Americans love a makeover-- and the more extreme, the better. Change your hair, your body, your surroundings, your attitude-and you can change your life. And sometimes, it's true. Anyone who's watched weight loss show The Biggest Loser can't deny the palpable symbiosis of emotional and physical transformation, as we witness the contestants overcome their demons one workout, one pound at a time. It's not about what the contestants lose-the show promises-but what they gain, presumably self-confidence, discipline, and, obviously, rock-solid abs.
Last week, favorite tv mama Kate Gosselin got a makeover of her own and proclaimed she is "STARTING OVER," as the cover-line blared. Gone are the albatross hubby, the frumpy mom hedgehog bob, and the drama-filled reality show. With her pearly white smile framed by a flowing mane of long blonde hair (extensions), this new ‘do-at an estimated cost of $7,000, thank you very much-signaled her reinvention: the definitive start of her Second Act.
Can good-lookin' hair really be this powerful? Sure it can. A Yale study in 2000, commissioned by Procter & Gamble, found that a perceived bad hair day leads both men and women to have less self-esteem and more self-doubt and insecurity. Specifically, bad hair days lowered "performance self esteem", meaning you doubt your smartness, competence, and ability get stuff done. With great hair, in other words, you feel you can take on the world. And as Kate's new mane sways in the wind (machine), you can almost feel her lightness of being, the freedom, clarity and promises of all that's to come in this phase. Kate declares in the article that it's time to get "[her] kids back on track, [her] career back on track, and [her] family back on track" and she's ready for the "new year, with a new self, and new goals."
Granted, with all this repetition-"it's a fresh start, a fresh me, a fresh life," she practically insists-one fears the lady doth protest too much. As we all know, at some point the primping, planning, and preparing for life change must be replaced by well, actual life change. We'll have to watch and see where Kate's career goes from here, though I suspect it won't be hard to track her reinvention. Word is she's in talks for another project with TLC, the network that made her famous.
One note of caution: In this world of reality tv stardom, a magazine-cover-worthy transformation can rapidly progress from an hour under the foil lamps to a day under knife. This week, Kate is replaced on the cover of People by 23-year old Heidi Montag, who landed there with her true, tragic story of having "10 Procedures in One Day." Heidi's headline? "Addicted to Plastic Surgery."
