Have you ever changed your hair dramatically?
I think there are three standout moments for me. Once, I got my hair quite short (above my shoulders nearly!), which was me wanting a specific hair style that I should never have been allowed to have (because it required heavy styling to look remotely like the photo!). Second was when I had balayage done and did funky colors through my hair. And more recently, I lopped at good six inches off my hair (it’s just past my shoulders and I can barely put it up!), which I did because my hair felt like it was just heavy and weighing me down.
— Christine
Only once and by accident. Was trying to go blonde and changed it to a vibrant blondish orange. LOL!
Quite a few times throughout my life, I’ve always loved making drastic changes with my hair with both color and cuts, I became obsessed with hair dye in the early 80s because of Cyndi Lauper (don’t laugh, but it’s true!) and while I was never allowed the fun colors back then I did experiment a lot with creative bleaching until I was old enough to control what I did with my own hair and I’ve had just about every color at one point. It’s a lot easier to do fun colors now though, in the past I had to weigh my job with my decisions whereas I have coworkers right now who have all sorts of colors that we couldn’t get away with back then, which is awesome. (And I no longer have to cover my tattoos.)
About 12 years ago was my most recent drastic change, I had thigh length hair that I was dying a coppery red and then one day I decided I needed a change and got it all cut off to a shaggy bob and started transitioning back to my natural color. I kept it pretty basic since then (though I’m experiencing the itch) and the pandemic+moving to a new region has caused me to have anxiety about finding a new stylist so my hair is back down to tailbone length. I just find it so traumatic to find someone new after you’ve had total trust in someone for so long, you know? I’ll get over it soon, this hair is already annoying me, lol! The last time it was this long I was all into intricate braids and updos and hair ornaments but this time around I can’t be bothered. (Please, no one tell me about donating it, I’m hyper aware that these “charities” exist. If you ever have hair past your shoulder you are reminded of them by just about everyone… constantly.)
Nothing to be ashamed of, Cyndi is a style icon.
I had it cut quite short once as a teenager (not my best decision lol), and then a couple of years dyed it all over pink. That was quite fun, actually and I really liked how it made me feel. Since then, I started doing a side-shave, had it coral, then redhead, and now going towards a mushroom/ash brown. I currently work for a salon, hence all the changes hehe.
In college, I dyed it red (I’m a brunette). Other than that it was a pixie cut which I have now (shorter than a pixie actually, I LOVE it super short). I have found that my hair has changed as I have aged. It does not look good long anymore.
I tried several times to re-grow my hair long (past my shoulder blades, everything shorter than that is medium to me) and I haven’t succeeded, even during the pandemic. Like you said, with age it just does look good anymore, however it’s cut.
For me in happened in my early 20s, the structure of my hair drastically changed, even if I still have the same problem of growing too fast. Sometimes I miss the very long thick hair I had before highschool… although I remember how tedious was the upkeep.
I have Hair Pulling Disorder and pulled for a good solid 24 years, then recently tried to stop. So far it’s been 6 months, so I’d say that’s a pretty big dramatic change since I now have a really thick, shiny head of hair for the first time in two decades.
Good for you!
Six months is huge! I have TTM too and it is a constant struggle, but the more you can resist the easier it gets. The itch never truly goes away, but it is possible to redirect the urges. I am proud of you!
My hair has gone through many changes over the years. In the 1970s I had my naturally wavy hair chemically straightened. In the 1980s I did all sorts of crazy things, like rainbow colors and shaving the sides. In the 1990s, it was always blue-black, except for the bangs, which I’d bleach and dye pink, purple, or blue. I’ve gone from very long hair to very short hair a few times over the years (and always regretted it). The biggest change to my hair was caused by chemo 15 years ago, when I lost all of it. Once it grew back, I decided to never color or chemically alter it again. I’m also committed to keeping it long.
Most definitely.
My sister bleached my entire head of waist length hair about 10 years ago. It took HOURS but she has hair dressing experience and it actually turned out amazing considering my hair was dark brown and went up to a level 8/9 in one sitting.
From there I later dyed it blue and then bubblegum pink which was bright. Since then, my biggest transformations have been growing it to my waist and then cutting it to a long bob every now and then. The difference is amazing as I have very thick hair so my head all of a sudden feels weightless overnight!
The most thing I did to my hair was cutting it from hip length to shoulder length before highschool and using blue temporary day a couple of times in highschool.
I actually like the color of my hair… I wished several times to do ombres and things like that… but I realized that I couldn’t be bothered with the care needed… and I just have more important things to do than sit for hours in a hairdressers chair (like going on a hike 😅).
I sincerely do hope I’ll grey out in a decent shape, so I can avoid having to color my hair. I see nowadays so many beautiful ladies growing out their grey hair with elegance.
Yep! With a flip of a wig! All the time. Got 15 of them, all so different. Compliments galore, lol. People don’t even know. Not even hairdressers. Lol!
I’ve been a bleach & tone blonde for almost a decade. My hair is naturally jet black and this year I finally decided to stop and grow it out! I grew tired of the damage and it took up so much time going to the salon.
