Thursday, September 24, 2009

PSF - Off With Her Hair!

About a year ago, Mommy's Martini had a lovely post about cutting her hair and donating it to Locks of Love. I knew several other people who have done this as well, and thought, this is something that I can easily do. My hair is extremely thick, grows like crazy and I have LOTS of it.  At the time, it was just past my shoulders.  I don't really like having short-short hair, so I needed to grow it a bit to get the minimum ten inches.  Around February this year, I had a trim because it was getting a bit scraggly, but then I let it grow until now. 

In high school, I had very long hair, so long that I could sit on it.



Back then, I didn't mind having long hair, it was cool and unique. Pulling hair out of my clothes when I got dressed meant flipping it out of my bra, shirt and pants.  I could never wear a t-shirt with an image on the back because it would be completely covered.  Once I got a huge rat's nest in the back which I just brushed over so it was hidden underneath.  Before college, I cut it all off.  Went to the salon, put it in a big braid and chopped it right off.  I stored the braid in my drawer at home for a few years, not knowing what to do with it.  Finally, I tossed it because it seemed kinda creepy to keep it around.  If only Locks of Love were around back then!

This time around, growing my hair long drove me bonkers.  Over the summer, I kept feeling my hair against the back of my arms like someone was tickling me.  I would put it in a ponytail, but it was so heavy that it dropped to the base of my hairline.  It looked an old hippie ponytail and not a cute ponytail.  Plus it draped on my back or over my shoulder like a small animal and made me hot, defeating the purpose of putting it up.  When I let my hair dry naturally, it would completely soak the back and sometimes the front of my shirt.  It was time.  Here are the obligatory before and after photos:

 

 

Despite the advances in camera technology, I look completely unfabulous 26 years later!!  Here's how the process went.



My hairdresser made four ponytails so that afterward the sections would be of even length. She braided the 11" ponytails.

 

When she snapped these pictures, she said I looked like Pocahontas. Pocahontas?!? That is definitely NOT the look I'm going for.  Then snip, snip, snip, snip, they were all chopped off.



Here are the braids.  Yes, all of them from one head of hair.



My hair feels so much lighter now, I figured I lost at least a pound of hair. I weighed the braids on an analytical balance and it was only 2.5 ounces. Two and a half ounces?? It felt like two and half pounds on my head!!

I feel completely liberated in my short hair and I barely have to flip my hair out of my shirt when I get dressed. Most people noticed at work and were happy to hear that I had donated it. When I mailed off the hair, I saw on the donation form that it takes $1000 to sponsor a Locks of Love child. Since I wanted to make sure that my hair would be used, I pitched in some money as well. If you can, please donate to Locks of Love!!

And now, Dova has the longest hair in the family.



By the way, did you notice the "Coach" on my shirt? That's a whole 'nother story...

PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

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