DATELINE: CUBA : THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, THEN AND NOW

Havana, 1961:

The United States broke diplomatic relations with Cuba on Jan. 3 and imposed an economic blockade that remains in effect.

Havana, 1991:

You’re a woman and you’re in Cuba. What do you do about your hairdo?

You could do what the Cubans do.

You could dye your hair blonde, which is popular. But since standard peroxides are difficult to come by, Cuban women often use a household bleach.

Or, you could always wear a platinum wig.

But many Cuban women can’t afford wigs. So, they sew together chicken feathers and bleach them. According to Allure magazine, there are more than 100 government-operated beauty salons in Havana alone. And Cuban women are particularly beauty conscious, the magazine said.

A hair tint in one of these shops costs $1.

Some American women had hair trouble here recently. The synchronized swimmers could not get their bathroom water hot enough to rinse out the gelatin they use for their routines. Some had to leave the gel in their hair until someone could bring them a hot plate to boil water.

Cuban women will try anything to improve their hair, including dipping carbon paper in boiling water to make a rinse that covers the gray. Oh, and one popular mousse favored by Cuban women works fine, but it also happens to be a popular laxative.