Think about the last time you looked in the mirror and sighed at the sight of your hair. Maybe it was frizzing, flattening, greying, thinning or simply refusing to do what you wanted. For many people, hair comes with a running commentary – a private, near-constant negotiation that we rarely stop to notice, let alone question.

My new research suggests this relationship matters far more than we think.

Hair has long been linked to identity, confidence, body image and quality of life. Research has shown that hair loss can affect psychological wellbeing in both men and women, while changes in hair texture, colour or style can influence how people see themselves and how they believe others see them.

Yet despite decades of research into appearance and body image, psychology has paid surprisingly little attention to one simple question: what does it actually mean to have a positive relationship with your hair?

To answer that question, I interviewed men and women about their experiences of living with their hair, before developing a new psychological model of what a positive relationship with hair looks like. What emerged wasn’t a picture of people with “perfect” hair or even people who loved their hair every day. Instead, they related to it differently.

People with a positive relationship with their hair took the time to understand it. They were curious about how it behaved, willing to learn what worked for it and open to experimenting rather than giving up.

Instead of spending their energy trying to force their hair to become something it wasn’t, they worked with its natural characteristics. They cared for it, respected it and, crucially, didn’t allow a bad hair day to become a judgment about themselves.

That doesn’t mean they never felt frustrated. Frizzy hair still frizzed. Fine hair still fell flat. Curly hair still had a mind of its own. The difference was in the conversation they had with themselves. Rather than thinking, “I hate my hair,” they were more likely to ask, “What does my hair need?” or “Maybe I haven’t found the right way to work with it yet.”

That shift may sound subtle, but psychologically it represents a very different relationship.

Why it matters

A positive relationship with your hair is about far more than avoiding the occasional bad hair day. It can influence how confidently you move through the world, how authentically you express yourself, and how you experience life.

The people I interviewed described hair as being woven into their experiences and memories. One man spoke about riding his motorbike with his long hair flowing in the wind, calling the feeling “magical”.

Another woman described the decision to stop dyeing her hair and embrace her natural grey as one of the most empowering choices she had made. Rather than seeing grey hair as something to hide, she saw it as an opportunity to challenge stereotypes about ageing and hoped that, by wearing it proudly, she might help make grey hair more accepted for other women too.

Others talked about embracing their natural curls as freeing or finding hairstyles that felt true to who they were.

Hair featured in some of their happiest memories. It was a vehicle for self-expression and moments of freedom, confidence, creativity, playfulness and joy.

So what might a healthier relationship with your hair look like in everyday life?

It starts with getting to know it. Every head of hair has its own texture, density, growth pattern and quirks. Instead of asking why your hair won’t behave like someone else’s, spend time understanding what makes yours unique. What does it do well? What helps it thrive? What have you never really learned about it?

It also means working with your hair rather than against it. That might involve speaking to a hairdresser, seeking inspiration, trying different products or simply learning more about your hair. There’s never been more information available, much of it free. The goal isn’t perfect hair – it’s finding ways to care for your own.

Part of that is developing routines that fit your lifestyle. Hair care is much easier to maintain when it works alongside the realities of everyday life rather than competing with them.

Experiment

Give yourself permission to experiment, too. Try different styles, lengths or ways of wearing your hair and notice how they make you feel. The most meaningful question isn’t whether everyone else likes your hair. It’s whether it feels like you.

And when your hair disappoints you, resist the urge to turn that frustration against yourself. Respond with the same curiosity and self-compassion you might offer a friend. Ask what your hair needs, what you can learn and what you might try differently next time.

Like any relationship, the one you have with your hair will have good days and bad days. But my research suggests that when we stop trying to control our hair and start understanding it instead, we may find something more valuable than the elusive “perfect hair”: a healthier relationship with ourselves.

Oasis sent fans into a frenzy with their world tour last year and rumours are rife that Liam and Noel Gallagher are planning a spectacular 12-night residency at Manchester City’s stadium next summer

Liam Gallagher has teased fans with Oasis news after rumours the brothers are set to reunite again next year. Fans have begging for more after their Live 25 tour set the world alight following a 14-year hiatus.

