So every once or twice a year, me and my hair have a little fling with some scissors. This may seem shocking to you if you are someone who goes to a hairdresser on the regular - lucky for you, you found someone who you can trust, who knows what and how to do your hair. I have not been so lucky in my quest for the best hairdresser - for me.
My mom used to cut my hair and when I was finally old enough and had saved my own money to get a hair cut, I went to a professional at our local mall. I think I was 9 or 10 at the time, maybe 11 and as I sat in silence and in a state or "respect your elders" shock and horror as the woman with the scissors chopped my hair to a shoulder length bob and gave me bangs. To add insult to injury, I was charged $35 for it. Oh how I cried.
I proceeded to avoid hairdressers for the next 10 years when I finally allowed my mom to give me a trim - a trim that led me to shaving it all off to about 2.5 inches. That was the last time she cut my hair. In my 20's and 30's I had a few hairdresser friends cut my hair and only one person, one time nailed it. I came away feeling great and the feeling lasted except when I went back to her thinking I had found my one, she butchered it. I gave her one last chance when I first turned 40 because hey, we all have our off days. I was thinking that she could give me a fresh and fabulous 40 hair cut and I ignored all the red flags - there were 3. I blame myself as much as I blame her - okay me a bit more because I should be a little more adept at listening to the signs by now but I pushed through them thinking if I didn't do it right there and then, I would lose my nerve. I was hoping for a short in the back, long in the front asymmetrical bob and had examples and pictures and everything... I got a single cut across the back of the neck bob with two longer dangling pieces in the front. Little did I know that this was going to add to the torment of the turning 40 transition that I wasn't anticipating. I had a short old lady fat bob and I was already feeling fluffier than usual and to top it off, I also had an eye exam and it was determined that I had age related blindness - yay! Okay, so now I am 41 and a half. I've finally grown out the hair to the point where it needs some shaping and I do on occasion pick up the scissors and do a snip here and a snip there but yesterday, about 5 minutes before I had to pick someone up, I decided was the time to take things a couple snips further...
My hair is not like other peoples. It doesn't grow long and lush. It's growth and break rate has leveled out so it barely seems to be growing in length at all. It also goes from curly to wavy to flat within a day depending on how I style it. Typically, I pin it all back so I don't have to look or deal with it but I do like to release it at the end of the day and just go wild. I want multifunctional hair. Hair that I can work with to match whatever mood I may be in at any time. I want short and flirty with volume and funk. I want long with tendrils that dance along the shoulders and back. Yes, I understand what I'm asking for seems unattainable but let me tell you right here and right now that it IS possible! You simply have to abandon all concepts of what is already out in the world. You have to put down the hairdresser books that have a multitude of hair cuts and designs because their hair is not your hair. You have to be prepared to make mistakes and to go with what's happening and to stop periodically to feel it out for a few days before carrying on. And then, only then will you possibly arrive at something unique and fresh and totally you! If you are lucky.
You must be wondering by now if I have achieved such goals. If I have cracked the code and acquired the hair cut of my dreams that checks all the boxes and has left me feeling fresh and fabulous.
To this I answer... mm not sure yet. I didn't hate it when I got up this morning and it is currently in process of drying from my shower. It's too soon to tell but it is definitely in the asymmetrical category. It has long tendril bits and it has short funky bits. Does it work together? Does it look like a chop shop catastrophe? Would it be considered a hairdressers nightmare?
Perhaps, but its definitely unique and mine and if it ever fills me with dread, I can treat myself to a $35 dollar something to make me feel better.