Getting The Chop

Hello friends!
Today, I'm embarking on something wild.

   I know you see the title. And, no. This post is not a pork chop review. I apologize if that's what you came here for.

​   If you've been following me on the blog for a while, you may know that I've had a few different hair looks. Let's take a little walk down memory lane, shall we?
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A quick hair recap:

​In 2014, I had my natural color. So basically just long brown hair with some bangs.

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​In 2015, I kept the bangs and long hair, but did the Zoella ombre look.

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​In 2016, I got my hair cut short since the blonde parts were fried. However, there was still a ton of blonde in it. And I didn't know what I was doing with my bangs. Ugh, this looked ratchet.

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​In late 2016, when I started college, I darkened my hair (with Zooey Deschanel as a big inspiration). I liked my hair dark. And I started concealing my bangs more.

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​And then there's 2017, where I started growing my hair out again and had Chelsea add a blonde balayage before going on vacation to South Carolina.

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...Now 2018, one year later, I haven't done anything with my hair. My blonde balayage has just been chilling, my hair's just been growing. Only update I can give is that I've grown out my bangs.

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So that brings us to the next question of this post:

Why do I want to change my hair?

   If you couldn't guess, I'm writing this section of this post before I actually change my hair. So these are my initial thoughts in the process:

   For the past six months, I've been bored with my hair. I've just felt it growing and growing, weighing itself down, getting damaged, etc. The physical appearance of my hair has just lost its luster, for me. As attached as I feel to my hair (I haven't had it cut since 2016, people!), I think it needs to go. Here's why:

1. Where I work, it gets hot. And I mean, really hot. I break a sweat and my hair starts to stick to me. So I basically can't exist without a hair tie.

2. I can't bring myself to brush it lately. Ugh, tangles just develop so quickly. And it's hard to even reach them half the time. Even freshly washed hair is impossible to completely brush through. Any wind? My hair is a tangled mess. Bed head? My hair is a tangled mess. Not brushing it for a few hours? My hair is a tangled mess. Tears actually form in my eyes when I brush my hair because it just genuinely hurts.

3. My hair is simply damaged. It's no secret that when you get your hair bleached, it gets damaged and dried out way more easily. And having had mine bleached for an entire year (and not trimmed), it definitely shows its damage. I wake up and it's a frizzy, tangled poof ball. And when it's wet, my hair stretches. HAIR IS NOT SUPPOSED TO STRETCH.

4. Like I said, I feel like my hair has lost its luster. I've been fishtail braiding it lately while it's still long, but overall, you can either find my hair weighed down straight, or frizzy and in a ponytail. And those aren't looks that make a girl like myself feel pretty.

5. I find myself hiding under my hair a lot. For the past couple of years, I've not been the biggest fan of my weight. And, I know, it's all in my hands to change that. But while I'm at the size that I'm at, I can't just depend on my damaged hair to swallow me whole and to hide my body. I want my hair to have life again, to look proportionate with the rest of my body.

6. I want to have an actual hair style. That means dimension, volume. All mine is right now is long and heavy. And that's not a style.

7. I need the change. For emotional reasons. I've been anxious and depressed for the past few months, and I just need a positive change for once. I want to feel lighter, to feel confident. To reinvent myself, almost. To feel like a new me.
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   I've been told that my hair looks its best when it's long and blonde. But what if that's starting to make me not feel beautiful? What if I liked it when it was darker? What if I want to go short again? Cheers to my last, long, poofy ponytail. You will be missed.

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Let's do this thing.

   Today, my friend Vanessa and I embarked on a spooky journey. We got the chop. Okay, I got the chop. She got some balayage. But what better way to go through such a big change than with a wonderful friend? So we made our way over to Square One Salon and Spa to see the ever-so-talented Chelsea. She's the same gorgeous stylist who put the blonde balayage in my hair last summer. You can actually see her work here on her instagram. Anyways, here's my journey.

   The day unfolded by me picking up Vanessa and us waiting for our turns to become "new women". I was told I was up first with my cut. When I first sat in the chair and had Chelsea wrap the cape around me, I nearly chickened out. I started sweating and panicking a bit. So Chelsea told me we could take it in baby steps. And boy, did we.

   The longer I sat in the chair, the more excited and eager I felt. I trust Chelsea with my hair because I know how talented she is. So I kept telling her to add more layers or to bring it shorter, per her best judgement. In the end, we ended up chopping off at least 12 inches of my hair. But I have to say, I was in love with the process.

   One of my goals was to cut out as much blonde as possible. I can safely say we cut a ton of it off.

   

   After the cut, my hair felt fresh and looked like it was straight out of Pinterest. I don't know why, but having my hair shorter makes me feel more feminine. And I'm super excited about it.

​   Vanessa and I took a little intermission before her coloring to grab some Jimmy Johns. Then I got a little snap-happy with my camera during her balayage process. I made sure to get shots of her hair before the changes, just for you all to appreciate.

   
   So after our new 'dos were complete, we made a pit stop at Starbucks to wake up a bit. And then made yet another (spontaneous) stop at Eastwood Metro Park's lake entrance to watch the sunset and take some fun photos.
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   So that's it! She and I have hair that's on point and fresh. We both feel so beautiful with our changes and I couldn't be happier that I made it through such a drastic chop. I feel like I'm finally beginning a new chapter in my life and I couldn't feel more excited.
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Thank you guys for joining Vanessa and me on our hair journey today! And be sure to follow Chelsea on Instagram @midwesternblondie.

Keep on grinning!

​Lydia