In which she gets a haircut

[zeborah]

So a few hours ago my hair looked like this (a bit longer when freshly washed and dried, hence straight -- here it's just loosed from a french braid):


And then I did this:


And now it looks like this:


Tomorrow I need to send the braid to Freedom Hair and then start a running tally of how many conversations I have to have about it.

I was expecting to require explanations for:

• colleagues in my branch at work;
  
• people at church;
  
• family at family dinner;
  
• manager returning from holiday next week; and
  
• colleagues in other branches in dribs and drabs over the next month or so; it's so tempting just to put a photo up on the in-house blog and have done with it, except that's not what we use it for.

This evening I've added to that list:

• frequent customers at work (ran into one while there this evening for complicated but not sad-and-pathetic reasons); and
  
• bus drivers on my regular routes (my bus route tonight is one I only take weekly, but the driver still gave me a funny look).

Comments

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

In the second picture you look slightly uncertain about the whole thing. By the third, you have recovered.

And this sounds like a wonderful company - giving confidence is extremely important.

[zeborah]

I *think* I was mostly uncertain about how good a photo it would make - I hate having my photo taken - or at least that's how I remember it. I could be fooling myself. :-)

It is a very supportive place to work, just means I have to go out of my comfort zone to play into the socialness of it.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

No wonder you get comments and required explanations -- that's a big change!

Do you answer "lifted eyebrows" as well? I generally won't go beyond that, for changes that other people may make.

[zeborah]

Lifted eyebrows (or even "Nice hair") and a smooth change of subject would suit me just fine. Just extended conversations are awkward because the questions people ask don't map to the answers I have; or if they do, I get bored of repeating the answer the half dozenth time. Ah well, small talk is a useful skill to learn...

[brownnicky.livejournal.com]

The new hair cut suits you.I found getting rid of long hair immensely liberating, though mine was no where near as long as yours. Long hair is lovely but hot and heavy and in your way and short hair is just easier.

[zeborah]

Hot and heavy hasn't been a problem for me, just the length of time it takes to care for. On the whole I think I like long and short about equally but it just seemed a reasonable time to change.

[karinfromnosund.livejournal.com]

That braid is impressive.

Are you going to keep your hair like that now?

[zeborah]

I suspect that I'll probably let it grow again, from laziness if nothing else. Maybe in another 7-9 years I'll have another braid. :-)

[julesjones]

Thank you.

My mother didn't go the wig route when she had chemotherapy, because she preferred to wear a scarf -- but other people in oncology outpatients did, and it made an enormous difference to their morale.

[zeborah]

There's stories on that site about people being overjoyed that with these wigs they can go swimming again. Personally I'd be more likely to go swimming if I could take my hair off and put it back on afterwards, dry; but I can see how it'd be very very different if people were constantly staring.

[hairmonger.livejournal.com]

Surely when the Future arrives we'll be able to take our hair off to go swimming! (How can you inhale long hair underwater when you're not actually breathing? I did no further experiments.)
Mine starts breaking off when it gets much below my waist, and you remind me that it is about time to go donate some.

Mary Anne in Kentucky

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

I like the new hair. It suits you. It's a lovely colour, too. I don't know why, but I'd always imagined you as a brunette.

My mop is long at the moment - by default because I didn't know what to do with it and I dithered for the best part of two years while it grew. It's in long layers right now and curly. I might let the hairdresser lop about six inches off the length, but I'm going to keep it long - at least until after Number One daughter's wedding in August 2009 - and possibly until after the Artisan reunion in August 2010.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Ah, I did that a few years ago for an American group, although my hair was not as long as yours to start with. In fact, this icon is from two weeks after mine was cut.

[zeborah]

Yes, I got the idea from you, though it obviously took me a while to put into action!

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

Wow. That's quite some haircut. Your new hairlength is only slightly shorter than my hairlength, which seems to be about as long as my hair will grow.

[serendipoz.livejournal.com]

Several years ago one of the worldcons (ConFrancisco I think) had a group from locsforlove. I had my hair taken down (about 12/20 inches - it was below my waist then.) I've a photo from the back on the barberchair of the shining length.

They gave lots of praise to the woman with grey hair who had her's taken - it's very difficult to find long grey hair.

Well done!

Joyce

[rosefox]

I'm not sure about ConFrancisco, but I think I remember the grey-hair-lauding from ConJose. (I had had my hair cut short a couple of years previously and kept meaning to send it to Locks of Love, so finally I just brought the ponytails to the con and dropped them off with the barbers.)