Book explores what hair says about you

New York — Rose Weitz, a professor of sociology and women’s studies at Arizona State University, examines hair’s importance in a woman’s psyche and the part it plays in forming identity in “Rapunzel’s Daughters: What Women’s Hair Tells Us About Women’s Lives” (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux). Through interviews and analysis of popular TV makeover shows, Weitz shows how much hair preoccupies women’s minds. But the reasons behind this run much deeper than mere vanity, she argues.

Hair conveys messages about class, politics, age and taste, Weitz says. Weitz also traces the rise of blonde worship, which coincided with an influx of dark-haired Mediterranean immigrants, and, later, the politics of the long hair and Afro movements in the 1960s and 1970s.

Heart association asks women to wear red

Cranston, R.I. — The American Heart Assn. is encouraging women to wear red on Feb. 6 to support all those who have been affected by heart disease or stroke. In conjunction with “National Wear Red Day for Women,” several companies are selling special products to benefit the association.

Companies participating include Angel Wreaths, Macy’s, OPI, Pantene, St. John and crystal maker Swarovski. Swarovski’s little red dress pin is the symbol of women’s fight against heart disease and is the signature piece in the company’s Power of Love collection. Swarovski will donate $100,000 to the American Heart Assn. from the Power of Love collection sales and will donate another $25,000 from sales of the little red dress pin.