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Should I Rock a Pixie Cut?

I have been a long hair kind of girl my whole life. When I was in elementary school I always wanted to grow my hair out down to my waist. (My mom wouldn’t let me.) In high school, I was so traumatized with constantly asking stylists for a trim and having them take 6 inches or more off (seriously, what is with that? Happens so much!) I stopped getting my hair cut professionally and starting cutting–or not cutting–my own hair so I could finally grow it long. It worked. Most of high school and college I had hair down to the middle of my back.

Finally, in my early to mid twenties I cut my hair to my shoulders. In my mind, short. And I loved it. Probably some of the best hair years of my life. My hair had some natural curl and I rarely had to “do” my hair for it to look good. In the last 12 years of life, as a wife and mother, my hair has been mostly long. I did take some scissors to my hair one night, years ago, in a fit of passion cutting it above my shoulders for the first time ever and immediately regretted it. I spent the next couple of years growing it out. I’ve had bangs off and on over the years but as for major change, that’s about it.

I am not hair brave. I’ve never done extremes in styles or color (other than pink streaks for a short time in college. Thanks Gwen.) I like having dark hair and I like having long-ish hair.

I have NEVER EVER in my entire life wanted a pixie cut. Never. Not even a little. Not even when they were all the rage in the 90’s and the Winona Ryders and Drew Barrymores and Gwyneth Paltrows of the world were chopping their locks off the showcase their perfect pixie faces. Not a year ago when my friend Molly saw this picture of me on Instagram and said, “Cut your hair into a pixie stat!” Never.

And then a couple months ago I saw this woman’s hair on Anthropologie.com:

And now I’ve been seriously considering a pixie cut for the first time in my life. First, I know that I won’t look like her. But I dig the classic, slightly shaggy style of this pixie–the bangs aren’t long, the neck isn’t shaved, and in general there is nothing about this cut that I would associate with the word “funky.” Not that there’s anything wrong with funky, it’s just not me. Second, I also realize that like most cuts, it’s all in the styling. Again, I totally get that. I actually showed these photos to my stylist  and although it won’t look quite the same, he thinks I should go for it.

Here is my Pixie pro and con list.

Pixie Pros:
–I’m 40 and I’ve never done something drastic with my hair–I want to try something different! What if it’s a look I would really love, but I’ll never know unless I try.
–I have been in a hair rut for a long time now. Not really loving my hair no matter what I do with it–so might as well try something really new.
–I could love it.
–I will spend a lot less time “doing” my hair in the morning.
–I might also be more inclined to experiment with color.
–It could age me in a good way meaning that I think it could look chic and sophisticated.

Pixie Cons
–I might hate it. In fact, I’m sorta planning on hating it. My stylist assures me that even if I eventually like it, I will initially be a shock.
–If I hate it, growing it out will take a long time.
–Cold neck and ears?
–Less up keep day-to-day, but more frequent cuts/trims.
–While I love the cut on the model, I am not the model and my hair and face are not her hair and face. In short, my expectations based on this photo could be wildly off base.
–No matter when I grow it out, it would take a long time.
–It could age me inappropriately, i.e. make me feel frumpy and grandmother-ish.

I’m not really looking for opinions on what I should do–it’s just too personal of a decision–but rather I’m curious to hear about how you feel about your hair. Are you super attached to it? Have you had your hair one way for most of your life? Or are you the type to radically change your hair often? If so, how often? How radically? What happens if you don’t like a style or cut for a long time? Has anyone ever been a life-long long hair person and suddenly cut a pixie? Were you in shock? Tell me everything!

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