There was such an incredible reception for the Brit Pop icons, particularly from the home crowd in Manchester, that it’s been reported that the Gallagher brothers are planning a spectacular 12-night residency at Manchester City’s stadium next summer with more dates to follow.

The band’s PR team and the stadium are yet to comment on the speculation. However, responding to an excited fan on X, who tweeted: “12 night at the Etihad?”, Liam set the record straight. While appearing to confirm that Oasis would be performing in Manchester next year, there seemed to be come confusion over the dates as the Don’t Believe the Truth star replied: “12? I thought it was 10 ffs”.

Oasis are reportedly planning a string of shows for for 2027, with sources suggesting a 12-night residency at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester was on the cards as part of as part of a massive new tour set to be announced within weeks.

It marks exactly one year since the stupendously successful Oasis Live ’25 comeback tour launched with an unforgettable opening night in Cardiff.

The Etihad Stadium is now preparing to host an epic 2027 homecoming for the Champagne Supernova stars, following their record-breaking 2025 reunion tour, multiple sources have told the MEN.

Further dates are expected to be revealed, with speculation mounting over a return to Knebworth.

Meanwhile, bookies are already tipping the band as odds-on favourites to headline Glastonbury next year.

A music insider told the publication: “It will be 12 nights at the Etihad Stadium across May and June. It’s just massive for Manchester and for the local economy.

“They could even add more dates to that as well; there’s talk of up to 20. The wider tour is also going to include a return to Knebworth.”

After wowing global crowds with their greatest hits last year, Liam and Noel are now among some of the wealthiest people in the UK after their hugely successful reunion tour.

The Mancunian siblings joined the likes of Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney and the Glastonbury Eavis family on the Sunday Time’s Rich List, which was published in May.

Liam and Noel are said to have amassed a projected fortune of £375million following their comeback – just £25million behind Emily Eavis and her family, the founders and organisers of Glastonbury Festival, who are listed as having a bank balance of a staggering £400 million.

For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

By ISABELLA MACHIN, REPORTER

Published: 11:09 BST, 4 July 2026 | Updated: 11:21 BST, 4 July 2026

Fans celebrating Egypt‘s historic World Cup victory brought chaos to the streets of London as they clashed with police, climbed on to a double decker bus and brought traffic to a standstill. 

Edgware Road in north west London descended into anarchy on Friday night as hundreds of supporters swarmed the street to celebrate Egypt’s dramatic penalty shootout win over Australia.

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But as celebrations intensified, the packed road spiralled into disorder. 

Dramatic footage from the scene captured police officers wrestling with shirtless fans as crowds spilled across the road, bringing traffic to a complete standstill, as the chant ‘Free Palestine‘ echoed down the street.

In one tense confrontation, two officers grapple with a fan as screaming supporters surround the struggle before other revellers drag him away. 

As music blared out in the background, fans weaved between marooned vehicles, which included a line of buses, while some chose to clamber on top of them. 

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Further along the road, topless fans who had scaled the roof of a double decker bus waved Egyptian flags while shouting down to the cheering and whistling crowd below. 

Edgware Road, long known as ‘Little Cairo’, is renowned for its links to Egypt, with numerous Middle Eastern and Arab cafes and shisha bars lining the street – many of which would have screened the game.

Dramatic footage from the scene captured police officers wrestling with shirtless fans as crowds spilled across the road

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Topless fans who had scaled the roof of a double decker bus waved Egyptian flags while shouting down to the cheering and whistling crowd below

As music blared out in the background, fans weaved between marooned vehicles, which included a line of buses, while some chose to clamber on top of them

The celebrations erupted after Egypt secured their first ever World Cup knockout victory since 1934, defeating Australia 4-2 on penalties at Dallas Stadium following the 6pm BST kick-off.

Elsewhere on Edgware Road, footage captured the moment a grey 4×4 car drove through a section of the crowd, where many were still celebrating while wearing Egypt football team shirts.

