The Chop: From Mermaid Hair to 1920's Bob

Surprise!

Although I invested several years into growing out my hair, after some brief contemplation I was positive that I was ready for a new look.  I decided to transform my mermaid waves into a 1920's inspired bob practically overnight.  I felt my long hair was weighing me down even though I cut off five inches a few months ago and was ready for a change.  When I posted my new look on Instagram I received an outpour of supportive messages and comments which reinforced my decision and made me feel that I should share some more details about my hair journey!

First, A Little Background...

Transforming from long to short hair isn't for the faint-hearted, and I feel it's important to share why I was okay with making such a drastic decision so quickly. I first began playing with cut and color in 7th grade. I experimented with different styles from the age of 12 until my early twenties. The styles ranged from hip length to an a-line bob, golden highlights, pitch black, and burgundy hair. After about ten years of cutting and dying my locks I was exhausted from the upkeep and decided to start wearing my hair more naturally. I stopped dying and straightening it cold turkey so that I could learn how to wear my hair in it's natural state.

My natural hair journey evolved in three main stages. At first, my goal was to save time and money, but eventually it transformed into more of a spiritual ideology. As a young adult living independently I had to cut spending and dying my hair was one of the first aspects of my life that I deemed unnecessary. I knew that revoking this luxury would easily save me hundreds of dollars a year. Second, I loved the idea of being low maintenance. I no longer wanted to rely on a straightener to feel complete. My goal was to wash, dry, and go within 45 minutes to an hour. I have thin hair, but I have a lot, so straightening it took literal hours. The third step of my hair evolution came a few years later. I had already been wearing my hair naturally for two or three years when I began to reconnect with God. Reconnecting with my spirituality reinforced that I should love myself for who I am instead of manipulating my features (this is also when I began to grow out my eyebrows). This doesn't mean I am extreme and never use a curling wand or straightener, I just felt it was important to embrace the features I was born with.

Fast Forward

Now that you have a background on my hair history we can fast forward to my current status. I mentioned earlier that I felt like my long hair was weighing me down. I had been growing out my layers for a while because I wanted my hair to be one length. I felt it would grow out healthier and be less prone to split ends. Eventually, my hair became heavy and flat. In addition, I have a puppy, am in school full-time, while doing my best to balance working and blogging. My time is limited and some days I don't have enough time to shower or style my hair before I leave the house. My long waves don't do well with "second-day hair" so I would often resort to a messy bun or ponytail, and not the cute kind, just frizzy.

In two of my classes this semseter (Biography of a City: Shanghai and Biography of a City: Berlin) my teachers briefly lectured and showed images of women during the 1920's. We spoke about how women during the Roaring 20's exerted their independence by cutting their hair short. Seeing these photographs and learning about the historical mentality behind them inspired me to be my own modern woman.

The Chop

​​With all these thoughts flooding my mind, my feelings on low-maintenance resurfaced and I thought to myself: instead of trying to wrangle all this hair on top my head, why don't I chop it off?! Considering I have had short hair in the past, I sort of knew what to expect, and wasn't afraid. The difference this time around is that I wouldn't be using a straightener every day.

I called a bunch of salons and found one available for a same day appointment. A few people in my personal circle advised me not to cut it short, but of course I did anyway, and I'm so happy! I was a bit nervous about styling it wavy at a shorter length because I did not like it in the past, but now I know what products to use and have been loving it! It was such a liberating experience to chop off the hair that was dragging me down and I intend on keeping it on the shorter side for the years to come.