It worked, but I vowed from then on to either get a new pair of scissors or just let the professionals handle it.

When it was time for a trim, we found a professional salon that specialized in cutting little girls’ hair, and it was right next door to the photo studio we’d frequent…so it was perfect!

Until they closed.

Then, I found a new salon, farther from the photo place, but closer to our house, and they were okay…but I just wasn’t satisfied. Her bangs would be crooked or not quite right, but it was better than putting myself through the stress of having to cut hair with a dull pair of scissors.  Right?

Well, Claire has decided that she wants to grow her hair long in the back, and last night, she asked if she could get her bangs trimmed.

Today I got a wild idea. I’d buy a “real” pair of hair cutting scissors and give it a try. How hard can it be? Well, I was amazed. Cutting her bangs was nerve-wracking at first, but I did it! The more I do it, the easier it will be.

When we were done, she requested her hair be put in a bun, and she topped off the look with one of her crowns.

My “real” pair of hair cutting scissors officially paid for themselves today.

And, yes, I’ve hidden them. If I don’t hide them, they won’t be the “good pair” for long, now will they?

As he gets checked in, I peeked around the corner to see Kelli, my stylist.  She wasn’t standing at her station, and I wasn’t even sure if she was working today.  She’d teased me the last time we were in with my husband that I never come to visit her.

So, Claire and I went to the front desk and asked the nice lady standing there if Kelli was in today.

“Oh, Kelli doesn’t work here anymore,” she said.

“WHAT!?” I gasped.  “I have an appointment with her on Friday!  What do you mean she doesn’t work here anymore!?”

“AND WAS ANYONE GOING TO TELL ME!?” I screamed in my head.

“Oh…they are…in the process…of calling everyone?” she said hesitantly.  I could see the panic in her eyes as she looked at the computer.

“So, who am I seeing on Friday?” I asked, trying to remain calm.  I took a deep breath.

She couldn’t find me on the schedule.  I saw the panic on her face get a little bigger.  I tried really hard to remain calm.

Kelli had moved to a salon downtown, and no one bothered to tell me.  Where they going to?  Would I have shown up on Friday and had an appointment?  I have to have an appointment on this Friday, because that’s the only one my husband has off between now and when we leave on our next trip.  Who would watch Claire!?  The what-ifs were swirling in my head.

There were three stylists available near the time-slot I had originally chosen with Kelli.  The nice woman behind the counter suggested one, so I booked it.

All through dinner that evening, I was dazed.  I can’t believe Kelli is gone.  Yes, I could figure out which salon she went to and drive down there, but still.  I got no warning, and I was shocked.

So, this afternoon, I get to retrain a stylist.  Gone are the days of walking in and saying, “Hey!  How’s it goin’?  Yep, I’d like the same thing,” and knowing I’d get it.  I’ve even changed things up with Kelli, and she just knew what I meant when I talked.  Do you know how lucky it is to find a stylist like that?

I understand that in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t a big deal.  (I’m pretty sure this classifies as one of those “First World Problems.”)  But, I don’t handle this type of change well.  In the past, it’s always worked to my advantage, so I’m hoping the same will ring true this afternoon.

And if not?  Eh…it’s hair.  It will grow.  Right?  I mean, it’s not like I’m going to be in any wedding photos in a week.  Oh, right!  I am!

Change is the only constant, and sometimes its timing is uncanny.

This is my birthday present to myself, and I love it! My head feels so light, and I can’t stop playing with my hair! My stylist did such a great job with the highlights last time that I opted to forgo them this time…they are blending very nicely.

For comparison, feel free to check out the previous post! I’ve come a long way…

Today was a big day in my world. I’ve talked about my hair dilemmas before. Well, I did it! I got my hair cut! I’m a Happy New Me in the Happy New Year!

Here is a messy before picture (taken yesterday):

Here is what it would normally look like (with the infamous clippy):

Here it is now!

The color looks different in the pictures, but all my stylist did was update the highlights. She didn’t do anything to my natural red hair. The lighting is just that much different from the bathroom to the kitchen. Go figure.

