off with her…hair

I have this pattern that I always repeat.  I get bored with my hair, hack it off, enjoy the new do for a little while, decide I hate it, and then start growing my hair out again.  About a year ago I had a cute “Posh” bob, but got frustrated with having to straighten it every single day in order for it to look right, and decided to grow my hair out so I wouldn’t even have to blow dry.  Now, it’s just past my collarbone, long enough to startle me when it brushes on my arm because I think it’s a bug crawling on me, long enough to hang down the back of my neck and hold in heat, long enough to get trapped under my body when I’m lying down and necessitate a position change so I don’t feel like I’m pulling my own hair.  Sure, it looks pretty, I’ve embraced my natural waves, it’s healthy.  But I’m beginning to be annoyed.

And I’m kind of wondering if now isn’t the time to just do something crazy and radical and hack it all off for once in my life, just to see what that’s like.  August in Charleston would be a great time to not have hair hanging down my neck.  Jon says I should go for it.  He’s not hung up on long hair as the one way a woman should look, and he’s not one of those retrograde men who tell their women how to wear their hair, which is wonderful, but sometimes infuriating because I’m indecisive and need a little input now and again.  I often wish I could be a contestant on a makeover show, just so someone would do my hair FOR me, without me having to decide.  But I figure, hey, that’s what the internets are for, right?

So, just like with the buying of a purse, I figured I’d ask the interwebz for advice.  I will say that I have fine hair that is on the thin side with a natural loose wave to it that I describe as “wrinkly” because it is neither straight nor curly.

My hair currently looks like this:

It looks like this when I straighten it:

This is the shortest it’s ever been:

And these pics sort of illustrate what I’m fantasizing about doing with my hair:kiera hair

keira-knightley-short-hair-photos-01

Anja Rubiksienna hair

agyness deyn hair

Am I insane? Would this be cute?  Could I pull it off?  Would this exacerbate my irrational insecurity about the shape of my chin?  Would these styles work if I didn’t want to straighten/blow dry? Do you have better suggestions?  Do you know of a kickass stylist in Charleston I should go to?  Right now I go to MasterCuts, and I’m not sure I trust them with radical change of this nature.

Of course I may just chicken out altogether.

20 Replies to “off with her…hair”

  1. OK, I have done the chop-all-my-hair-off thing before, and I actually liked it a lot. It definitely helps with the heat/humidity of the South, and if I didn’t feel like blow-drying or straightening, I could just toss some mousse in and have cute, mussy hair. So I say go for it – but not at MasterCuts.

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  2. i think your hair would be supercute short, but i have one request of you. please don’t go super asymmetrical a la kate gosselin. i like the keira knightley one for you. so cute.

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  3. No worries, I have zero Kate Gosslein aspirations. Her hair looks TERRIBLE. Like one of the toddlers cut it in her sleep.

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  4. I really liked the bob, but if you want to cut it super short, I’d go with the Sienna or Agyness look. I really like Anja Rubik’s hair, but that would probably mean blow drying and straightening every day again, whereas the others could be cute mussed up with mousse, like Misty said. I’m afraid the Kiera look could go horribly awry and resemble the 1985 hair posters at SuperCuts if you don’t have a stylist you trust implicitly.

    And your chin is great! Your jawline was made for short hair. Tyra would agree.

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  5. ok, multiple things.
    a) i agree with the above comment about your jawline being made for short hair. if you look at the first pic of keira knightley and compare to the pics you posted of yourself, very similar shape. also your hair texture looks similar (i’ve seen hers “wrinkly” as well) so that is a major selling point on taking that photo into a stylist.
    b) i might be biased since i am the original googler, but that first keira knightley cut is going to look amazing on you. please avoid the siena miller carol brady-esque hair on your neck. cut that crap off! only professional stylists can make that extra neck hair look hip.
    c) remember that playing with your part, even if it’s like two inches side to side from your natural part, is CRUCIAL before you get your hair cut. looks like you already side-part pretty far, but keira’s is not hard-parted. it is more mop-ish than parted. mess around with that and also ask your stylist about it!
    d) GO TO SOMEONE GOOD by asking someone with super cute short hair where they get their hair cut. i am ultra flattered every time folks ask me where i get mine chopped, and most strangers will lurve it like i do.
    e) i will be living vicariously through your hair adventures. mine’s so short right now that the chopping thrill is gone.

