Before I start telling you the story of this post, let's talk about hair and hairstyle.
Hair is very important in every woman's life. We're obsessed about our hair and ready to spend as much as we can, some even more, to have our dream hair. We spend a lot of time in front of the mirror, fixing our hair. I'm kind of an exception in this regard, however, I do spend money on my hair, but more about that a bit later.
Photo by George Bohunicky on Unsplash
In trading we say the trend is your friend, until the end (when it bends), which is true in trading, but not in fashion.
Today you see influencers left and right, preaching about what you should wear, how you should wear your hair, what is trendy and what is not. They are called influencers for a good reason and trust me, they always manage to influence a lot of people.
When it comes to hair, long strait hair seems to still dominate today, preferably blond of course. If you don't fit in the above description, you don't matter. This is why you see a lot of women wearing the same hairstyle, no matter what it costs. Straighten your hair every single day to look like your influencer wants you to look like, regardless if it suits you or not.
Photo by Todd Trapani on Unsplash
This is nice from far and far from nice, when you go closer. Many times I see damaged hair beyond repair, to the point where I suppose my hairdresser would cut 85% off of it, in an attempt to salvage what can be still salvaged. It doesn't matter if it's damaged as it fits the trend and that's all that counts to many.
My hair is wavy, so having straight hair would mean straightening it out every day or several times a day if I want to be honest, as the slightest rise of humidity would make it wavy again. No hair on earth would survive such a treatment, trust me. I dye my hair (I mean my hairdresser does), as I want the color I'm wearing, which is a torture to the hair already on its own, so straightening added would be a complete recipe for disaster. On the other hand I don't have to spend 30 minutes in front of the mirror each morning, to fix my hair. I need no time for that, no comb either and I'm more than grateful for that.
I stopped caring about trends a long time ago and had the courage to choose my own hairstyle, based on what I think suits me and that goes for clothing as well. I'd rather prefer to have healthy hair and change my hairstyle as I please, instead of trying to fit the mood and the expectations of others. Am I trendy? No, I'm not. Do I care? No, I don't. I don't see why I should.
Photo by Antonio Friedemann on Unsplash
Two weeks ago, a friend of mine visited me. She's a student abroad and came home for a short visit. I spoke to her previously, she did not tell me anything about the big news, but the wire was working and I got notified by others about what she did.
What did she do? She cut her Cleopatra hair really short, similar to what you see on the photo above. I'm not saying I wasn't surprised, but I had no reason to feel anything bad about her decision, or to judge. The only thing I wanted to know was the reason behind this brave decision.
Usually women make a drastic change (hairstyle, overall look etc.) after a breakup, a divorce and so on. When they feel like making a change to leave the past behind, start fresh and become someone else, a new person. She is in a happy relationship, so I knew this was not the reason.
When I opened the door, she had a big smile on her face. I think if she wouldn't have had ears, her mouth would have run all around her head 馃榿. After inspecting her new hairstyle, I asked her to tell me why she did it.
She told me she has been wondering for some time, how it would feel like to have such a short hair. Her curiosity was not about how she would look, but about how it would feel like and obviously the reaction of her environment would make her feel, as that's an important factor as well. I mean not what others would say, but what their opinion would make her feel like. I'd say this was or still is an experiment and an important one in her life. She looked good by the way, this sort of hairstyle suits her, no question about it as she's beautiful in general.
Her boyfriend came with her too, so I asked him what did he say when she made the decision to do it. Fasten your seat belts as I bet you don't expect the answer he gave me. He said, when he heard about the plan, he said he's going to cut his hair short too, out of solidarity.
Usually women are worried about what their boyfriends, husbands would say to such a decision and many men can't handle such a situation well as appearances need to be kept these days, but not this guy. He said if this is what she wants, he's in, he's supporting her.
Women are afraid of making such a step, because they are worried about what people would say. But the truth is, it's not about what people would say, but about how what people say would makes them feel. If you can ignore any negativity, you win. If not, you become a people pleaser and cage yourself willingly.
Making such a move, cutting your hair short and ignoring everyone who's negative about it sets you free. Accepting yourself, your look and feeling good about being brave to make the move means total freedom. I told her that and she totally agreed. Once she experienced what it feels like to ignore the trend and the expectations of society, she can learn to implement that in any area of life. This is a huge step forward in her personal development and I'm glad she did it.
Another aspect that can't be neglected is her boyfriend's reaction. He was not only willing to support her, but he joined her too. What do you call this? He must really love her. Not many would have done it as most of them care more about looks and what other people say.
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