Twenty Years of Hair Care on the Internet.. Do You Know More Today? By Kerry Hines

It's been almost twenty years since I published my first newspaper article, Should You Trust Your Hair Care to the Internet?  That article inspired many folks to think about the hair care advice they were giving and receiving over the Internet.

The Internet was very new and not many hairstylists were actually on the Internet.  There were many who did not trust the information that was on the 'net.  It could be argued that we weren't very trusting of anything at that time, especially something brand new.  That didn't really stop the DIYers of the day to sprout out whatever they wanted.  This was before there were real search engines and long before other checks and balances were in place.  The 'hair highway' was open but not much traffic.

The original article really asked if you should have a virtual hairstylist and should you really give over the reigns to your hair care.  I realized that if this article were written today the trust factor wouldn't be a factor anymore.  Today, everyone trusts the Internet, at least in most ways.

Today, it's not so much whether you should trust your hair care to the Internet but should you trust any stylist who is not on the Internet with your hair care needs.  This raises the question, are we better off today than we were before the boon of the Internet?  We're talking about what's pertinent to hair care?

Twenty years ago, we essentially had to choose a hairstylist by word of mouth.  Today we can easily ask for advice via social media.  Twenty years ago, we were only familiar with the hair products that were in our bathroom cabinets that were handed down by our mothers.  Today, we are flooded with product companies vying for our attention -again via social media.

Twenty years ago, we had the picture books in the salons and barber shops that showed us the latest styles.  Today, there is Instagram.  Again, social media wins the day.

The elephant in the room would have to be the advice -itself.  twenty years ago you really had no option but to pretty much wing it.  If you happen to catch the advice on caring for your hair after you left he salon, you were lucky.  Today, you can Google it, YouTube it and just about every other social media 'platform it'.

Twenty years of speeding on the 'hair super highway'.. Do you know more today?