Life throws a lot of changes at us. Some we can control, and some we can’t. But if you were to look back at my life in photographs, you would see that periods of change are punctuated with changes in my hair.
In fact, until my driver’s license photo changed recently, anytime I had to show it to someone I got the same response, “Oh! You had blonde hair!” That picture was taken when I was changing from my maiden name to my married name and needed a new license. I had spent quite a long time letting my hair grow out so that I would have lots of options for wedding hairstyles (side note: it did not turn out how I wanted AT ALL, but that is a very funny story for another time). After the wedding was over and marital bliss had begun, I wanted a change that fit how I was feeling in my new phase of life, but I didn’t want to cut my hair just yet. So I went to a stylist, showed her a picture of Carrie Underwood circa 2008, and came out blonde. NOT Carrie Underwood blonde, more like what my new college graduate, newly married self could afford blonde, but blonde nonetheless.
Other times in my life have called for hair changes too: bangs after a college-boyfriend breakup; a sleek, shoulder length bob when I went back to work after four months of messy buns on maternity leave; and most recently, blonde balayage and choppy bangs for my 30th birthday. It’s fun to look back at my “hair” board on Pinterest and relive those times when I felt like a change in circumstance warranted a new ’do. Sometimes I was very happy with my choices, and sometimes I had instant regrets. Like the time I tried to trim my own bangs. I cannot recommend that one. It turned out terribly and I had to bobby pin them flat back to my head for weeks. Even the hairdresser I went to the next morning said, “Sorry honey, there’s just not really anything we can do to fix these until they grow out a little!”
Speaking of hairstylists, how important is it to have someone you can really trust with your hair? What a difference it makes to have that person you can take all of your feelings about your current situation in life to and have her translate them into a hairstyle. And often, times that person becomes friend. You spend a few hours together at a time and catch up on what new, sharing confessions, book recommendations, and good recipes. I think that’s why they call it “hairapy,” because of how great it feels to refresh your outlook on life with a successful hair appointment. It certainly works that way for me! And as moms and women, we need those refreshers.
