Hi, friend! Hello from the land of the (somewhat) sane. It’s amazing how chopping off all the excess weight from your hair can make you feel like a totally different person. I feel considerably less crazy now that I don’t have five extra pounds of mane on me!
I saw someone new this time, a stylist in my town named Heather. She has her own salon-slash-beauty-studio in downtown Novato called Sheer Beauty. If you’re ever in northern Marin and want your hair done by someone down to earth and easy to talk to, give her a shout!
I told Heather I needed some length and weight removed, and that I am, deep down in my core, a person who loves having long hair. I swear, every single time I get my hair cut anywhere above my shoulders, it always feels too short, and I immediately regret it. I also mentioned how my hair doesn’t like razor cuts, and how I’m very self conscious of the recession on my temples.
She suggested going conservative first with some long layers, and then if I felt like I could go shorter, we could adjust and take off more of the length. She then cut in some long bangs that would frame my face and would help to cover up the recession a bit.
While she cut my hair, we had a long, thoughtful conversation on naturally gray hair. I told her that I currently have mixed feelings about mine. Some days, I love it, but other days, not so much.
I definitely have those moments when I look in the mirror, and I feel like the grays make my face look stark and harsh, like a mean piano teacher. On those days, I don’t feel like what’s on the outside matches how I feel on the inside.
She mentioned almost all the women in her chair who have naturally gray hair have the same mixed feelings, and how it’s perfectly normal to love them and hate them at the same time.
Funny thing is, it never occurred to me other women would feel the same way. When you see people celebrating gray hair online, it’s almost always so joyful and spirited. An ebullient rebellion against impossible beauty standards raging against the machine, one gray strand at a time.
Sure, I have those days when I feel great about it, too, but there are also days when I get sick of people calling me “ma’am” and I. JUST. CANNOT. DEAL.
Anyway, it was insightful to hear that others felt similarly.
Heather advised keeping my hair as it is (“Don’t do it!”), and said the grays looked like perfectly placed highlights, but if I ever wanted to do a demi-permanent color, she’d help me out — but only if I twisted her arm. LOL!
We’ll see. For now, I’ll keep it.
Building those happiness muscles, day six
Since we’re on the subject of hair, for today’s happiness exercise, the two things I’m grateful for are hair related: 1) flat hair clips (so great for taming wild baby hairs), and 2) scrunchies.
What’s on your list?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
