As I sit here in the salon awaiting my turn, I continue to tell, and convince, myself that it most definitely time for a change. I awakened with the urge to get my long hair cut short today. I dress in a pair of shorts and tanktop. I live just a few blocks from the beauty shop. I am an artist by trade and my contact with the public minimal. My tressess hang down to my hips and I wear my hair braided a majority of the time. I have also kept it long because my husband loves the long tresses finding them very sensual. Well I’ve given enough to that cause, it’s my hair and my choice.

For years I’ve been coming in here and everytime I have Paul cut the ends only, just enough to keep the hair healthy. For the first few years he would try to show me pictures of medium length and short hair styles that he thought would look good and me. To inform me of how much younger and attractive I would look with a different style. Each time I refused and in time he stopped showing me pictures. Every now and then he would say something in passing. I have a big surprise for him today.

I have my long locks bound in a pig tail today, nothing unusual or out of the ordinary. I sit here and watch as others have their hair trimmed, coloured and cut, observing that many women today are choosing to wear their hair at a medium or short length. Has it always been this way, do I notice only because today is the day I have decided to make a change or because I live in a beach town.

I’m next, I don’t have to do this I could just have Paul give me the usual trim. No I promised myself I’d be strong and go through with this. I have a show tonight at my Gallery and I want to renew myself as I have my work. I can and will do this. I watch as the lady before me goes through her transformation of medium length hair to very short hair. As Paul starts to style her hair the shampoo girl approaches letting me know it’s time to get started. I stand up, I get close to her and quietly inform her of my plans, that I would appreciate it if we could hold off on the wash. She understands, I take a seat as she smiles and walks to the back of the salon, leaving Paul with a confused look on his face. He finishes with his client and comes for me.

“Is everything alright?” he inquires. I assure him that all is well as I walk to the chair and have a seat. “Today, I want something new and different.” I look in the mirror and I can see that he is wondering what I mean by that statement. “I want you to cut my pigtail off and would you please do it now before I change my mind?” A huge grin appears on his face and without a word he picks up his shears and I quickly hear the sounds of the scissors as they open and close. With each snip of the scissors I realize that there is no turning back now. I can feel my head getting lighter and in no time at all just over 2 feet of hair has been removed. Wisps of hair drop around my checks and partially cover my eyes. The remaining tresses continue to fall foward covering my ears. The hair finally rests above my shoulders by just an inch while the back of my hair ends at the bottom of my neck. If I were to guess I would say it is now collar length. What a difference I note as I look into the mirror. Paul holds up my pigtail and asks me what he should do with it. I tell him that I want to donate the long locks for wigs for cancer patients.

“Congratulations” he states. “I have been waiting a long time for this, what did you have in mind?”

I pull a picture out of the cut I desire and he nods approvingly. “Yes, this will look great on you.” “Let’s get your hair shampooed and you back in this chair.” “How are you feeling right now?” That was a great question, I thought I’d be sad and I’m not. After all these years of long hair I am surprised that I’m quite excited at this point and I am looking forward to having my hair cut even shorter. “I’m good, thank you for asking” I reply.

I walk to the back of the salon, sit down and recline resting my neck on the sink. Mia warms the water and starts to wet my hair and give me a wonderful massage as she shampoos my hair. As she rinses the soap out of my hair and applies the conditioner she tells me “You’re going to look great!” “Thank you” I reply. Another rinse for the conditioner and I’m headed back for a comb out.

My neck was quickly wrapped with a tissue and a large thick plastic cape. `SNAP’, SNAP; the cape was fastened around my neck. My chair was now being pumped up in the air.
Paul starts to comb out my hair and proceeds to pin my hair up in the back and on the sides. He combs the bottom layer out holding it away from my scalp and starts to snip away close to my hairline. With each snip of every layer the shorn locks tumble down the cape eventually landing on and scattering all around the floor. Soon the hair in back is reduced to being only an inch long and Paul is now doing the same to the sides. While the picture I showed him had my ears covered I watched as he started to cut the hair away from the ears. The hair in front lay flat and angling downward and forward and ending just at the earlobe in length. The cut arced up and over the top of my ear and until I have a mirror I am unable to see the backside of my ears. At this point I can only feel that no hair touches the rims of my ears. I don’t see any hair poking out or have any hair hanging longer than my ears. I was right this cut is drastic. Paul notices I have a concern, “trust me please” he says and turns me away from the mirror until he is done.

I willfully pull my arm out from under the cape reach up and touch my hair with my right hand and take a mirror into the other. There is absolutely no hair covering my ears, I can see them from any vantage point and my neck is clear of any hair. Paul has cut my hair up to my hairline and given me a nice soft rounding at the end. The hairline starts just behind my ears, above the lobes and meets in the middle of the back of my scalp and is no longer than my natural hairline. I love it. He has framed my ears and left my the crown with some length and the front falls forward, I can style the longer locks many different ways. The longest lock falls even in the back with the tops of my ears.

This will not be a day I forget.