Why Does Cutting Our Hair Mean So Much More Than Just Cutting Our Hair?

“A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life.” -Coco Chanel

Today I watched yet another video of a young lady who did a big chop on her birthday after being on a ‘growth’ and ‘hair care’ journey for a few years.

The one thing that each woman says, regardless of any additional reasons they might give for cutting their hair, is that they want to do something different.

They get on video with excitement in their voices about the new changes they are about to make in their lives; new goals, new relationships, new endeavors all of which starts with a hair cut.

If you just look at this practice on the surface one might think it’s a bit strange, yet all women do it. They cut their hair and it means way more than, scissors, a close shave and fancy earrings.

According to Owen Gould, a celebrity hairstylist:

“Hair holds so much more energy than most of us are aware of. Some women use it as a security blanket whose purpose is to shield and protect, while others use it as a secret weapon to tease and entice,”

“It can be used as a statement, an air of strength, a ‘don’t f*ck with me’ effect,” “and cutting it off can be incredibly liberating. Whether it’s to signal the end of a relationship or a new promotion at work — there is usually a direct correlation between what’s happening on our heads and what’s happening in our lives.”

I couldn’t agree more, there is an air of “I am serious this time” and “don’t mess with me” with every stroke of the shears and every snip of the scissors. There is a sudden renewal and newness that is unmatched when compared to anything else you might do to yourself to signify change.

So what might it mean when a woman cuts her hair?

Screw you and your beauty standards

“You have a round face so you cannot possibly wear your hair short, it wont look right” , or “wearing your hair long is what makes you beautiful”, How many times have you heard these statements?

These days making such claims is almost primitive as we have single handily watch women do the big chop and love it so much they never get to the growing out phase. Short hair is its own standard of beauty and it is clearly not driven by the shape of your face or body for that matter.

Getting rid of distraction

This one is weird but if you are known for your hair and what you do with it sometimes breaking free from those shackles can be difficult. To get rid of the distraction and to be more than ‘just hair’ sometimes you just have to cut it all off and start fresh.

Yes, everyone will be sad, some people might even call you selfish for it especially when they are depending on you to get them through their own growth journeys. The truth is once you make the decision to let go there will be casualties that you must be prepared to deal with or not deal with depending on your state of mind.

Getting rid of the commitment 

Natural hair is a commitment, long hair is a commitment and dealing with it can take time and energy. If you are over it, cutting your hair can alleviate some of that time you put into dealing with all that hair.

This can be a great thing for busy individuals who want to dedicate their time to something else. Wash day is now reduced to wash minutes and a visit to the barber shop is 20 minutes in comparison to hours at a salon. You cannot beat that!

Ridding yourself of toxicity

This might be a toxic relationship, bad energy or just cleansing your body by eating clean and exercising. I have no idea why cutting hair equates to these things but this is typically a universal language that is understood by many of us, men with long hair included. You are a new person and that typically means looking different while you work on being different!

Getting rid of the comfort zone

Yes, long hair is comforting, you can hide behind it but short hair forces you to be seen. There is no hiding your face, every line, every wrinkle, every freckle can clearly be seen and it is very liberating and scary all at the same time.

Becoming fearless

Getting rid of the comfort zone means letting go of the fear of everything you can possibly become. Sudden exposure can bring about all sorts of emotions that only come about when you remove the thing that may have comforted you the most.

With all that said, you must agree that when someone says that it “isn’t just hair” that there is a lot behind that statement. On the flip side once we cut our hair and have adjusted to a new lifestyle we might be inclined to wonder what all the fuss was about. After all it is ‘just hair’!

Regardless of what side of the story you are on now, I cannot help but be enamored by the level of energy our strands have. It’s all pretty fascinating and I have a whole lot of respect for them and what they do….. to us!