Prior to the pandemic, I had one of those bob cuts. It was nice and convenient since I was always on the go and just didn’t want to spend time managing my hair. Then one day, a little girl came up to me at a school event and called me a dude. I gave her a look and she continued saying that only boys have short hair. Sigh. The gender stereotypes our society has grown accustomed to.
The next day, I was hanging out with my friends and when I told them the story, they all pointed their fingers at me and asked when I was going back to my long locks. They said, you’re not a grandma yet, so get your hair back long and stop looking so sophisticated. I had a good chuckle.
My hair is naturally straight. Some say it’s silky and shiny. Others say it’s more like a mop since it has way too much volume. In Grade 5, it was the first time I had a bob cut, and my classmates made fun of my short hair. So, in Grade 6, I rebelled and began to grow out my hair super long (up to my knees) despite my parents being totally against it. It wasn’t until Grade 12 when I decided to give it a trim to a more reasonable length since I had to look presentable for my graduation photos.
The irony is, I had the experience of being bullied because of the way I look, yet, when I was pregnant with my son, I thought right away of cutting my hair short again. Perhaps things would be better as an adult I assumed. But, frankly, I didn’t really consider anyone making fun of me at the time. The main reason why I wanted a short cut was because I found it a hassle, my hair kept getting tangled in my son’s toys, and I just wanted a haircut that air-dried easily.
So, when I gave birth to my son, I cut my hair super short and for many years after, I kept the cute bob cut look. I admit there were times when I missed how I could tie my hair in a ponytail or twiddle it in-between my fingers, but I was fine with the style. About 5 years ago, I’ve considered growing out my hair long again. I bought a few dresses thinking that it would look better with longer hair. Then flashback to when that little girl made her comment, that was enough to tempt me to grow out my hair again. Ironically, COVID hit and all the barbershops were closed, so I felt it was fate telling me that I made the right choice.
It has been 3 years since I got my hair cut and my hair has lost a lot of its luster. It’s full of split ends. It’s dry. I also see many white hairs! Yes, I’m getting old. Although I have aged considerably since the days I last had long hair, it looked like a mess, and I had to give it a trim.
FYI: cutting your own hair is not an easy task. I figured I’ll mess up, so I just cut off a good 6 inches of hair on my first attempt. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as uneven as I originally anticipated. Plus, it was nice having some weight taken off my shoulders. Hair can be heavy, you know! Give myself a few weeks and maybe I’ll be brave enough to trim another 6 inches to get it back to shoulder length.