Hair today...

Sorry to post this after that awesomeness on love and human dignity. Here’s a fluff piece about haircuts and being confident in yourself and stuff.

To begin my post I will quote from a musical of the same name: HAIR. As the title of the song goes:

           

Give me a head with hair, long beautiful hair

Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen

Give me down to there, hair, shoulder length or longer

Here baby, there, momma, everywhere, daddy, daddy,

HAIR, HAIR, HAIR, HAIR, HAIR, HAIR, HAIR, HAIR

Yes, hair is the topic of my next few posts. Specifically, I want to focus on getting a haircut.

There are so many things to consider when getting your hair cut. Am I keeping it the same? Should I change the color? Long? Short? Bangs? Before the appointment, everything is in order. I think I want it to this length, layers, and a side sweeping bang for a change. THIS IS GONNA LOOK AWESOME.

Then you get there and you FREAK OUT. So many questions come up before you finally sit in that chair. How did I tell them to cut it last time? Should I get bangs? Did I get it feathered, razored, or layered? Will I look good in bangs? SO MANY CHOICES.

Hair frustration.

That worry and anxiety increases tenfold especially if the cut you want is a drastic change from your current style.

If this reaction doesn’t characterize you, I guess I just had a lot of trauma getting haircuts as a child or something…

Personally, I love getting haircuts. For me, getting a haircut is a chance to change up my look, try something new, look a little different, and not to mention boost my self-esteem. A new haircut feels like a new style start! With a good cut that suits my style, my face shape, and my hair type, I can completely change my look while showing more and more of whom I discover I am. For example, when I just started high school, I still had bangs and an awful choppy haircut, which said, “I still feel and look like I am 9 years old!” or “My mom told me this was a good haircut!”

Exhibit A: Intentionally, unflattering picture.

Now, I am not saying that you can’t go to your mom for advice about haircuts. My mom and I just have very different views of what looks good on me. (SIDE NOTE: If any of your friends have a bad haircut, tell them. Trust me. I know from experience, they would rather know that they look ridiculous rather than get that same ridiculous haircut three times.) Anyway, after that debacle of a style, I decided to let my hair grow and it became this:

Exhibit B. Long and straight.

For years, this was me. And I loved it! I loved my long hair. I could do so many things with it. Last year, I decided I was tired of the long hair. I needed a change. So here’s a short guide to finding the right hairstyle for you through my own experience trying to find mine.

Tell me what you want, what you really, really want

When looking for a new hairstyle, or even just a new style in general, dig deep inside first. Don’t look in magazines just yet. Think back to your experiences, to who you say you are. Make a vision of who you are in your mind and how you want to be perceived. (Disclaimer: YOU are in charge of how you are seen by others. Sure, other people will make their own judgments, but their opinions shouldn’t matter. You put yourself out there and you decide how you want to look: casual, classic, edgy, sloppy, etc.) Your style should be a combination of your personality and your vision. My style is casual with a Bohemian twist and the occasional classic touch. I am sarcastic, hopeful, boisterous, and confident in who I am as a person. I made a clear picture in my head of myself and realized what was missing. My style lacked confidence. I suddenly saw the change I needed.

Choosing a style

With that vision of your style in mind, now is the time to scour your Vogue, Elle, whatever magazine you like, for hair ideas. Browse the internet, using broad terms and then narrow down your search.

Through my research I discovered that I wanted it short. I wanted to go short for a long time but never had the guts to do it. A lot of celebs are cutting their hair very short nowadays. Famously, Ginnifer Goodwin and Emma Watson both lost their locks and look amazing!

                      

I love short hair on young women because it oozes confidence and emphasizes femininity.

Details Make a Difference

When you have picked your style, do a little more research to figure out details about the style. Make sure you ask yourself these questions first: What shape face do I have?

Often, disappointment in hairstyles is derived from picking a cut that does not compliment your face. Hairstyles can look drastically different from one face to another. This image is a basic guide to help you determine your face shape:

If you know your face shape you will be able to more accurately search for cuts and for images of hairstyles on models or celebrities that have a similar face shape. If you just answer this question a lot of bad haircuts can be easily avoided.

What kind of hair do I have?

Again, to quote HAIR:

I want long, straight, curly, fuzzy,

 snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty

Oily, greasy, fleecy, shining, 

gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen

Knotted, polka dotted, twisted, beaded, braided

Powered, flowered and confettied

Bangled, tangled, spangled and spahettied Hair

Answering this question will again narrow down your choices and help with your choice of style and cut. For example, my hair has some wave to it so I do not want a style that will only work for pin straight hair.

Finally: Pick it

The only other thing I can say about picking a style is do all the research you can and feel confident in your choice. If the change from your current style is drastic, try it. If you don’t like, cry for five minutes (or maybe ten) and realize it will grow back in time… Yeah, just

For Short Hair Only

I did some research and decided I would take the “stage approach” to getting a short haircut. This method of haircut is to psychologically and emotionally ease you into a short haircut. So basically, I just have been getting haircuts shorter and shorter to see how I would like having short hair. So first I went from the picture above to this:

Exhibit C. Stage 1 Somewhat short

This cut was really great for me. It was really easy to style, but caused some havoc when my waves got out of control. Then I went a little shorter…

Exhibit D. Little shorter, note waves starting to get out of control

I think a crop is the best style for my hair. It allows for waves, works well with a heart shaped face, and will give my look the extra confidence it needs.

Tomorrow is judgment day. The appointment is set. Pictures to show my hairdresser, printed. Expectations, in check.  I will post the results and whether all of this research and waiting was worth it tomorrow evening (or Friday morning if I cry all Thursday night because I look like a little boy).

I’m pretty sure that as long as I don’t look like this

Exhibit E. BOWL CUT

…I’ll be ok.

WISH ME LUCK!