It seems that the 'Kate Effect' has now started infiltrating maternity wards, as the Duchess of Cambridge is apparently inadvertently leading a new trend for women post-labour to beautify themselves. But we're not sure that a pressure to get hair and make-up done is all that helpful for women who have just evacuated a human from their bodies.
It's become tradition for Kate to pose outside the Lindo Wing with her husband, Prince William, and her new baby for all the world to see. She's done it following both the birth of Prince George in July 2013, and of Princess Charlotte in May this year.
So it goes without saying, as both a central member of today's Royal family and as something of a style icon herself, that the Duchess might call on her team of hairdressers and stylists to freshen up her look for these inevitably iconic photos.
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But what's interesting is that, now, other women are following suit. It's been reported by The Times that the Julien Farel Restore Salon & Spa alone has seen a 200% increase in post-baby blowdries since the birth of Princess Charlotte.
And in some ways, we can understand it. If immediately following the birth of a child isn't the time to take a whole host of photos, then we don't know when is. And these photos will be around, well, forever. So it's understandable that women might want to remember themselves as looking more presentable than the post-labour exhaustion normally leaves them.
But on the other hand, it's surely an unhealthy message to promote, that women who have just given the gift of life should be so concerned with their aesthetics and whether or not their hair looks dishevelled.
So what do you think? Let us know with a tweet @GHmagazine.