I wanted to go shorter, but I opted for this length. It’s a cute little bob (no bangs, all one length) that will be easy to manage. (I figure I can go shorter from this point and it may not be as devastating to my hubby…we’ll just keep that between you and me, okay? Baby steps…) You see, when I told my hubby what I was doing today, he promptly answered, “because you don’t love me anymore?” to which I responded, “Yep. That’s it! That’s why I’m getting my hair cut.” I didn’t even pretend to contain the eye-roll.

I still have no idea why he correlates how much I love him with the length of my hair. Weirdo. I married a weirdo. But, I knew this going in, so I’m not surprised.

So, if you were to see my new haircut (and didn’t know how long it was yesterday), you wouldn’t think it looked “short.” My hair is still technically on the longer side. But, I love it. I love the change. Changing my hair has always made me feel giddy and like anything is possible. Silly, but true.

When I got home, Claire said she loved my hair. (I think she was coached, but I thought that was cute!) And, my hubby said he loved it. He actually acted like he really did, so maybe he’s not a complete weirdo after all. Or, maybe he realized that the old adage is true: If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.

So…adiós clippy! It’s a whole new me! A Happy New Me, indeed.

Yesterday was a first for both Claire and Momma. Claire’s never had her hair cut, and I’ve never really cut anyone’s hair before. (Well, that’s not entirely true. I used to cut one of our friend’s hair, but it involved an electric razor set on a single number, and it was pretty simple. Let’s say I’ve never cut a girl’s hair with scissors before.) Until yesterday.

Daddy and I decided that it was time to cut off the mullet. In the right situation and with the right prepping, her hair looks pretty cascading down her shoulders, but at other times, the two uneven layers were starting to look funny. We both want to grow her bangs out, and eventually have her hair all one length, so the best place to start was by cutting off the back layer.

Originally, I was too chicken to even consider doing this myself. Trained professionals are, well, trained to do this kind of thing. But, after our lazy day, we were playing downstairs, and I realized how fun it might be to try to do this ourselves. Daddy agreed to play the part of the paparazzi while Momma tried her hand at cutting a toddler’s hair.

This was easier said than done, but we are happy with the results!

Here are some pictures of the big event. (You can click on the pictures to enlarge them. Clicking on the pictures a second time will make them even bigger.)

Claire’s hair before

Getting it all combed and ready

Eeeeeeeeeeeks! The first cut! No going back now!

Claire is asking, “Will it hurt my hairs, Daddy?”

Claire is a tad concerned.

But, she’s starting to calm down.

We’re almost done!

Just doing some final trimming

She likes it! (Momma is fluffing it in this picture.)

Daddy, is it even?

Claire’s hair after

This is a lot of hair! And, yes, it’s going in the Baby Book. Yes, I’m a dork.

And, here is her hair after a nice bath.

Success!

I think I did a pretty good job with no training and a dull pair of scissors.

Toddlers are a moving target. This is challenging when you’re trying to cut hair, but this is a good thing in that she moves too fast for most people to notice if any of it is uneven.

Keep in mind she’s not even two yet. At this rate, I will have successfully driven myself crazy by the time she goes to Kindergarten.

Yes, I’m thankful she has hair. Yes, I’m thankful the hair on top of her head is starting to grow just as much as the hair on the back of her head.

Her hair is to the stage where her bangs are starting to fall into her eyes. They aren’t long enough to just put behind her ears. She doesn’t know enough to push them out of the way, and actually, that’s probably for the best, or she’d be doing it all the time. One of us with a hair obsession is probably enough.

We’re at the stage where I need to decide to give her bangs or let her hair grow. Or just let it be and move on to something else. (That just seems too simple.)

How do you decide? My mom kept my hair short until I was old enough to wash it myself. I remember her telling me that she always had long hair as a little girl and hated it. I’ve seen little girls with short hair and long hair, and both styles are cute. I always dreamt of having a little girl with long flowing hair, but I never factored in the reality of what to do with the bangs when said little girl tries to eat the barrettes. There goes that pesky Reality again…always getting in the way of a good time.

Part of me wants to keep Claire’s hair long, but I’m not sure how to get us through this ‘bangs in her eyes’ stage. I’ve tried little hair clippies (she calls them all ‘bows,’ and she actually begs for them all the time.) The record for keeping one of those in her hair is 35 minutes. That’s not an average. That’s the record.

