At some point in their lives, most women have toyed with the idea of
cutting off their hair. Sometimes this happens after a life-changing event like
a break up or having a baby. Other people get inspired after watching a lot of
early 50s movies starring the ever-so-gamine Audrey Hepburn, or fashion spreads featuring the elfin Michelle Williams, or that blog about women that look like Justin Bieber. Whatever the reason, you are now seriously contemplating cutting
off your hair. And no, not some half-assed bob. We're talking the full monty
here, or pixie. You want it gone. And, you probably have some questions. That's
where I come in. After years of going back and forth between flippy shortish
haircuts and long Farrah Fawcett waves I finally took off my skirt, grew some
balls, and let a gay man give me a pixie cut. I learned much from this
experience. And I want to share this hard earned knowledge with you, dear
readers.
Some basics to consider before making
the cut:
Face shape:
This is important because you want your hair to balance out your face, if that
makes sense. If you have a round face, pixie cuts probably aren't a good
choice. Oval or heart shaped faces benefit most from this cut. Square faces
only exist in women's magazines. I mean, really.
Hair texture:
It seems like people with fine hair texture have an easier time with this look.
My hair is pretty thick, so once I get out of pixie-length territory things get
awkward for a few months. Also, if you have super curly hair and don't want to
look like second season Felicity, step away from the scissors.
Other features:
When your hair is really short, it makes people pay more attention to the rest
of your face. There is no place to hide with a pixie. If you're someone who
enjoys playing up your eyes then congratulations! A pixie will help. If you are
someone who considers your long, shiny mane your best feature then I'm sorry,
no pixie for you.
Now, if you’re still interested, here are some other things to keep in mind…
This hair cut will define you in ways
you aren't prepared for:
So, right now maybe people think of you as 'the funny girl' or 'the girl who
wears dresses a lot' or 'the girl that keeps drunk-texting me on Wednesdays'.
Well, forget all that. You will now be known exclusively as 'the short haired
girl'. Even though it seems like 'everyone' Hollywood is getting pixie cuts, in
reality it's just Emma Watson, Carey Mulligan, and Michelle Williams. The
rest are still sticking with long hair. This is applicable to the real world as
well. If you make the cut, be prepared to stand out because of it. One time I
was at a party and there was another girl with short hair. We looked nothing
alike and were wearing completely different outfits, but people
kept confusing us simply because we both
had short hair. But, being 'the short haired girl’ can be nice, like when
random people compliment my hair in bars. However, sometimes it's annoying,
like when random people mistaken me for a dude if they see me from behind.
Which brings me to...
Be prepared for people to think you're a
dude:
I'm not saying it's definitely going to happen. I just want you to be prepared
in case it does. Don't take it personally! People are just dumb. They see short
hair and they automatically think: MAN.
Yes, it is easier than long hair but...
The most common question I get from people (ok, women) is "How easy is
your hair??" This is more of a statement than an actual question but yes, short
hair is much easier to deal with than long hair. For instance, I have been
using the same normal-sized bottle of shampoo since February. I also spend way
less time styling my hair than I did when it was long. However, you are pretty
much limited to just one style. Yeah, you can throw a headband on or add some
cute bobby pins but really, it's the same thing. I used to be able to do all
kinds of different hairstyles: Up, down, half-up, half-down. Curly, straight,
curly and straight. You get the idea.
Sure, it took 2 hours sometimes, but it was worth it. Now I just look the same,
every day.
You will look ridiculous every morning:
When you have long hair you can do things like roll out of bed and go outside
to buy milk or have some sexy morning sex, because you have sexy, sexy bed head
and everyone loves long-haired girl bed head. You know what isn't sexy?
Short-haired girl bed head. It's like sticking your head in a whirlpool and
then drying it in a wind tunnel. When you have short hair you should
really consider doing something to it before anyone sees you. My boyfriend
actually still laughs at me every morning and I’ve had this haircut for 8
months. Invest in a spray bottle and some hats. And maybe don't have sleepovers
with your significant other unless you’re past the ‘I’m actually trying’ phase,
like me.
When (or if ) you
decide to grow your hair out, it will be painful:
Not in the physical sense, more in the ‘oh God I am verging
on a Carol Brady shag’ painful. It’s ok, you can get past this. Trim it if you
absolutely must, but if you’re really serious about growing out a pixie cut you
have to brace yourself for moments (well, weeks) like this. Actually, for me
the biggest thing that held me back from getting a pixie was knowing how long
it would take for my hair to grow out again (a year) and how awkward it would
look in the beginning (so awkward).
It's kind of a good look.
But sometimes, you
just have to go for it, even if you aren’t 100% sure:
Before I cut my hair I spent a
lot of time trying to imagine what it would be like to have short hair, but I
only really knew until I actually did it. If you've been going back and forth
for a while, like over a year, then just do it. Worst-case scenerio: You
absolutely hate it. Well, at least you won’t be wondering anymore. And guess
what? Hair grows back.
