Polygamist Hair Styles: Scarily Complex

The Texas polygamist compound bust has shocked me on about 1,000 different levels, but can I be superficial here for a second? Did you SEE the hairstyles that some of these women have? While we've been watching Bravo, they've been twisting and turning their hair, and giving me flashbacks of scenes from the mall (Jersey, early '90s). In front, the women's hair is rolled into a pompadour. On the sides, sausage curls on the sides. In back, sometimes braided twists What gives? On the Today show, Meredith Viera asked the women what the significance of their hairstyles was, and one said, "We just wear it this way to get it off our face." (When I want to get my hair of my face, I usually just pop on a headband.) Well, I didn't buy her explanation then, and I certainly don't buy it after reading this article by Tony Gutierrez from the Associated Press. Gutierrez spoke to Janet Bennion, an anthropologist who lifted the veil of at least *some *of the mystery surrounding these wives' 'dos. Bennion says that the women keep their hair long in anticipation of the Second Coming, in which they'll use their strands to wash Christ's feet. Beverly Hills hair genius Kim Vo added his two cents, when he pointed out a subtle difference among their seemingly identical styles. "Did you notice that some of the older wives—the first wives—incorporated a big finger wave on the side?" he says. "It's like they got tired of playing it safe and wanted to throw everyone off!" Feisty! Go on, Kim. "The new wives don't have the nerve to do it. A move like that takes years of confidence. Those first wives have seniority. Don't ask why I know this."