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Seconds later, the car collides with a man wearing a backpack as he crossed the road, leaving him sitting motionless in the middle of the road. Undeterred, the car continues to drive down the road. 

Bystanders sprinted down the road to help the injured victim, lifting him to his feet, while others ran after the fleeing driver in an attempt to catch the driver. 

National treasure and captain Mohammad Salah, named the ‘Egyptian King’, was in tears after Egypt made history. 

It joins Morocco in the last 16, which also made it the first time two African nations had won a knockout match at a single World Cup. 

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For Australia, the outcome marked a third defeat in as many World Cup knockout matches. 

With the Socceroos heading home, Egypt will have a last 16 tie with either Argentina or Cape Verde in Atlanta on Tuesday July 7 at 5pm BST. 

Footage captured the moment a grey 4×4 car drove through a section of the crowd, where many were still celebrating while wearing Egypt football team shirts

Seconds later, the car collides with a man wearing a backpack as he crossed the road, leaving him sitting motionless in the middle of the road

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Bystanders sprinted down the road to help the injured victim, lifting him to his feet, while others ran after the fleeing driver in an attempt to catch the driver

The Metropolitan Police has been contacted for comment.  

Coastguard teams from Bridlington and Filey, along with the Flamborough Lifeboat, responded to the incident just before 5pm following reports that the paddleboarders were potentially cut off and unable to self-recover near North Landing.

The casualties were quickly located by the lifeboat crew in a small cove, but rough sea conditions prevented a safe rescue by boat.

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A cliff-top search and rescue operation was launched by the Coastguard team, who began setting up specialist rope equipment for a potential cliff rescue.

However, after receiving information that the individuals were cold and distressed, the officer in charge requested helicopter assistance.

A Coastguard rescue helicopter arrived shortly afterwards.

The helicopter’s winchman was lowered down, secured both casualties individually in rescue strops, and winched them safely to the cliff top.

Both individuals were assessed by Coastguard teams and found to be safe and well, though visibly shaken.

No further medical treatment was required.

The Coastguard is using the incident as a reminder to the public about the importance of preparation and safety when heading out onto the water.

A spokesperson said: “Before setting off, always check the weather and sea conditions, wear appropriate clothing and safety equipment for your activity and ensure you have a means of calling for help if things don’t go to plan.

“Being properly prepared can make all the difference.”

Stage one hearings had been scheduled for April but were postponed due to concerns around the venue.

The first hearings of the inquiry into disgraced brain surgeon Sam Eljamel are expected to go ahead in September as planned, Lord Weir has said.

The chair of the Eljamel Inquiry said work by the Scottish Government was under way to resolve building safety issues that led to the first evidence hearings being delayed. Stage one hearings had been scheduled for April but were postponed due to concerns around the venue at Waverley Gate in Edinburgh, which the inquiry team first became aware of last year.

Jamie Dawson KC, senior counsel to the inquiry, said it was not until February this year it “became apparent” to Lord Weir that the issue posed a “real risk” to attendees’ safety. In May, Mr Dawson KC criticised the Scottish Government’s handling of the issue, saying former patients had been left “uninformed, anxious and suspicious” by the lack of any public explanation for the delay.

On Friday, Lord Weir said he now expects the first hearings to go ahead over four weeks from September 7. He said the inquiry could now prepare for the hearings, including making contact with potential witnesses.

A provisional timetable for the hearings is also expected to be released next week. Lord Weir said the Scottish Government intends to resolve the safety issues by entering into a new lease covering the inquiry’s office space, hearing room and the corridor providing access to them.

He said he had been told the new lease should ensure the premises are safe for public use without the need for any construction work. While the Scottish Government said the issues should be resolved in time for the hearings, the inquiry chair said he could not guarantee this would be the case.

But he said he was “satisfied that the update with which I have been provided constitutes a suitable basis upon which we can proceed with the inquiry’s preparatory work on the assumption that the hearings will indeed go ahead in September”.

He added: “The Inquiry team will continue to monitor progress against milestones which the Scottish Government has set out. If there is any material slippage from the expected timetable, explanations and immediate solutions will be sought.

