I am a woman of a certain age, an age when women magically acquire an invisibility cape……. or so I have been told. But invisible to whom? Men? Young men? Men of a certain age? Other women? Children? Hmmmmmm………. here is what I have observed during my time as a folically challenged person. Losing your hair is alarming, distressing and aging for both genders, whats more it makes you feel ‘less’ somehow, less feminine, less masculine. Men over time have been able to confront this head on (see what I did there?) by shaving their heads and appearing to be even more ‘manly’ and the option to forego hair completely is an option for me too, Thank Goodness for Betsy!

I speak to a lot of women through my work and I am lucky to have smart, sassy female friends and the one thing many of us agree on is that as you become older your femininity shifts into closer focus. Of course there are lots of reasons for that which I won’t go into here but without doubt a consequence of all that hormonal activity is hair loss. Its almost like nature makes women appear less attractive now that child bearing is nearing impossibility……… I am sure there is a scientific study out there that proves just that but for the purposes of this post allow me to be a little whimsical.

However much aging is still a barrier for most women, there are some that fight it every step of the way and I am not talking plastic surgery extremists here, simply those women who refuse the lure of the weekly set and blowdry, wear beautiful, elegant clothing effortlessly and learn the artistry of makeup in order to be the best they can be. Who are these women and how come they are in possession of information us mere mortals are not permitted to know?

I don’t know if any of the women above have had surgery or been photo shopped but they all look fabulous and they all possess great hair. The truth is I have good skin, I have never been a sun worshipper and I have enough good fat to keep my face plumped up and (so far) botox free. What I don’t have is a full head of hair and without Betsy I look unwell and lets be honest, a lot older but of course its a little more complicated than that.

We all know there is no such thing as an invisibility cape. Some women lose confidence in themselves as they get older and start to lose their youthful lustre, their sense of identity diminishes and rather than reassess and rebuild their sense of self, some women simply choose to take up less space in the world. Look about you, look at the older women in your life. Those women of a certain age who have less hair than they should almost shrink into themselves, become less bold and are perhaps a little more insular, we cannot stand by and allow that to keep happening! Here at Betsy HQ we want all women to be stronger as they age, develop a certain stride and sense of purpose, a twinkle in their eye, a surety and confidence about themselves and demonstrate a kindness and wisdom to all. Yes, knowing how to treat people well and communicate appropriately is massively important and much easier to do when you own your identity ….. that’s what people will remember about the beautiful ‘older’ woman they met. They won’t remember your great hair necessarily because if Betsy is doing her job well, she will be undetectable, subtle and simply a part of the whole of you……. and never forget to twinkle 😉

Be Happy Everyone, Spring is almost here!