The things you deal with when you cut off all your hair

Maybe you’ve dreamed of having short hair your entire life (or at least since pigtails started happening to you). Maybe you woke up this morning with an uncontrollable urge to get this hair off your head right now! Or maybe a handsome thief had to cut off your hair to stop your evil mom from using your magical long hair powers. 

For me, it happened gradually —I could never settle on a hairstyle. I would cut off my hair, grow it out again, get antsy, cut it off, and start over. But then I realized: I always felt better when my hair was shorter. So I got it chopped all the way off and have been rockin’ a pixie ever since.

It’s exciting to make the short hair leap, but it’s a big change too. And one of the scariest things about change is not knowing what comes afterwards. To calm your nerves, I offer the following insights and tips for the short hair life. Here are a few things you might experience: 

Your face. Yes, you experience your face every day.

But with short haircuts, the person’s face is always the stand-out feature, and I love that. My face shape definitely seems to change with shorter hair: my jaw line is more prominent, you can see my cheeks, forehead, and ears. Post-pixie cut, your face will be more in the spotlight.

Sexism (shocker).

When Felicia Day got a pixie cut, I swooned: she looked amazing! Unfortunately, she was met with cries of sexist indignation. How dare she do what she wanted with her own hair! You might experience some of that grossness as a result of your new hair cut. I’ve gotten negative comments from everyone: family, friends, partners, bosses, strangers —men in particular, many doing so without realizing why they’re reacting the way they are. But don’t let society’s sexism define your choices, including your hair style. If you like it, that’s what matters. 

A different kind of maintenance.

One of the things I love about having short hair is that the day-to-day routine is absurdly easy. I wake up, shower. . .aaaand, that’s kind of it. But there’s a price to pay for my effortless mornings: to maintain the look that I like, I have to get a trim every five weeks or so. When I had longer hair, I could go for a few months at a time without needing to go to a salon. For me, the trade-off is well worth it: I’ll take back the extra half hour every morning that I used to spend on wrangling my longer locks. 

Stylin’ changes.

What worked for your longer hair might not work for your short hair. When I had longer hair, I used a scrunchy-wavy spray to make it all cute n’ scrunchy-wavy. The same products do nothing for me now, so I switched to a matte paste, a dab of which gives me some really cool texture when I want it. This will all depend on your own hair and preferences, but the principle is the same: once you go short, be open to trying out different things and finding what works for your new hair. Maybe you’ll find you feel good without any product, maybe you’ll try products you’ve never hear of before or thought about even using. The bonus is if you use shampoo, you’ll probably use way less of it!

Quick-dry hair.

Short hair dries faster! This is so useful for showering, swimming, sweating, etc. Short hair is just incredibly convenient and great like that. Also, your bed head might have just gotten 100% more hilarious.

Earring epiphanies.

Short hair makes ear wear even more fun: it’s like your ears and neck become display cases for your jewelry. If you’re getting a short cut, I would suggest trying out a few pairs of big, beautiful earrings. I’m at the point where I just got my cartilage pierced, too. Fair warning: the short hair ear game can be addicting.

Hat and scarf love.

Without your blanket of hair, your head and neck are going to get chilly when it’s cold out. Which is a great excuse to knit, crochet, or collect more cute cozy hats and scarves. 

A surge of self-confidence.

Look, short hair on a woman can get flack, but if you love it, be prepared for feeling super awesome. One of my best friends, who has also rocked a pixie cut, always says, “Short hair is like an edgy accessory you never take off.” I’ve always felt that, too. With short hair, I feel more daring, more up-yours, and more fashion forward. Something about short hair just works for me, and if it does for you, you’re going to feel more like yourself.

(Image via, Giphy)