Mind your language . . .

The trouble is appearances can change very dramatically.
Most men know that slight degree of nervousness on the first Monday after payday, walking into the office and being totally unable to identify colleagues until you have walked around and looked them in the face.

This is made slightly trickier in the work environment because you are not allowed to comment on the new hairstyle, let alone say if you like it or not.
And peculiar facial expressions count as comment. Also counting are obvious efforts to try and identify what to all appearances is a total stranger until you can figure out where they are supposed to sit or can at least glance at the face. But these problems fade into insignificance when it comes to wives and girlfriends.

Now here comment is permitted, one comment anyway. “Gosh what a lovely hairstyle” is really all you can say, unless you get a clue that another response is desired. But unless your partner walks out threatening to sue the hairdresser, the safe response is usually ardent admiration. It will change next month anyway so most men live with the new style for up to 30 days.

Recognition problems can arise. One experienced married man makes certain he memorises his wife’s outfit when he drops her off so he can instantly, at long range, in heavy traffic, identify her as she comes out.
This has saved him a lot of bother and allows him to fix the smile well in advance and be ready for the “Gosh what a lovely hairstyle” comment. As he notes, a blank expression as your wife walks up can lead to a pretty Spartan dinner if you are not careful.

A decent father will also train his children. They too either need to keep quiet or express admiration. Sons especially need this training for when they grow up and it is never too early to start practising the fine art of expressing admiration with sincerity. It is important not to overdo it. As the man noted, if you can fake sincerity you can fake anything.

A daughter, in certain circumstances, can be given more leeway at least to the extent of “I think it looked nicer before”, but even here care is needed. Not that mothers take the same care; they comment far more freely about their daughters’ hairstyles than they permit in return. But who said life was fair.