My mother went bald at 35 years old. She didn’t have any preexisting conditions or diagnoses, just horrible genetic unluckiness. There’s a real chance that I might have a similar fate, so I’ve never experimented with coloring/heating/heavily styling my hair in an effort to preserve the longevity of my hair. The most dramatic thing I’ve ever done is trimming.
Probably too many times for one lifetime! At just 3½-4, my Mom had to get my hair cut into a super short pixie after another older girl put tar in my hair.
At 16, I was in beauty school, got my Mom to sign off on permission for the teacher to make me “blonde”, I came home with the palest platinum blonde hair and my poor mother lost her mind over it. And NOT in a good way!
At 21, I started doing super curly perms, 80’s style! Did so with bleached highlights for many years, even got my hair permed while pregnant with my daughter 😱
Then, at 35, I decided that I wanted auburn hair…which gradually became a deep plummy burgundy by 38.
At 42, after Hubs finally left, I went in for a MAJOR chop since he wouldn’t let me cut off my hair that short before!
Etc! Etc! Etc!
Visually the most dramatic change is that time in high school when I went from well below shoulder length to a pixie cut. Personally, the biggest change has been to stop fighting my natural texture and embrace the curls instead of straightening my hair all the time. Neither of my parents knew what to do with it when I was growing up so it was just assumed I had ‘bad hair’ and that it would always be a problem to deal with. I’d been straightening it one way or another since then until a couple of years ago – a lockdown project – that I decided to stop.
Most of my hair transformations are pretty drastic. I am a gemini, what can I say. I loved your tropical bird balayage, Christine. I can imagine that upkeep was probably a huge pain. I tend to do one bright color at a time.
No I haven’t. I really like my natural red/blond shade and now have it tinted to my real life colour. I generally keep to my bob style as it suits my face. Besides which, I have no talent when it comes to doing my own hair.
Many times! I’ve had neon blue hair for a few years. I’ve done black with purple streaks. I’ve gone from straight hair down butt that I cut off to my chin and permed. I recently had it dyed a purple fad from natural brown and then to a black. I mix up my hair all the time. The style is usually extremely basic, so the color is about the only interesting thing I ever do with my hair.
Ha! Yes, in college. I had this great hairdresser on Charles Street, had the great idea to cut my hair super short and dye it a platinum hue. I sat in the chair dumbstruck went home and cried and prayed to the hair gods to please, just this once grow my hair and quickly! Never again :shudder:
I recently chopped all my hair off.. like above ears and buzzed at the nape. I was inspired by a photo of Halle Berry sporting a short dark undercut with blonde long layer on top and so I went for it. My hairdresser is my best friend and I thought he would convince me otherwise (over the years he has prevented me from doing some of my more drastic changes, but also happily did my 2018 year of fun colours). I showed him my inspo photos and he made the first cut and said ‘too late’.
Yep. Been coloring it (all the colors) for over twenty years, shaved it completely off at one point, had mohawks and shaved sides and probably the prettiest was when I’d gotten the lower half lightened, left it alone, and let the semi-permanent dye from the top half kind of rinse over the bottom and gradually stain it to varying degrees. It was a really lovely bluey/tealy/greeny/mermaidy/beach vibes situation.
Hair, like nails, just grows (obviously barring an unusual circumstance) so why not do something fun? The amount of women I hear say “I’ve always wanted to do something fun with my hair but I’m not brave enough.” is just sad. Don’t be sad. Live in the moment, you guys, and do fun shit. At worst you’ll have a hilarious story to entertain people later. At best you’ll fall in love with the change.
Beautiful!! I love you vibrant life! You are a sweetheart! 🙂
I just cut 18 inches off. Feels so much lighter, having fun trying different styles!
Yes! I turned 40 this year and decided to go with some fashion colors that I’ve always wanted. I tried it as a teenager but didn’t have money to do it professionally. Now, I did, and the bleaching process is much more gentle than it was back then. I’m currently in the blue-green spectrum but I may go pink-orange down the road! I actually think my fine hair looks better when it’s had a bit of bleach on it.
At 17 I bleached my naturally dark brown hair blonde for the first time, and my family were horrified. My sister even remarked ‘If God had intended you to be blonde you’d have been born that way’. To which I replied, ‘Well, God got his calculations wrong, didn’t He?’
Then in my 20s I went jet black for a while, then it was back to my natural hair colour save for a pink wispy fringe, then blonde again, then red, then brown ….
Now I’m happy as a redhead, and have been for a number of years.
Between junior and senior year in high school I went from waist length hair to an above the shoulder permed cut… And it was right before senior pictures which could have been disastrous but turned out really good. Then a year later I went short (not quite pixie) and it’s been short ever since. Then I started using fun colors a few years ago and have done pink, teal, dark blue, purple, and am currently sitting with a head full of bleach. I’m going to do blonde for the summer. It’s something fun fun to do that I really enjoy. And my husband does my hair so I can cut and color whenever I feel like it!