I have notoriously long hair. Now when you see pictures of my with said hair it doesn't look that long really. I am aware of this and I am not bragging about my lovely locks. (See what I did there?) I think what makes it so prominent of a feature is that there is a lot of it. You know that song by Dashboard Confessional? "Your hair is everywhere!!!" Yeah, that's about right. (It's called "Screaming Infidelities" in case you're clueless and want to YouTube it.)
But, living in Florida, I have been known to chop it all of every few years. Call it boredom if you will, but truth be told it's inspired by times of intense heat or life changing events. For example, I have a new baby and I'm tired of pre-washing my hair with spit up. Last time I cut my hair was 5 years ago when I had Gaia. I maintain the normal length by self trimming, but I do entrust a professional when making "The Big Chop."
Is it scary? Yes.
But don't be afraid. I'm going to tell you exactly how I grow the balls to completely change how I look for long periods of time by going from long hair to short. It's liberating!
Step 1 - Tell yourself it is just hair. You must believe that it is literally dead stuff hanging from your head and it will replenish itself over a few years. I'm lucky to have super fast-growing hair, but normally hair grows about 6 inches a year on average. Don't mourn the loss of your locks. If you improve your diet you can even replace them with even healthier dead stuff. You have to love yourself and forget about the hair!
Step 2 - Keep your hair type in mind and your daily activities when choosing a cut. You are not going to have a pixie cut as cute as Natalie Portman's if you don't have hair like Natalie Portman. If you have no idea how to judge which cuts are good for your hair type, talk to your hairdresser. They know what to do as soon as you say "I want to go short" but they also need to know how you style it. Do you use styling tools everyday? Do you use products in your hair? When you go out without the kids how does your routine change? Simplifying your daily activities gives them a better picture of what you're trying to accomplish. Taking in photos doesn't help, but don't expect to look exactly like someone you look nothing like, you know what I mean?
Step 3 - When you finally believe you can do it, go to someone you trust. If you don't know a hair dresser, then remember you get what you pay for. I wouldn't recommend going to Wal-Mart to get your hair did when you're making a drastic change. I don't want to spend $60 either, so I opt for the mall. I am comfortable spending $20 every 5 years when I'm feeling ballsy. Considering that I do all my hair maintenance myself, it's an expense I don't mind.
If you follow those three steps you'll have the easiest transition into a short 'do. I'm honestly considering going even shorter if you can believe it. My hairdresser didn't want me to go into shock (I have issues with step number 1 even if I put on a good show on the outside), so she thought we'd start small and step it up if I still wanted to after a month. I like to think this cut is channeling Maggie from The Walking Dead. I feel like I can finally kill zombies now that I don't have all that hair in the way, if you know what I mean.
Do you prefer long hair or short?
Do you like to change up your hair every now and then?
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