Going short
I toted this picture of “Posh Spice” (Victoria Beckham for you fellow 50-somethings) around in my bag for days. Every so often I’d sneak a peek at her short ‘do and remember the words of Lauri, my hairdresser, and my brave friend T. :
Long hair can drag down your face and make you look older.
Short hair acts like a facelift and makes you look younger.
Short hair puts emphasis on your eyes and away from a softening jaw line.
The inspiring hairstyle
And then there’s the much deeper little voice: I love your long hair. (We all know who that is, right?)
Will men ever understand the throes we endure before a major haircut? What if I look awful? Will my face look fat? What will people say when I sneak into the office Monday morning?
I’m not sure when I was hit with this overwhelming urge to snip. Probably about the time my current cut grew to where it was supposed to be. As my hair stylist Lauri so wisely pointed out, it’s the getting there that’s fun. I hope so. The countdown to cutting is torture.
Fast forward to Saturday... D-day. Will I make the cut or stick with what already works?
I'd done my homework:
I looked online for photos of short haircuts I thought I might like (never mind that the Photoshopped models are at least 10 years younger and 10 pounds lighter...)
I checked out an interactive site that gave me styles that might work. (Good news for indecisive me... Oval faces can wear just about any style...)
I compared the long-to-short transformations on celebrity heads.
I talked to recent short-hair converts who without question said it's the best thing they'd done.
And I stared at that 1976 photo of myself, trying to remember the last time I did this. And why...
Short hair: 1976
So there I sat in Lauri's chair, waiting for a reason to retreat. Lauri explained every step to make sure I understood her plan. The result: an edgy asymmetric cut – long, straight and a little jagged on one side, tucked behind my ear on the other The back is very short and left to its natural curl.
I left pounds lighter but dreading the reaction of the long-hair lover. (Not that he should be surprised... In 20 years he’s seen me blonde, brown, red and striped...permed, long, straight and bobbed.) I could see his reaction yards away as I summoned my confidence and swayed movie-star style down the dock to our boat: His mouth was a giant “O.” (Probably as in “Oh my God.”)
He liked it.
Here's the thing about drastic haircuts: You need time afterward - alone - to look in the mirror, tug on your tresses and see how they make you feel.
Play with makeup; feel a little fancy. Try on clothes; feel how you fit in your skin - and your hair.
Cry if you want to - a friend at work admitted she did the day after she lost her long locks. But now she can't imagine anything but short hair. She says the cut changed more than her hair; it gave her new options for clothing styles and colors to wear.
Already I’ve discovered headbands and short hair go hand in hand. I can blow my hair dry before the perspiration pools on my neck – always a losing battle in the summer. Not that short hair is easier – a helpful stylist walked me through shelves of “product” to help me find the best formula to give my hair a little more texture.
It feels free.. but is it "me"? Time will tell....
So, ladies, have any of you gone short? Let me know how you're faring... would love some words of wisdom.
E-mail this entry to a friend
Subscribe