A Few Words...On Short Hair

This was me.

With looong hair.

DAMN LOOK AT THAT MANE.

It was that same Polynesian hair that left me frustrated, angry, and in tears just to keep it looking even half descent all throughout my childhood. I remember my dad having to brush through that wild tumble weed of locks even up till my early teenage years. "Taming the wild beast" you might say. As a kid, I would look at other girls with their straight hair and envy their fortune to have been blessed with silky, un-high maintenance, divinely straight hair. No matter how many times people would adore and covet my wavy tresses, I remained unconvinced of its beauty and appeal. That dissatisfaction and discontentment kept lurking inside me as I was forced to rely on flat irons and other grueling de-frizz methods to look "good." I don't know, but somehow curly and wavy hair did not seem to connect as beautiful to me.

Me, with straightened hair, how I preferred it.

I was convinced that chopping my hair off would set me free of all the misery of having long hair--specifically the unruly waviness and curliness that was associated with it.

So, about two years ago, I was browsing through the internet, when I saw this picture of Rihanna...

OH HOT DAMN WHO IS THIS DROP DEAD

GORGEOUS CHICK WITH THE BANGIN SHORT 'DO.

My intrest piqued, I began to search through the Internet about this daringly cropped coif referred to as the pixie cut. In short (no pun intended), I was in love...

 

Shannyn Sossamon, Agyness Deyn

Natalie Portman, Jean Seberg

Kimberly Wyatt, Victoria Beckham

And of course, let's not forget Audrey Hepburn, Twiggy, Mia Farrow, Edie Sedgwick, as well as Emma Watson, Audrey Tautou, Carey Mulligan, Halle Berry...the list goes on! But I discovered all of these aforementioned ladys' gorgeous gamine crops after I cut my own. Nevertheless, they all continue to inspire me.

My friend Becca recently got a lovely pixie cut...

Aren't all these pixie's utterly BEAUTIFUL??

Now, I know I must be forcing short hair down your throat by now...But the point I'm trying to make here, dear reader, is not to force you to get off the computer already and over to the hairdresser. No, this is more like a personal testimony.

Ever since I went from this:

to this:

I have grown up to realize:

1. Getting a pixie cut has forced to me to discover what my "style" is; what my likes and dislikes are. My fashion sense has gotten much more daring since I chopped it off. When you have short hair, you don't want to look too boyish, so I began to experiment with dresses and skirts and other feminine pieces that I would have never considered wearing before...leading to my heavy intrest in fashion.

2. I have gained more confidence in who I am as a person as I can no longer hide myself behind my hair.

3. Ironically, in the end, I have learned to appreciate my natural texture. Since I have wavy hair, I was straightening my hair frequently to style it for a pixie cut. Through this process, I began discovering what methods and products worked for my natural texture, causing me to have more manageable, smoother, and healthier hair. Ironically, making my hair straighter actually led me to like my hair. Because I now knew more about it than when I wasn't styling it as much.

So, as you can see, getting a pixie cut was a good thing. Even though I'm now growing my hair out into a bob (hence the current awkward stage), I  have never regretted going short. In fact, I may even cut my hair shorter again one day...which leads to another thing:

4. Getting a pixie cut made me realize who I am as a person, as an individual. Even though I hear stories about people preferring longer hair on girls and it looks more attractive and yadiyada...I have learned to just not care and be who I like to be instead of conforming to what is considered conventionally beautiful. I realize that being true to who I am never felt so good.

I think Joan Juliet Buck says it the best:

"With short hair you suddenly dislike the month of March, when the wind blows down the back of your neck. With short hair you begin to crave pearl necklaces, long earrings, and a variety of sunglasses. And you brush your teeth more often. Short hair removes obvious femininity and replaces it with style. When it starts growing out a little and losing its style, you have to wear sunglasses until you can get it to the hairdresser. That's why you need a variety. Short hair makes you aware of subtraction as style. You can no longer wear puffed sleeves or ruffles; the neat is suddenly preferable to the fussy. You eye the tweezers instead of the blusher. What else can you take away? You can't hide behind short hair. Your nape is exposed. Men put their hands around your neck instead of stroking your long locks. You can only pray they have friendly intentions. The backs of your ears show, your jaw line is clear to anyone watching, and you realize --perhaps for the first time-- how wide the expanse of skin is between cheekbone and ear.

You may look a little androgynous, a little unfinished, a little bare. You will look elegant, as short hair requires you to keep your weight slightly below acceptable levels. However, the first time you wear a bathing suit with short hair, you will feel exceptionally naked. People who used to look straight at you will love you in profile. Short hair makes others think you have good bones, determination, and an agenda. The shape of your skull is commented on, so are its contents. They can pick you out in a crowd, and you can be recognized from behind, which can be good or bad. But your face is no longer a flat screen surrounded by a curtain: the world sees you in three dimensions.

Chase to the cut."

Who knew hair could do that?

Truly,

Leira.

-----

Found at:

Photo #1: http://www.iammommahearmeroar.net/2011/07/short-haircuts-and-styles-and-ellie-g.html Photo #5: http://www.mymostwanted.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/424213/size/big Photo #6: http://www.planethair.tk/hairstyles/shannyn-sossamon-hair-trend Photo #7: http://www.obsessionphoto.com/news/advertisign/359,jean-baptiste-mondino.html?PHPSESSID=cb0ab68a44973300ae659da8dbeae0f4 Photo #8: http://burn-that-dress.tumblr.com/post/4355961185/natalie-portman-photographed-by-dan-winters-she Photo #9: http://petitsiteofstar.blogspot.com/2011/02/iconic-pixie-haircut.html Photo #10: http://awonderfuleverything.blogspot.com/2011/08/short-blonde-almost-pixie-haircut.html Photo #11: http://www.instyle.com/instyle/package/general/photos/0,,20276967_20275501_20614053,00.html Quote: Joan Juliet Buck for American Vogue, c. 1988 (via the political quotidian)