Long Hair? Who Cares?

It’s been said that a woman that cuts her hair is about to change her life.  I hate that expression.  Maybe that’s me looking at the glass half empty but honestly, it makes me want to pull out my own hair.  What I actually hear is “That woman’s cutting her hair because she’s lost control”, “She’s suffocating and cutting the ties holding her down”.

Now this is where I flip and see the glass overflowing.  I believe a woman that cuts her hair has already changed her life.  She’s already transformed into another version of herself.  She’s committed and has made a brave and bold decision.  I see the same transformation when a caterpillar grows into a beautiful, strong butterfly.  At a certain stage in a caterpillar’s life it wraps itself into a silky cocoon until  strong enough to break the mould, spread their wings and dazzle its audience with beauty.  I can’t afford a silken coat.  Have I been using my hair subconsciously?

My generation has been brought up to think that the length of a girls hair determines how feminine or how beautiful she is.  I cut my hair into a bob at the tender age of 15 and immediately hated it, probably because I did it out of boredom and wasn’t dedicated to the change.  I later turned to tattoos and piercings to fulfil my need for change.  Believe me when I say the shocking pain of laser tattoo removal is far worse than any hair extension I ‘ve ever pulled from my hair, which was also a bad idea because as a result it’s taken the best part of 10 years to grow my luxurious locks back from singed stumps.

When I think of hair goals I picture naturally sun kissed, thick tousled hair cascading down to my waist.  A hair-do that sweet cinderella would be envious of but simultaneously screams sex and mystery.  My love for the cool Californian surfer girl style and the irresistible look of the untamed island girls seductive mane also had me clinging onto my fairytale fishtail braid a little too tightly.

Do you ever go shopping and buy dresses that would slay any red carpet debut but will live in the back of your wardrobe with the tags left on, shoes that you imagine wearing everywhere but will never see natural daylight and make up brushes worthy of creating a million dollar masterpiece but you will no doubt revert back to throwing foundation at your face with your hands.  I’m not ashamed to hold my hands up and say “I’m guilty of almost all of these!” We buy these things because we love them. We want them. We just have to have them!   Even if they don’t suit us, fit us or love us back.

A rule that I’ve prided myself on is to always dress stylish and never trendy.  When I think of style I think Italian Vogue.  I think effortlessly chic women that have beautiful olive coloured skin with long sleek and shiny hair.  Think Sophia Loren in ‘Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow’.  She is the creme de la creme and I’d even go as far as to say the most beautiful woman of all time.  The thing I admire about Sophia is that she’s a strong woman that makes her own choices in life.  She had hair most would kill for but also had one of the worlds most beautiful faces.  There’s beauty in all faces and, after all, hair is dead and Sophia’s, my face, your face, shouldn’t hide behind a curtain of hair just because you think you should!

A good friend  said when I was once debating cutting my hair short ” your hair is so beautiful why would you cut it off?” and it made me think i’d be letting something great go.  However if we didn’t let go of some things we love we wouldn’t be the same people we are today.  More often than not we fall in love again and stronger than ever before.

Every woman has their own hair horror story, but hair grows and so do we.  As women we should be content with ourselves not to follow a trend but to do what is right for us.  Coming to grips with knowing a tailored jacket suits your petit frame rather than the oversized boyfriend jacket that every shop window and magazine insists you should be wearing this season.  Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful jacket.  It’s just not made for us all.  One size doesn’t fit all!

If I cut my hair it will be for reasons that are personal to me.  It won’t be because I’m doing it for a guy or because short hair is hot and long hair is not! It will be because I want to show another side to myself, or it’s time to break free from my silk cocoon.  Hell, it could even be because I’m sick and tired of wresting  hairbands free from naughty kittens like Bruno and P.