[HPforGrownups] Snape's greasy hair

[Lady Macbeth]

No: HPFGUIDX 74540

Deb Said:
>>> Snape has greasy hair, and so did the man in the creepy store in
Knockturn Ally.  And when Snape took memories out of his head, there
were cobweb-like strands coming out, too.  This did not happen when
Dumbledore put his memories into the Pensive.

Maybe there is a meaning to the greasy hair, other than just neglect.
Rowling has not mentioned anything about him that suggests he is
neglectful about his appearance in any other way, that I can think of.

I can't imagine what it could be, though. If it had to do with the
Dark side, then Lucius would have greasy hair, too.  Ideas?<<<

Lady Macbeth:
Ok, I'm going to step forward and admit some things that for some people
might count as TMI (Too Much Information).  :)

I sympathize with Snape's harassment about his "greasy hair" because it's a
problem I suffer with, and it has NOTHING to do with not washing it.  I use
both shampoo and conditioner daily on my hair.  On 'bad' days, washing my
hair makes my hair look "dry and nice" for all of a couple hours - I was
even in trouble at my last job for it once, because my hair made the
management think I wasn't showering daily.  (And for the record, 'washing it
more often' doesn't actually help - in many instances it will only damage
the hair more and make the problem worse.)  "Greasy hair" can be and in my
case is caused by stress and/or poor diet.  Nutritional problems can also be
seen in pallid or waxy skin - mine shows off in my pale skin that bruises
easily.  I suffer from stress and depression, and poor diet is a way of life
for me - "real" food is also "real" expensive.  I paid two and a half bucks
for a gallon of orange juice today and paid less (a dollar and a half) for
SIX LITERS of soda.  When money is tight, guess which one provides me with
drinks longer?

And, before anyone argues that Snape eats well enough at Hogwarts, do we
know where he lives all summer?  Do we know how well his parents cared
for/fed him?  Harry's malnutrition is apparent in his skinniness - isn't it
possible that figuring in Snape's figure as a teenager with what we saw of
his life that his eats weren't much better?  And we KNOW that whether he is
a spy or not he exhibits signs of a great deal of stress, and possibly also
depression (walking the halls at night, sudden mood shifts, explosive
temper).

It's entirely possible that simply having less-than-healthy lifestyles for
most of his life can attribute to his hair's condition.

-Lady Macbeth


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