“In the meantime, I have instructed my team to make contact with the witnesses whom the Inquiry intends to call to give evidence at the section 1 hearings immediately so that a provisional timetable for the September hearings can be issued to core participants for their comment next week.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “We fully recognise the pain and distress experienced by people impacted by Mr Eljamel’s practice. That is why we established the statutory public inquiry to ensure patients get the answers and justice they deserve.

“We understand the frustration caused as issues relating to the building are resolved. The Scottish Government has been working collaboratively with the inquiry teams, City of Edinburgh Council and the landlord of Waverley Gate to develop a solution that would allow inquiry hearings to take place in person as soon as safe to do so.

“Ministers are clear that as Eljamel Inquiry sponsor, the Government will continue to provide any necessary operational support to enable the chair and the inquiry to carry out their independent work and to ensure patients can fully participate in the inquiry process.”

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In The Mixer’s World Cup special

Everything you need to know about the World Cup – England updates, the games to watch and stories you missed – in five minutes, at 1pm, every day.

Nuns as teachers are historically associated with anything but progress. Often stereotyped as exactors of cruel discipline, nuns in the classroomv are thought of as wielding rulers – and worse – ready to rap disobedient children’s knuckles. And yet, during the 19th century, Catholic sisters were, in their own way, radicals as they engaged in work that challenged the norms of their time: the education of girls.

At that time, the education of women was still controversial. Some even argued that academic study was detrimental to women’s health, potentially causing infertility.

The standard education for a middle-class girl involved home schooling with an emphasis on social accomplishments in preparation for the marriage market, while working-class girls often started work as early as eight years old. Catholic sisters defied the low intellectual expectations of women of their time by providing education not only for well-to-do girls but also for poor ones.

While women in Catholic orders are most often thought of as living in cloistered retreat, the 19th century saw a dramatic rise in women living religious lives out in the world, engaging in education, nursing and other forms of social care. By 1880, these sisters, the term for women in active congregations, comprised 80% of Catholic women in religious orders.

The growth of girls’ education

Catholic sisters were not only leaders in education in Catholic countries but also made important contributions to girls’ education in Britain. Following the 1829 Catholic Relief Act, which dismantled the penal laws against Catholics, a flood of religious orders arrived.

In the 19th century, approximately 10,000 nuns and sisters lived in England and Wales as part of 105 orders, which grew to 175 by 1937. The majority of these were engaged in education.

Congregations such as the Faithful Companions of Jesus, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, the Ursulines, and the Sisters of Mercy established schools for girls across Britain with particular concentrations in London and the industrialised urban areas in the northwest and west Midlands. These women were contemporaries of better-known education pioneers like Frances Mary Buss and actively participated in the growth of girls’ education.

Contrary to the popular notion of convents as finishing schools for elite young ladies, Catholic schools in Britain ran the gamut, from fee-paying boarding schools to “poor schools”, which provided free education to girls from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Catholic “poor schools” were larger and more rigorous than the contemporary “dame schools” in which local women provided education in their homes and the “ragged schools”, which gave free education and other resources to children in need. They provided religious education alongside reading, writing and functional skills training to serve the needs of a new influx of Irish immigrants.

While their focus on religious education might not accord with modern notions of progress, these schools were radical for their time as they countered the rigid Victorian association of women with the private domestic sphere.

By engaging in public processions and prize days, Catholic schools celebrated girls as individuals who were visible in the public sphere. The Catholic sisters who taught these girls modelled an alternative to the idea that a woman should exist solely for her family.

While the numbers of students taught by Catholic sisters is hard to gauge, we get some sense from examples like the Faithful Companions of Jesus, the first foreign order to set up schools after the Catholic Relief Act. The order ran more than 20 schools across the country in addition to working in primary schools and establishing night schools, teaching thousands of girls in poor parts of Liverpool and Manchester as well as in London.

Another order, the Sisters of Mercy, the largest convent network in the UK, taught in 41 elementary schools, 24 schools for middle and upper-class girls, nine orphanages as well as training schools for servants and five night schools. Between the first and second world wars, there were almost 1,600 Sisters of Mercy educating over 40,000 children.