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  6. Hi. Maybe I’m late, still here’s my thought. I always had long hair, then last May I had a bob done, then in August a shorter bob and then last September, about a year ago (right after a break- up) a very short wild hair, sort of Rihanna style. I loved it, I had it done over and over as it grew. Everybody told me it was great, the best I ever had, I liked styling it simply with mousse, actually just blowing it, it stood fine anyway. My hairdresser works at no fancy saloon, still she has an amazing taste on cutting matching hairdos to each face, each personality. I remember how I’ve shown her Rihanna’s pictures I took with me, and how she enjoyed cutting and styling my hair. One disadvantage is that such a short cut grows out very fast, like 4-6 weeks, 8 weeks at most, and as grown out, it looks silly. Right now, I haven’t been to my hairdresser in a while since I can’t decide to let go of the wild short and go for something cute, or go back to this untamed style. Anyway, long story short: worked for me, really loved it!

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  7. …im propably really late but….Go for it!! ..I’ve gone through so many short syles and have at one stage carried around the Kiera and Agyness pics too :P
    Short cuts are fun and easy but do require hairproducts and styling..
    with the hair stylist… ive been with my hairdresser for a long time and she knows what will suit me and my style and has helped me go shorter and shorter over months..
    So i suggest finding someone that has been recommended by friends with short cuts or that you feel confident that they know what your looking for! ….do not suggest random hairdresser at a local shopping centre its a bit risky and I haven’t been to fond of the outcomes :P
    For the working with your hair…. Quite a few styles i have gone for I have tried to have styles that can look great with the whole blow dry and product for night outs…but will also suit if i just wake up whack on product scruff hair a bit and ride to school :P
    And your not insane! you have a great face shape and could totally pull it off!!
    hope this helps xo

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  8. Have you done it yet??

    Please tell me you have and that you love it as I need encouragement!! Post photos if you have, as I too am trying to work up the balls to go short but haven’t quite got there yet!

    I know that if it suits then a wicked short haircut looks more stand out and memorable than any long hairdo ever does but I just can’t find the confidence to take the plunge. All kinds of insecurities are currently raging like whether or not it will actually make me look older rather than the young and edgy look I have in my head. Also whether or not I’ll have lots of bad hair days during the run up to the next trim. Plus how much will I miss the natural sexuality of long hair – but perhaps I’m thinking about it too much and should just do it!

    Hope it’s worked out for you.

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    1. So far I have yet to take the plunge. I’m not sure I can really afford to cut my hair as often as I need to if it’s short, and I’ve yet to find a stylist I trust enough to really go for it. Still think about it a lot though!

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  9. hell yes. short hair is liberating, easy and fun. it always sets you apart, and it saves you tons of time.

    go for it.

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  10. Oh my gosh I seriously just posted the same exact thing on my blog like an hour ago. Pictures and all. I think your hair would look awesome all hacked off, but be ready for having like no hair. If you liked your short bob right away you will most likely enjoy a shorter cut too. Good luck.

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  11. I say go for it, I’m very much like you and my hair was longer than your current hair. I just chop it off yesterday Agyness short, no regret.

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  12. Hello!
    I randomly came upon your blog whilst I was looking up all Agyness Deyn’s hairstyle incarnations. You had an attractive picture of her, and I couldn’t help but read your interest in getting one of these fabulous Deyn/Knightly cuts! Did you ever go for it and get the short style?
    In case you’d still like the input, I think you can definitely wear your hair short. You’ve got great bone structure, and that’s something you want to show off! You can definitely pull it off successfully, but PLEASE make sure to go to the right stylist. It’s a difficult cut to do well, and if you aren’t careful, you’ll get a poor (or average) cut and think you hate it and can’t wear it well.
    I’m a professional stylist (hair, wardrobe) trained at Vidal Sassoon in Santa Monica, CA, and living in NC now. If you need someone, check out my website TravellingScissors.com. Otherwise, find someone in your area who’s been trained there.

    GOOD LUCK! :D

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