I’ve also tried using Aloe Vera as a hair gel and sweeping her bangs to one side. That actually seems to work until she takes a nap. Then, the aftermath of her hair is quite comical. Trying to comb through said aftermath isn’t much fun, though.

So, what to do, what to do? Do I continue on this course and wait for the day when her hair is all one length? Do I bite bullet and get her bangs cut? (I’m not sure if I feel confident enough to do it myself…) While I’m at it, do I get the back trimmed up, too? I don’t think it looks ratty, and it actually has a neat natural wave to it now. I’m not sure if that will survive a cut.

I have a huge hang-up with bangs, because I remember how torturous it was to grow mine out. I have to remind myself that this isn’t about me. This is about a toddler, someone who has years to grow out whatever mistakes are made today.

In reality, it doesn’t matter. She has years and years to go before she’s capable of yelling at me about her hair.

So, what does Daddy have to say about all this? “Oh, I was going to leave that up to you.” Great. Thanks.

I’m kinda frustrated with my hairstyle right now. My hubby rolls his eyes whenever I bring it up. He LOVES my hair long, and he just doesn’t understand why I can’t be happy with long hair. I don’t know either, and I wish I could figure it out.

Back in the day, I really wanted long hair and I grew it out. My college years were spent trying to grow out a really interesting perm, bangs, and short layers. I succeeded by the time I graduated. Then, I decided to grow it long. I was in the process of doing that when I had a little setback (see this list, #42.) Because of that situation, I got a cute little no-bangs bob, and I loved it!

That’s the style of hair I had when I met my hubby. He really likes long hair, and he convinced me to grow it out again, so I did. He loved it. Personally, it was okay, but I really enjoyed a short and sassy haircut. Years went by, and when I became an independent consultant for a cosmetic company (that shall remain nameless), I jumped on the really short and sassy haircut bandwagon, because I was in the public spotlight a lot, and I needed hair that was spunky and chic. My hubby was really nice and never really complained, but I could tell he really liked my hair long.

I shifted gears, got out of the public spotlight, and when I got pregnant with Claire, I decided to let my hair grow long again. With all the pregnancy hormones, my hair went into overdrive, and it grew super fast. My hair has always grown fast, but this was amazing. It got to be too difficult to maintain a short and spunky hairstyle without breaking the bank, so I went long again. My husband was quite pleased.

Fast forward two years. My hair is still long, and I see short and sassy hairstyles everywhere. The longing has started growing inside me again, and it’s going to drive me mad. Then, just when I think I have the courage to take control of my hair again and do the style *I* want, I have a really good hair day, and I think…wow, that was lucky! I almost cut all this off. Sadly, those hair days happen rarely.

Most of the time, I twist it up and wear a clippie. How exciting.

So, a couple weeks ago, I went to get my hair cut. I also got it highlighted, because the grays are starting to scare me. Thankfully, the highlights had grown out subtly, because I realized it had been seven months since my last haircut!! My hubby begged me not to get it all cut off, and I caved. I told him I’d have her do some face framing and maybe cut three inches off. Secretly, I was hoping she’d chop it all off, and I could blame her. My hubby would have seen right through that…what with my huge smile and the skip in my step.

So, she cut off just over three inches, and it’s still below my shoulders. She did some face-framing and long layers, and when she was done it looked great! She curled it for me and styled it, and I told her that I honestly wouldn’t have time to do that, so to give me a cut that would dry well.

I don’t know if it was her or me, but I’m just not happy. She’s cut my hair before, and the cut is different this time. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s just not quite right. I’m afraid to tell my hubby, because he’ll just roll his eyes and tell me it looks great and to stop complaining.

I spent what I consider to be a lot on my haircut, so I can’t go back and have her re-do the cut. I just can’t justify the money in my head. I can’t go to a cheap place to have it cut, because those are always luck of the draw, and it’s a huge gamble. Plus, if I ever want my highlights updated, I’d have to explain to my stylist what happened. I wish I didn’t care what my hubby thinks, but in reality, I do. So, I’m stuck with this haircut for at least three months. Maybe around Christmas I can convince him that I need a change? Will he really understand that I need this, or will his pouting be unbearable and I’ll cave again?

I hope I can wait that long.

In the meantime, I feel like I’m stuck with this really expensive clippie.

Thoughts?