Over-fried,
dyed and tried hairstyles are a thing of the past.
Up until a
week ago, I had the same hair style working since the millennium. Why? Why are
women so scared of change? Most are like me, all talk and little action when it
comes to anything that could alter the outward appearance. What I discovered,
the less pre-planning that gets done on a haircut the better. I always say, I
want to cut my hair off. I have actually been saying the same thing ever since
#AmberRose and #KanyeWest hit the scene as an item. Seeing her with a buzzed head
was enough to make every style driven girl wonder…”Could I pull it off?” Well,
the truth is most of us probably could not. In fact, I am not even sure what
shape my head might be, when all the hair is removed. What if it is lumpy, or
odd shaped? For me the change would be too drastic. “What about something
shorter,” I would think…. And then rethink when I realize how lazy I am when it
comes to hair maintenance.
Finally, I
took a leap. Last year, I told everyone I knew, that I was finally gonna switch
it up. I was going to go blonde. After careful consideration, I decided I would
look a fool as a platinum blonde but a #Beyonce blonde might work. Like an
idiot, I went to a mediocre salon. Where a less than mediocre stylist sat me
down for what she considered a “beautiful blonde that required no bleach.” Really?
No Bleach? I thought…. I went along with the idea and ended up orange and
outraged.
When I
showed up at the house, I asked my husband what he thought, “I barely even
notice a difference, and looks kind of orange not blonde,” he replied
truthfully. After two weeks, I decided to take matters into my own hands and
re-dye my hair from the box. TERRIBLE again, but more normal than before.
Finally, I went to a great stylist in the Dominican Republic, by the name of
LEO. I call her by name because I hope she reads this and finds me, seeing as I
cannot find her after she left the salon she worked at. This Leo, is a hair
dying genius and put a dirty blonde touch on my hair with a bronzer that made
the look fit my skin tone and a cut that fit my face. I have curly hair, and
while the Dominican blow out is awesome for day one and two, I have trouble
maintaining the style and end up going curly again. Back to the same style I
always knew, with curls that fall just below my shoulder, never growing longer
only getting curlier has the years go by.
I decided
my hair had gotten enough dye for a lifetime, but was not prepared for the
constant updating a dye situation requires. By the time I was scheduled to
attend NYC for #TVFU with Conde Nast, I was in a frazzle trying to figure out
what to do with my grown out blonde locks complete with dark brown roots. Yuck,
and because I was unable to locate LEO the hair genius of the DR, I was forced
to resort to a little box of color I found saved under my bathroom sink. Just
like an idiot, I dyed my hair, returning it to the orangey-blonde of before,
but thought it would manage until I could figure something else out. In the world
of a true decision maker, I made the color work, and still have the color
today.
Unfortunately, after 4 colors and no cuts, my
curls had grown dry and brittle. Knowing I should cut my hair… I researched
styles, but like always, scared for anything extreme I opted out. By the time
Christmas came my hair was in bad shape, and my sister even noticed I looked
sick with thinning curls. This was it, this was the moment I had to call a
spade a spade. The next week before returning to the Dominican, I went to the
salon and told them to start snipping. All I knew what that I wanted a bob. I
had always wanted a bob, but was too lazy for the upkeep. This time, I went against
what I knew and ask for the bob, short in the back and longer in the front.
To my
surprise, I knew I liked the cut after the first clip of hair fell to the floor
beneath me. I felt glamorous, like a women from the 20’s. The style resembles
Roxy Heart from Chicago. What would the curly component of the cut have to say
about the loss of length? Once curly, I found the cut still looked good and not
mushroom shaped at all on my slender face. While the critics have been on the
fence about whether the look works for me or not, ultimately I love it.
Apparently when you love something, you do not care what others think, and so I
don’t.
I say this
to say, if I would have thought about the cut, and if my hair was healthy like
normal, I would never have gathered up the courage to cut my hair. But if I did
not cut my hair, I never would have known how much I could love something so different
and new. Who knows how low I will go in the future, but the fear is gone and I
will be more tempted to try something fun and new again one day. Not to mention
the simplicity of a short cut, low maintenance and high results make this look
and any short look shine.
Embrace
change this year. Be exactly what you want to be, and look exactly like you
want to look. Take the chance, most mistakes can be undone, and your hair is
def. a renewable resource. So, whatever Hair-do you do, make it a good one, and
own it.
