Alright, there is nothing “simple” about hair. It’s fraught with all kinds of emotional baggage. We have a lot of hang ups about it. Grey hair before the age of 80 seems to be sort of taboo. As if, “have you never heard of hair dye?” Can we cut if off, dye it, grow it out, curl it, straighten it, pin it up, etc., and still be “us?” Well, yeah. Is it uncomfortable to change? Sometimes. Can it make your life better? Definitely.
I’ve always been a long hair girl. It’s been permed and dyed on and off since high school. After my son was born at age 20 I cut it off. My hair dresser wouldn’t do it for me so I went to the local beauty school and had it chopped (literally) then went back to my hair dresser and had her fix it! I really liked that but eventually grew it out because I didn’t like the frequent trims needed to keep it up.
For years I let it grow, then had it bobbed after my daughter was born 3 years later. That was actually kinda chic looking if I do say so myself. But I grew that out too. I ended up letting it grow to my mid back and it was a pampered, luxurious mane that I SWORE I would never cut again. It cost a lot of money to maintain and I happily paid it. It was ME. Believe it or not, it was not hard to maintain either. I could go days without washing it and it would look great. All it needed was 1 or 2 washings a week and a blow dry and smoothing ( I have wavy hair that frizzes).
And then.
And then I gave birth to my twin girls. Even through all the challenges involved, I kept my long hair maintaining that I wouldn’t cut it. Ever. UNTIL half of it fell out. This was much more than the typical postpartum hair loss. My hair dresser noticed. Styling my hair became more and more of a challenge. As it turned out I had celiac disease that hadn’t been diagnosed that caused the extra hair loss. It took a very long time to start growing back and even now (3 years later) it isn’t what it used to be. I started experimenting with cutting it shorter to make it more voluminous again and to cover the really sparse spots (why are they always somewhere like around your face that is so hard to hide?!). Until this past April when I finally said, “Just cut it off.” My hair dresser was excited and happily did the initial chop. Each month since its been cut shorter until this past month.
I went full blown pixie in the beginning of July and I don’t know if my hair is in shock or what but it seems to have stopped growing. While this is definitely concerning (all I can think is that it’s just going to fall out now), it’s kind of convenient for the moment. I have to at least wet it each morning or I look like Howdy Doody but a couple of swipes and I have a style sans blow dryer, curling iron or flat iron. I only need shampoo and a dab of aloe vera gel. And I only shampoo once or twice a week. The best part? My husband says he loves it!
I used to think about how awful it would be to lose all of your hair because of some disease or treatment and how devastated I would be. Cutting all of my hair off has liberated me to some degree from that fear. It will grow back (good grief, I HOPE it starts growing again). It has also forced me to stop hiding behind my hair (literally). And you know what, I kinda like my face. Even without much makeup. It certainly has its issues but now that it is uncovered and exposed to the world all day from every angle I am getting comfortable in it. Only took 40 years to do that. I suppose it’s a gift. Some people never get that.
Cutting my hair has been life changing, as pathetic as that sounds when I say it out loud. But I’ve been trying to make life easy and this has certainly done that and more. I’ve also stopped dying it and I intend to embrace the “natural highlights” that God has blessed me with. That may change but for now it is saving me A LOT of money and time that can be devoted elsewhere.
Considering going for a pixie? I say go for it. It may be uncomfortable but I think it may be the best way to make you finally get comfortable in your skin. And it may just change your life. 😉
Thank you for visiting and I pray you have a wonderful day!
Liz
such an uplifting post! i recently just cut off a bunch of my hair and i love it too. Must agree with the liberating feeling.
Thank you! It took many hours of perusing Pinterest to get up the nerve to do it but I’m so glad I did! It must be in the air becauseI also just read a post on The Art of Simple about hair. 🙂
I think we are simplicity sisters! I just cut all my hair off too and I love it. I’m 37 and I’ve had short hair in the past but I’ve never felt as feminine as I do now. I think it’s self-acceptance and realizing that even 20 something’s get older and that’s ok.
Lol! It’s helpful that I have a great hairdresser but I am loving the short hair. My husband has asked me to not grow it long again because he likes it so much too. So I guess the pixie is here to stay 🙂 I think getting used to your face and not being able to hide behind your hair is the biggest challenge to self acceptance but it’s also one of the quickest ways to learn to embrace what you’ve got! Wonderfully freeing!