I horrified many people by chopping my hair off the other night. I’ve been growing [it] for 3-4 years and only had a few trims over that time. It was getting unmanageable though. Initially I’d planned to book in for an appointment to get a few inches cut off… but then I saw a photo of myself (taken while I was in Melbourne a few weeks ago) and my hair looked terrible. Lank and lifeless.
I tried to make an appointment with my hairdresser but couldn’t get in for about three weeks. Of course rather than book that I left it and pondered. I’d feel too guilty to cheat on my hairdresser but IF I did it myself then… that’s hardly cheating is it?
Smug before photo. When freshly washed. So not normally like this.
Fortified by a couple of wines I pulled my wet hair into little pigtails and dutifully measured from the bottom, before snipping. My ends weren’t even so the amount I cut off ranged from 20cm to 23cm.
Of course I didn’t actually plan to cut that much off. I’d planned to make it shoulder length so it was swishy but manageable and able to be pulled up easily.
So… oops. It’s a bit shorter than I meant it to be and in my attempts the following morning to straighten it I realised I was shortening it further. So I’ve left it.
My mother and sister-in-law were horrified I hadn’t subsequently tried to get into my hairdresser to have it ‘fixed’ but I can’t be bothered. (I’m exceedingly apathetic about booking anything that requires me making a telephone call. Though I will make an appointment in a few weeks once it grows a bit.)
And I wonder is it so bad that I really don’t care? What’s the opposite of vain? Depressed? Who knows. My hairdresser (who I’d tagged in my Instagram post – obviously!) said she was happy I didn’t go the whole ‘Britney’ and shave it off. I reassured her. I may be in a foul mood at the moment, but not THAT bad.
So, no regrets. I’m really quite zen about it all. And I’d forgotten how freeing it is to not have hair in the way all of the time. I keep going to pull it out of the way to brush my teeth or when I lie down. It’ll be nice not to have strands of hair all around my house. And washing it won’t be as laborious. Of course it doesn’t properly go up into a ponytail at the moment, but… it’ll grow.
I know during COVID a heap of people took to cutting their own hair. I’ve done trims before but this was pretty extreme. Even for me. Any other home hairdressers out there?
October 23, 2022
I have been looking back at a year ago Covid 19 lockdown just finished..before I could get my hair cut properly again and B would have a go at it as would I. I hated it being long (for a short style) and so overblown. I can understand what you did and whatever you want to do about it now, is up to…drumroll…you, I believe!
October 24, 2022
Ha, thanks Denyse. We were fortunate as our salons didn’t shut down for long here and they had to ensure social distancing etc… Of course given my hair is (was!) long I would go months between appointments. But I recall having short hair and having to go every 4-5weeks for a trim.
October 23, 2022
Look, I like it. I do! You look spunky and cute. And it is freeing to not worry about it.
I think i am a lot older than you. I am 62 and when I was about 54 I was just done with worrying about my looks. I always have taken care — haircut, makeup, nice outfit — but now i am done. And last year I got a dry eye thing, so all eye makeup — done. At one point I became sad because I had this epiphany that men don’t notice older women, no one does. But then I realized a)that’s life and b)how freeing that is.
So for what it is worth, I like your look. And don’t worry your hair will grow out. But you just may like to keep it.
October 24, 2022
I’ve struggled with makeup since my early 30s as my face (head) gets really sweaty and for some reason, even if I just put moisturiser on my face I start to sweat, so unless I’m in a freezing environment, makeup hasn’t been an option. I did used to wear lipstick though – to work or going out – and think that (for me) felt like ‘dressing up’. Because I’ve not really gone out much over the past decade and live in a casual beachside place I don’t get dressed up at all any more. I sometimes see people wearing high heels and good frocks and suits and find it a bit weird and confronting.
Of course I realise that a lot of people still enjoy getting frocked up and know when I’ve felt better about myself I’ve liked the idea.
And I do worry that if I had to go back into a workplace I’d struggle with having to make ‘some’ effort every day. (Rather than staggering down my corridor in my PJs to start work!)
October 23, 2022
You were beautiful in long hair but this hairdo really suits you! I like it! And I like the attitude to just do it. If it looks uneven, you can just curl it or something, then it’ll just look casual and cool. I desperately need a haircut, I’ve grown my hair since January 2020 and haven’t seen a hairdresser since. My hairdresser also moved to somewhere outside of town so I’ve hesitated to make a booking! Now I don’t want to take the time to do it until my school assignments are done… so I’ll give it to myself as a nice treat afterwards. I have long straight boring hair and usually have it in a braid or similar. When I do go to the hairdresser I’ll get it done to somewhere near shoulder length with some nice layers and I wouldn’t dream of trying to do that myself!
October 24, 2022
This looks a bit more like a ‘bob’ than I’d meant it to, but it looks really thick which is surprising as I’ve been losing so much hair for the last few years.
I’ll definitely go to my hairdresser but will wait a few weeks and let it grow a little first. And she’ll probably do as you mention, cut some layers. At the moment I’m scrunching it as it dries so it looks messy (a bit curly) and I think it’s fine.
October 24, 2022
I like it. I think you did a great job. If I could, I would do my own haircut. Thank you for your weekend coffee share.
October 24, 2022
Thanks Natalie. I probably should have been a bit more exact with some of my measurements but… oh well…
October 24, 2022
Hi Deb – I think you did well – it looks quite sassy on you and I think that having the natural waves keeps the style from looking DIY. My hair is pretty much dead straight, so I stick with cutting my own fringe and not risking too much else. I’ve also discovered that our senior cits has a hair salon (with hairdressers in their 50’s – not pensioners) and they do a great job for half the price of my old salon. It keeps me turning up for a cut and colour every couple of months because my bank acct isn’t taking such a huge hit.
October 25, 2022
When I was younger my hair was dead straight and mine didn’t get wavy until I went short in my 40s. And suddenly it developed kinks. I feel like the colour is really dull at the moment as it’s pretty much natural – a few greys coming through at my roots but just a dull dark blonde. But I’d intended to go natural so not sure I went to get blonde foils / highlights again….
October 25, 2022
Good on you Deb, I like the scrunchy look and i’ve been using that for my hair lately when I feel like a change. I cut my husband’s hair during lockdown but I wouldn’t be game to do mine, so hats off to you!
October 25, 2022
My mother called early the next morning and I thought she was calling to go mad at me (as I’d put it on social media of course!). She was actually calling because her wifi had been off, but the fact I thought I was going to get into trouble probably says something about the fact I didn’t think it was an entirely good idea.