I did it! I cut 10 inches from my hair, leaving it about chin length in a slight a-line bob. I feel great. I really like the cut and I didn’t even cry when the stylist cut it off. It’s going to be donated to make wigs for people suffering from cancer, alopecia or other hair-loss inducing situations.
10 inches or more can go to Locks of Love. If you don’t have that much or don’t want to cut off that much, 8 inches or more can go to Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths.
The hair needs to be un-color treated, clean, dry and tied in a ponytail or braid. Pack in a zip-top bag and send it off in a padded mailer to one of the organizations above.
So I guess I kind of feel like I sold out, what with the desire to present a more age-appropriate and professional image and by buying in to the idea that long hair isn’t professional – but really, I want to be taken seriously and I want to cultivate or develop my professional image. Also, I wore my hair long since 2001 or 2002, which is the longest time I’ve worn my hair the same length ever AND my hair was the longest length it’s ever been in my life. It felt great to have it long. I felt kind of like Barbie – what with the Rack of Doom and the long blond hair. The first time I went to my stylist “ready to cut it off” I totally chickened out. I felt totally attached to my hair and felt like something bad would happen if I cut it. Like I’d miss it or be unhappy with the cut. I mean, we’re not talking about death and destruction coming as a result of a hair cut (Thank gods I’m not Samson). But I think that attachment to the hair is actually what motivated me to cut it off. I’m a woman, for goodness sake, I don’t need any more unnecessary attachments to my physical appearance. And it will grow back if I don’t like it. It my frakking hair, not an arm, leg, liver or whatever.
Also, as Nick Arrojo says about hair cuts, “It’s not about what you cut off, but what you leave on.”
The next step is to develop a more professional wardrobe and attempt to find appropriate clothes and shoes for my roles as both student and teacher, and my walking/biking modes ot transportation.
P.S. It’s really weird to hold my own braid in my hand when it’s no longer attached to my head. I never realized how long it really was. I might cry yet.
Posted by liviaaugusta 
