The root of it all

My journey with hair loss taught me that maybe—just maybe—hair isn’t everything.

- By Ananya Rai

I have to hand it to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag (2016-19) for altering my brain chemistry forever and leaving an indelible mark on my impressionable young mind. Special mention to the ‘hair’ monologue in episode five of season two, that follows after a hairstylist who completely annihilates Claire’s hair (#justiceforthatponytail). If you're one of those few people who still hasn't seen it, what's the name of the rock you are living under? If you have, I know you're already about to read this in Fleabag's voice: “Hair is everything. We wish it wasn’t, so we could actually think about something else occasionally. But it is. It’s the difference between a good day and a bad day. We're meant to think that it's a symbol of power, that it’s a symbol of fertility. Some people are exploited for it and it pays your f*cking bills. Hair is everything.”

I remember watching it with intense concentration. Hair is everything. Or at least, it had always been everything to me.