Cut Loose

My annual DIY January haircut is a 17-year tradition going strong.

At first it was mostly motivated by pragmatism combined with being a young twenty-something on a budget and wanting to save all my money for adventures and long-distance hiking trails.

Later when I had babies, I liked my DIY ‘do because it was the epitome of time-saving, low-maintenance hair care. I didn’t have to schedule appointments or concern myself with the upkeep of color or style. After five minutes with some kitchen shears, I was done.

But, now, I’m on a more forgiving budget, with pretty self-sufficient kiddos, and trying to act more professional. A part of me wondered whether this was the year to act like a real grown up and go to Supercuts. I considered it, and came to the consensus that the January Haircut still holds personal value - certainly enough to keep the tradition going one more orbit. And in some way it holds more meaning than ever before.

But first, here’s what it’s not:

1.     It is not a dig at my hairdresser friends. In this technological world, I love any practice of going to a brick-and-mortar location and having person to person contact. And, I’m not in any way ruling out future salon care.

2.     It is also not a judgment on anyone else’s hair care or beauty regimen. Be it highlights, lowlights, keeping the gray away, layers, bangs, blow-outs, extensions, braids, fades, dreads or wigs, I am all about the self-expression that comes with deciding what to do with the top of our heads.

Second, here’s my technique:

1.     I straighten and part my hair.

2.     Then I gather it up at the base of my neck and secure it with a flat clip or barrette.

3.     I usually place another clip an inch or so below the first one. It adds some extra tension and hold for cutting.

4.     Now, cut between the clips. If you or your helper can stay inside the lines, you should be good to go.

The end result should be a relatively straight but angled cut with the hair framing your face longer than the hair on the back of your neck. Not everyone’s a fan of the front angle. It admittedly feels a little 90s. But that means it’s bound to come back in style in two years. Plus, I like that my hair frames my face and that it’s still long enough to pull back in a clip or elastic.

Third, here’s why:

The beauty industry is a 650 BILLION dollar beast with significant environmental impact. So get that beast on a leash and make sure you're leading!

We are marketed and manipulated to feel like we have to look a certain way. And again, I’m all for self-expression. If you want to go all in on cosmetics and haircare like I go all in on hiking, do it. If you want to Dolly Parton it up, go for it. (If we were all a little more like Dolly, then the world would most certainly be a better place.) But regardless of whether you're cannon balling into the deep end or dipping in your toe, we can all step back and consider the impact it has on our day and on our environment so we can make the choices that best align with our values. 

When I considered my haircare options this year, I knew that I wanted my coiffure to be a personal choice rather than a cultural chore. And, I also wanted it to feel fun and lighthearted. Andie McDowell once gave me a testimonial for my book Called Again and she said that beauty is an action more than an aesthetic. And, that’s what I wanted. I wanted to do something that felt fun and empowered... also, my husband and daughter have both gotten turns at hacking off my hair so it didn’t feel right to give it up until my son had a go.

So I went forward, feeling very good about my decision and determined to let my eight-year-old have a turn behind the blades. And it… was… a…DISASTER. Hands down my worst cut to date. There is video evidence to corroborate that my hair ended up in a tangled mess of clips and scissors.

But in watching the video back, I think it might be my favorite chop. I mean this is the point, isn't is?! Knowing that my hair, no matter how mutilated, will grow back. Knowing that, far from being critical, my husband will laugh and smile and tell me that it looks cute. Knowing that my middle school daughter, who is bombarded with all kinds of pressure to look a certain way, shares a strong memory of simultaneously laughing and cringing as her brother butchered my hair. And yes, my locks are naturally wavy and I often wear it fully up and most of the time I work from home, so my hair, style, and life in general is all very forgiving for this kind of bravado. But also, in the end, it just feels really beautiful to be able to hold my severed clumps of hair and our modern-day American image norms loosely.

In timely fashion, my devotional this week read, “Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don’t fuss with their appearance – but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?” (The Message, Luke 12:27-28)

There are times when I really enjoy blow drying my hair and feeling that warmth on my skin or putting on make-up and pretending like I know what I’m doing (I really don’t, but it still feels like a fun art project.) Still, most days if I have an extra twenty minutes I would rather have a quiet time, or go outside, or workout, or snuggle my kids, or read, or call a friend, or sit on the deck with my husband… I would rather spend time soaking up the beauty around me than focusing on a mirror. And that is why,  for now, the tradition continues. And that is what, my slightly lopsided and shorter than intended haircut, means to me.

Also, if fashion is truly all about self-expression and taking risks, then I’m crushing it ; )

About the Author: Jennifer is an Adventurer, Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur and mom of two who has a Masters in Public Affairs and a husband that plays bluegrass. Her blog focuses on life as she experiences it with a focus on Outdoor Adventure, Business, Public Affairs, Family, and Faith. To book Jennifer as a speaker for your next event, click here or call (615) 708-4301.