The Great Hair Debate

To cut my hair or not cut my hair? This is the question that has been raging through my head all day today. The above picture is me last June in Seattle. I had gotten my hair cut a couple weeks before this trip, to the shortest it had ever been!

Growing up, my hair was always very long (I could almost sit on it), super-straight, and it just kinda hung there. I had no creativity and I loved my long hair, but had no idea what to do with it and didn't know any different ways to wear or style it, so I always just wore it straight down. Talk about boring!

So about 3 weeks before my wedding on Sep. 28, 2008, I cut it to about chin length for the first time ever. This is me on my wedding day, being walked down the aisle by my dad!


So first was the super-long hair, then came the just-above-the-shoulder cut for my wedding (above), then the even shorter chin-length in the first picture at the top.

I loved my short hair when I first got it, but as soon as it started growing out (which was noticeable about 2 short weeks later), I began hating it and terribly regretting the fact that I had gotten it cut so short. My "sporty" & "chic" haircut quickly turned into one of the worst mistakes I had made. (Or so it seemed).

So for the past almost year, I have been growing my hair back out. It has been such a painfully slow progression, and I've been wishing for my long hair back for a long time now.

But, this morning, my mom called me and wants to take us both to get hair cuts (she's paying!) with our favorite hairstylist, Millicent Larson, who works at a salon called The Wild Hare, in Loveland, OH. Here's their site: http://www.thewildharesalon.com/

So I thought, "Sounds great, Mom! I'll just get a trim!" But then I start thinking about "going all the way" and cutting my hair short again. Can you believe it? After all the pain and heartache and regrets I've had over the past several months, I'm actually considering cutting it short again! What the heck is wrong with me????

The thing is, I keep thinking about how cute my short hair was (until it started growing out and getting shabby), how much it cut down on my shower time and shampoo usage, how sporty & easy to style it was, and how, for the first time in my life, my hair actually had some body & bounce to it! I start thinking about all these things, and now I'm really torn.

So why the total dilemma? It's just hair, right? It'll grow back (eventually). If I hate it, I don't have to live with it forever. But I've seriously been going crazy thinking about the choice of cutting my hair short again or keep trying to grow it out.

The truth is, I'm getting impatient with growing it out. It has been this shapeless mass of hair since last July, and it just kinda hangs there with a couple very noticeable, sharp layers that don't seem to blend. My hair, in the longest portion (in the back), is just to my shoulders and maybe slightly past. I've had these bangs that I've been trying to grow out, and I've had to pin them back by my ear everyday because they are awkward and hang down right in my eye when they are loose.

If I do get my hair cut again, I think I want it to look somewhat like Jamie Eason's hair:
I really like this chin-length, rounded bob. It looks sorta sporty, modern, and pretty easy to style. This cut seems like a good compromise. Not too short, not too long.

Anyway, this mental debate has me thinking about all sorts of things. Why is my hair so important to me? Does it really matter how it looks? Am I caring too much about this?
Am I worrying too much about physical looks and beauty?