amount of lipstick, it borders on looking like we are a bunch of clowns. Next is the eye makeup, well lets just say it should not be seen anywhere where there is shining, and people like to call it “stage makeup”. Let me just quickly touch on the amount of foundation that is applied to my face. With all the makeup used whether I’m on stage or up close no one would have any idea I am covered in freckles. Allow me to finish my little tyrant by mentioning the hair. Well, if you cannot tell already, in cheer the bigger the better and the same goes for the hair. We curl our hair, as if we are trying to imitate Shirley Temple. It is a blast. If my sarcasm is not apparent, I’ll just say I do not enjoy it. To say the least, getting ready for a cheer competition is not my favorite thing to do. However, there is one thing we all hold very sacred, one thing we will never complain about. It is something so simple that people may over look it, but the secret behind keeping this outrageous outfit together happens to be the one and only, hairspray.
Hairspray is every cheerleader’s best friend and that is not something taken lightly. We buy the strongest stuff you can find in any given store. The brand is called Got2BGlued, and it works well. Believe me when I say it is not cheap either, especially considering it only lasts through roughly three competitions. We might as well invest bonds in the company. The amount of money we spend on it is ridiculous, but we need it. The last thing you want while trying to tumble or jump, or stunt, is your curls losing their size, your makeup sweating off, or in my case for your extensions to fall out of your head. It does more than people realize. In the more awkward side of its amazing capabilities is being able to hold each girls spandex in place. That prevents many things that most people won’t talk about, believe me when I say it is an awkward conversation.
Hairspray is a beautiful product and I nearly worship it. It always does what it needs to. It does its job, and does it well. There is something else about hairspray though, one of its drawbacks also happens to be its plus. It keeps everything in its place. It’s hard to explain the contradiction. For Example, if you win a competition wearing the ridiculous outfit, makeup, and ridiculously tight hair, it is acceptable. However, when you don’t, it is practically is mocking you. It’s like when you look in the mirror, you see everything that went wrong, you see the failure and that is a harsh reality. After the shock from the look of myself in the reflection, the real work begins. The work of becoming myself again, the self I like to see, not the plastic version of myself I created from hairspray so I can fit in with the team. The whole time I am fighting all the hairspray I applied, the hairspray that was protecting my hair and everything else. It’s almost too much of a good thing, who am I kidding, you can never have enough hairspray. It is my protection from the unwanted and to keep everything in its place. I know my love for it is a bit unusual, I suppose it could be called “unhealthy”, but I couldn’t disagree more. My love for hairspray is the appropriate amount and that is because I know what hairspray really is and what it means.
Hairspray for me is so much more than hairspray. It is like a security blanket. I am not one for change, allow me to rephrase that I hate change with all the burning passion in my soul. Hairspray helps me avoid that change. It allows me keep everything I want, where I want it. I understand that people have their opinions and their reason for hating hairspray because of environmental reasons. If they had infinite love for hairspray the way I do, they would not be able to give it up. Hairspray knows that things are not going to change, unless I force them to. Hairspray is also making everything to stay the way I want it too. It is so much more than just the superficial needs of my hair, it is like it can stop time and keep everything in its perfect place. It does not allow thing to move on with out me being ready, it doesn’t just let people change things, and I would have to change them.
This is a concept that I wish could be applied to real life. I wish I could just hairspray a moment and I could live their until I was ready to leave, until I had soaked up all of that moments beauty. I desire the that ability to just emerge myself in that perfect place, if I could bring myself back to my junior year to the day I was baptized, that moment was pure happiness. I truly wish I could live in that moment and protect it with a million bottles of hairspray, I would never want to leave, and it was the definition of joy.
Hairspray for me is not just hairspray. It is the idea of protection from the world around me. People do not see it though, because it is so common it is right in front of their face and they take advantage of it. They do not cherish the gift it is. People think it is not special and that is simply not true. It is a safety net, allowing me to not change even though I am in a whole new environment. Moving out has allowed me to realize many things about myself and one thing I will never give up, is my hairspray. It is my best friend and my protection.