Rather than remaining marginal and detached, these schools kept pace with changes in the British education system. As a series of education acts between the late 19th and mid 20th century (culminating in the Butler Education Act of 1944) made free schooling a right, Catholic sisters taught more and more children.

In order to keep providing education to a maximum number of students, these schools obtained grants from the government, which meant that they had to conform to national standards. Grant-aided schools also required certificated school teachers, so women’s congregations began to open their own teacher training colleges.

Inspection reports by the Board of Education show that Catholic girls’ schools offered rigorous educational programmes that kept up with the latest teaching developments. One 1901 inspection of a school in Birkenhead run by the Faithful Companions of Jesus reports that the geography course was “founded on some of the best modern textbooks. The lessons heard on the days of inspection were carefully prepared and thoughtfully given … The school possesses some good modern maps, and the equipment is constantly receiving additions”.

The changes in girls’ education over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries were dramatic. Between 1851 and 1900, female literacy rose from 51% in 1840 to over 90% by 1900. In 1878, the first women were accepted for degrees at a UK university (the University of London).

Catholic sisters played a surprising role in these transformations. They opened some of the first formal schools for girls in the country, not only keeping up with developments in national education but sometimes anticipating them. Far from being an obstacle to women’s progress, nuns were significant players in the movement for equal education.

The feature is ideal for privacy – and those massive group chats

WhatsApp users can now reserve their own username amid upcoming changes to the app.

The feature is ideal for people who want to join groups and chat to new pals without sharing their phone number with people they don’t know. This can be domne by using a unique username instead of a phone number.

Early reservation is now live meaning users can secure their preferred username before the feature launches later this year. WhatsApp explains: “You can reserve a username to use later this year when we launch this feature.

“With over three billion people on WhatsApp a lot of names overlap, which is why we’re opening reservations early so everyone has the opportunity to select the username that matters to them.”

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It adds: “For most people, choosing a WhatsApp username should be something unique that only people you want to contact you will know. If you need help picking one, we have a username generator to make one work just for you.

“We also know that some people like creators, small businesses, and organisations may want to maintain a consistent presence online. For them, we reserved an option to claim their existing Instagram or Facebook username on WhatsApp.

“Usernames are our latest step to make WhatsApp even more private. There’s no directory to browse and no suggestions – people will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time. To help control who can reach you on WhatsApp with your username, we’ve built an optional username key that others will need to know to message you.

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“Once we launch usernames, when you message a person or business for the first time they will no longer see your phone number, if you enabled your username.”

How to reserve my WhatsApp username?

All you need to do is go to WhatsApp, click on Settings then Account and select Username.

It adds: “We’ll be rolling out usernames gradually over the coming months and will notify you in WhatsApp when they’re available in your country.”

China’s case is perhaps more puzzling. In recent decades, it has become one of the most successful countries in Olympic history. But its forays into men’s football have not borne similar fruit.

“There’s no reason [in theory] why China can’t produce world-class footballers,” Mark Dreyer, a Beijing-based Chinese football expert, believes.

“The main problem is that in China everything is controlled by the state and everything is top-down. You need footballing people making footballing decisions, but there’s far too much political interference.”

China has not returned to the World Cup since 2002, despite heavy investment in the game since the 2010s – which included the flooding of its professional league with various high-profile names from South American and European football in a bid to elevate the standard of play.

Like China, Indonesia has also tasted World Cup action once before – in 1938, when it competed as the Dutch East Indies, then a colony of the Netherlands.

The South East Asian side had a good run in 2026 though, reaching the final qualifying round.

But that performance is perhaps better explained by a decision to recruit European players with Indonesian heritage rather than relying on homegrown talent.

“At times there were eight or nine European-born players in Indonesia’s starting XI,” says Jerome Wirawan, News Editor at the BBC’s Indonesian service.

Pakistan and Bangladesh exited the Asian qualifiers at the group stage, with no wins in six matches. Pakistan was also banned from international football three times by Fifa between 2017 and 2025 for political infighting in its governing body.