Hair-Brained Schemes

In my short 21 years of existence, I've changed my hair at least that many times. Like let's be honest, I've had long hair, short hair, straight hair, curly hair, braids, waves, and everything in between. It isn't until recently that I decided that partial shave and natural is the way that I want to go. And let me tell you I love it so much. But be it dying, cutting, or letting it all grow out, I feel that everyone should experiment with their hair every once in a while. There's just so much you learn from yourself when you begin to control, what is actually a big part of your appearance. It's not easy, believe me, but here's what I learned through my hair journey.  

The First Time...

Kinda Short

The first time I cut my hair was my Freshman year of high school. I don't really think it was for any particular reason, I just wanted to. I've had long hair all my life, and frankly, I think I was tired of it. My mom was all for me cutting my hair (her being a huge advocate for cutting her own hair) but just because she was all on board with it doesn't mean everyone else was. I remember that when I came back to school the next time with my hair shorter (like a little below chin length?) One girl literally almost had a heart attack. You would think it was her hair that I cut. She was so offended. And it made me actually feel a little insecure. Like was I no longer attractive because I decided to have shorter hair? I mean obviously, that wasn't the case. I was still beautiful me, but it did teach me an important lesson.

People will always have something to say about your appearance and will say what they prefer. BUT you have a choice whether to listen to them or not. In this case, it was my hair. My shorter hair was no more or no less beautiful than longer hair. But I had to learn to take control of my hair and do what I felt looked best on me. I learned this important lesson from it:

It doesn't matter what you do, someone will always have something to say about it. But as long as you love how you look and own your hair, then let them say what they want because in the end it's not their hair it's yours.

Pixie Short

Taking Control

The next time I had a huge hair change was my sophomore year of college. I had decided to cut my hair even more and go to a shorter curly pixie cut. Which looking back on it was super cute, but I remember that was the first time when I thought that having shorter hair would make me less feminine (which is wild because my mom has short hair and I think she is like the peak of womanly awesomeness). Yeah, I thought that my hair made me look more like a 12-year-old than a 19-year-old girl. I'm pretty sure I cried. Actually, I vividly remember crying one time during Easter because I just felt kind of manly with shorter hair.  

Yeah, it may seem crazy, but it's really not. If you think about it, society praised woman with long flowing locks, claiming it as good hair, as feminine and as the symbol of being a woman. For a very short period of time, I thought having shorter hair would make me less attractive. But, in the end, I think cutting off my hair showed me that I can truly take control and show off my femininity! Cutting my hair made me more womanly, and now I revel in the fact that it highlights the best parts of me. 

In the end, cutting or coloring or any change to your hair doesn't mean that you are more or less of something. You're still you, you just choose to reflect it in your hairstyle in a new way. 

Taking Care

Current Hair

Currently, my hair is not only partially shaved, but I am also going natural which means that I have to take EXTRA good care of it. Some of you may think that that seems like a lot of work, and maybe not worth it. I have to go to the hairdresser every two-three weeks to get my hair cut, on top of having an arsenal of products and an extensive haircare routine to take care of my hair. I learned though, through this process, how to truly love my hair, and in turn, love me. I've learned that I am worth investing time and effort into. Taking care of my hair has become very much therapeutic for me (and an arm workout because twists outs are a ton of work).

So I'm telling you about my hair journey in order for you know hair is just that, a journey. It's a process in which you learn what best fits you. What you like, what effort you're willing to put into your hair. I honestly encourage you to have a long talk with your hair and think about what you want to do with it. If you want to dye it then dye it! Cut it off? Then cut it off, because guess what hair will grow back! Don't let other people or even yourself hold you back from what you really want to do. Your hair tells a story, it's a piece of you and your identity, so let it show who you are.