Tuesday, August 31, 2010

hair today, gone tomorrow

Yesterday was a scary day for me.
As much as I had spent sleepless nights preparing myself for the amount of hair I was about to have cut off, I was still shaking like a leaf in the wind as I sat down at Beauté Légère and let Simon snip his scissors through my long locks. I made the decision several months ago that it was time for a change and, more importantly, that it was time to let go of my length and donate it to Locks for Love, an amazing non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. With the children in mind, and the amazing encouragement and support from my family and friends, I took a deep breath, surprisingly didn’t shed a single tear and let the scissors do the styling.
I went into the salon with a mane that made its way down to the middle of my back. I left with the longest layers falling just slightly below my chin. Now that’s what they call a hair cut.
Hair is a funny thing. As much as it is ‘just hair’ it often defines who we are. Not in the sense that we are nothing without our hair but it certainly does have a strong grasp on certain feelings and emotions relating to a woman’s beauty and attitude. It can give us confidence when we’re happy with how it looks. It can create a new persona with sassy styling or a chic cut. It’s cut, colour or style can be changed to accentuate or hide other facial features. Hair has an amazing effect on the way we view ourselves and others. Having a bad hair day can not only mean bad hair but sometimes a bad mood as well. I know how much it frustrates me to put time and effort into styling my hair in the morning only to go outside into the humidity or rain and have my once lovely locks flip, flop and curl into a new, not-so-lovely ‘do. I can confess that when unwanted waves appear out of nowhere, I’m a constant complainer. I’ll cross my fingers that cutting my hair will have cutback my complaints (no promises!) but in any case, this new hairdo will definitely take some getting used to!

Have you ever made a dramatic change to your ‘do? Are you a cautious cutter?

21 comments:

Diana Mieczan said...

Wow...that is a huge cut!!! You are so brave and I bet you look amazing:)A few years ago I had very long hair and I cut them so short....like a boy hair cut....It took me a while to get used to but I really loved it:)
Kisses sweetie

a little black cloud in a dress said...

wow!! I have no fear when it comes to my hair. I've had so many different cuts/styles/colors. I get bored easily. :]

Melissa Blake said...

oh, that's awesome!! :)

i always think I want to grow my hair out, but then when i get it cut, i feel so much better!

My Owl Barn said...

I like your haircut! I have long hair, past my waist. Whenever I go to my stylist I think of getting a short hair cut but then chicken out. I'd love an easy and simple hair cut like you!

The Gallery Gal said...

It's looks great! I've had long hair all my life and the shortest I've ever had it cut was just around my shoulders. That takes a lot of guts! One day I'll take the plunge.

Natasha and Jesse said...

A great haircut! I've always wanted to donate to Locks of Love, but my hair won't grow long enough.

On one of my haircuts, I decided to go short (like pixie-ish), but I get bored and change it up...it always grows back!

k said...

I LOVE your new haircut, that's how i want my hair to be!!! but whoa, that's such a big change!

jenn from midlife modern said...

Good for you for donating to Locks of Love! That is such a generous gift you just gave to someone. Have fun playing with your new sassy cut!

Mrs T said...

What a cool thing to do. Hope you are loving your new hair. How weird does it feel to brush after having long hair!

Traveling Distances said...

That's a great thing to do for a great cause and the new do looks great! I did the same thing last year and I'm doing it again as soon as my hair gets long enough.

Signe said...

That's quite a big change! Hope you will be happy with it and that it will brighten the day of the kid that gets the wig from Locks for Love :)

Abigail. said...

I totally agree, I have a ridiculous emotional attachment to my hair and only yesterday I knew it was going to be a good day, purely because my hair was looking mighty fine :P What you've manage to do is amazing! And you're new hair cut looks great as well :)

P.S Your blog title is genius.

Unknown said...

You are so brave!! I'm cautious to the point that I only let my mom trim my hair...it's ridiculous, but when your hair grows as slow as mine it's necessary.

THE ALTERNATIVE WIFE said...

How wonderful that you did that! That was a huge change but so generous and I think that it looks fabulous!

Hair really does have a huge impact on how we feel. I know a bad hair day can really kill my entire mood. I try to tell myself it's only hair and not to let it effect me so but it really is quite hard to do.

I chopped all my hair off once many years ago. I had lost a lot of weight and wanted a total change. I liked the change but thought I looked older so I went back to longer.

Krysten @ Why Girls Are Weird said...

2 days after I got married I chopped my hair. It wasn't quite as long as yours but I did the same cut. I'm always going for drastic stuff like that and it's not the first time I've chopped it.

Ashleigh said...

Wow what a change! So exciting!
I totally understand about it being 'just hair' = it's so much more than that! I found when I had my short that I actually styled it differently and more often than when it's long, have fun with it!

paislea said...

cute! cute! cute! i have always wanted to do a cute little a-line with my hair. but i know i would die if i cut it! so i just stay smiling with my long hair!! hihi!

allisterbee.blogspot.com

abigail said...

so brave! It looks great!
nothing better than a fresh new look.

ag. said...

thank you all for the sweet comments, it really means a lot! (and will help me get through the days that i am wishing my long hair back!) i wish i was more brave and played around with my hair more often but for now, i am super happy with the change!

Holly Knitlightly said...

Aw, that's so amazing. I usually let my hair get pretty long then I chop it off to just below my chin. Right now it's getting pretty long again.

Lauren said...

Wow, you are much braver than I. I am in the midst of my last six months before donating my hair to Locks of Love too. I certainly do have a strong attachment to my long hair because I HATE styling my hair, so long is the best route for me. So in my selfishness I am waiting another 6 months before cutting so that hopefully my hair will still be below my shoulders. We'll see how long I can hold out...