Philosophy of cutting

The first time I cut my hair was when I had to leave home for the first time in my life. I was fourteen and the only child of my parents. I was accepted in a new school which was two hours away from my home town. I had to move to a boarding house and I hated the idea of leaving my friends back where I used to live with my family. I didn’t know anyone and hated eating in a canteen.

I think cutting my hair was an act of saying I didn’t care how I looked and I didn’t need to really impress someone because I had left everyone I cared for back in my home town.

The second time I cut my hair was when I moved to live in New York. This time I was just very excited and happy, full of anticipation about the future. I had just married and my husband insisted that keeping my hair short revealed my “pretty face, my chiselled cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes”. The truth is that yes, once you cut your hair your eyes suddenly become more visible and your face is a thousand times more expressive, because you are not any more hiding behind the curtain of your long locks. At the same time you have to be prepared that you are a lot more exposed and there is an overwhelming feeling in the first days of vulnerability.

The third time I cut my hair is because I finally know that no matter how seriously women take their hair, there is a time in your life when you just need a change and this is how you want to show the world and to yourself that you are ready to move on, you are ready for that change. It also means you are already experienced enough to know what suits you and brings out your good features instead of hiding them.

As for the vulnerability, you realize that only your ego can be hurt by the others’ opinion about your haircut. The rest of who you are is really about confidence, bravery and knowing your own limits.