Another pic that could use a little fixing.
Yep. Nice shoes.
Many people kept their hair short on girls & boys back then under the same misconceptions that the military & others use today to require short hair... It is believed short hair keeps bugs, lice, fleas, & other vermin out of the hair.
However in modern times where it is common for most men to have very short hair & most women have long hair, some interesting statistics started turning up. 5 times more men were getting head lice & other vermin in their hair than women (in small children, more girls than boys get head lice though).
Lice & most other body & head vermin live on or attack the skin or at the base of the hair follicle. It's also where they lays their eggs. It makes no difference to the vermin whether the hair is 2 millimeters long or 2 feet long.
It turns out on a warm day, a girls scalp may get too warm, damp, humid & toxic for vermin or their eggs to survive. Perspiration doesn't evaporate quickly off the scalp with long hair. Humidity & ammonia from the sweat, & heat built up under the layers of hair become a natural insecticide & antibacterial.
Long hair also blocks, entangles, & traps vermin before it can get to the scalp. If it's too difficult, they try to escape or fall off rather than make it through. Also people with long hair, brush or comb their hair more often. They also shampoo more thoroughly, use conditioners or other hair products, like gels, sprays, etc. All those activities reduce or prevent vermin.
Then there's the myth that short hair is cleaner than long. Dirt & odors do not discriminate between your hair or skin, or how long your hair is. Stand next to a bald guy & a long haired woman on a hot sticky day, & tell me which one smells worse. When your sweat evaporates, only the water & ammonia in your sweat evaporates, the oils, salts, chemicals, body waste products, & bacteria from the sweat are left behind. It doesn't matter if you have hair or not, the same oily smelly stuff will be left behind, & you will still need a shower or bath. It says on your skin & stinks just as much as it does in your hair, & is just as easily washed off.
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