Hair is a funny thing. It can make or break an outfit, become a signature part of you or be a new way to experiment. But the nature of hair as a topic and its physical make-up is so delicate.

Especially for those with long hair, we’ve had to learn how to take care of it beyond the basics of shampoo and conditioner. Whether it’s understanding that hair is the most brittle when it’s wet or the different kinds of hair brushes, it seems that when I take one step forward in proper hair care, I learn about three more things I do wrong.

Beyond proper oiling, twisting, braiding and rolling, people’s relationships with hair are sacred. I’m sure I don’t need to bring up that one bad haircut we’ve all had. I personally have the memory burned into my brain of when I decided to cut my hair short, hated it and cried in the bathroom tugging at my hair as if it would magically grow back, pausing in between sobs to tell the staff that I loved it.

However, proper hair care and knowledge of it, by ourselves and professionals, continues to differ not only according to the type of hair we have but also in our relationships with life and ourselves.

There is a popular theory on TikTok that when you fall in love or leave a situation that is draining you — whether it is a relationship, job, sport or what have you — your hair’s health reflects it. Maybe it’s a placebo effect, but I have found it to be true. Since coming to California and eventually meeting my boyfriend, my hair has never been as curly, long, shiny or healthy.

It’s so silly, isn’t it? How something we are born with — and stays with us almost our whole lives — continues to be such a point of anger, frustration, sadness and joy. Every shift in color, shape, length and style can change what we look like and who we are.

And yet, the one thing I could never figure out was how to style it in those creative ways I would see on Pinterest or on the runway.

During volleyball season, I loved watching the girls do their signature hair, even getting to help once in the rituals of braiding, twisted buns and bows. The process of styling, although an arm workout, can be so therapeutic and nostalgic.

Although hair sculpting has been a historic medium, popularized by contemporary hair artists like Laetitia Ky and Nikki Nelms, the trickle-down effect into social media has meant that slick backs have been upgraded to knots, while hair parts are shifting from middle to side parts. Even simple braids have been upgraded as users incorporate ribbon, charms or cultural wrappings to accessorize their hair rather than their outfits.

Where I have been most taken by surprise, though, is the rise of the bedhead for women.

No, I don’t mean that we’ve boycotted the hairbrush. But suddenly, the frizz and abstract shaping that our countless oils have tried to get rid of are suddenly on the runway and intentionally created for the streets.

Prada first went viral for this in their most recent runway show. In their Fall/Winter 2025 ready-to-wear show, the models wore loose ponytails, floating bangs or had chunks of hair matted and tangled between necklaces and earrings.

While some fans quickly cracked jokes, others commented on how it reflected a transition of celebrity and luxury from unattainable statuses to the more approachable and achievable execution. While professionals made these strategic flyaways, the medium between the runway of Prada and the concrete of Figueroa is the revamp of the Olsen tuck.

Embracing the wind to give volume, tease and tangle, the Olsen tuck styles your hair as your day goes by according to how your hair is in its state when leaving the house. Named after the Olsen twins, the tuck is simply when your hair is left inside your sweater, jacket, scarf or what have you. Instead of pulling out your hair to give it a shake, it frames your face through the innocent pumpkin-bubble shape forming at your ears until it slowly blooms out of captivity.

Suddenly, our faces blossom like a flower through the foliage of hair, allowing us to become the centerpiece of each ensemble. It softens the stress of our outfits and the vision remains fresh throughout the day, knowing that our hair allows us to become the outfit rather than the curator, performer and executioner.

Whether it is a couple hundred thousand strings in our clothes or growing from our heads, it is so simple, and yet so easily misunderstood. What an incredibly amorphous, mythical and ethereal mystery, don’t you think?

Hadyn Phillips is a senior writing about fashion in the 21st century, spotlighting new trends and popular controversy in her column, “That’s Fashion, Sweetie,” which runs every Wednesday.