I teach college and this summer I planned to make a river excursion tour for a month and a half up north. With over three months off it made a great break. Before heading out I promised myself that after 20 years of having long hair I was going to cut it shorter to make it easier to look after on the trip.

It was my stylist who first started me thinking about cutting my hair. I only go once every 6 months for a trim but he pointed out that as I got older my hair got more brittle and was subject to damage a lot more. Being away on a long trip would really be terrible for it but a good cut would make it easy to look after and keep it healthy.

I went in for a consult and looked at a number of styles. He was keen on a very close crop but it was really drastic and I decided on a bit longer look that covered my ears and neck. I made an appointment for the next afternoon.

When I arrived he was all excited and exclaimed, “So we are really going to do this!” I nervously agreed. Well he took my hair in great handfuls and with the first cut of the scissors I knew there was no turning back.

As he cut I began to think it was quite a bit shorter than the look we had decided on. I sat there in nervous silence as he worked. But it wasn’t long before I realized this was the style he had chosen, which was at least 4-5 inches shorter than what I had wanted. I came out with my hair cropped just an inch long all over my head and clipped even closer around my ears. He had used the clippers on my neck and it was almost shaved to my skin. I was upset but friend and family all told me it looked stunning.

Well I did the trip and it was great. My hair behaved since it had little choice. I got back 2 weeks before classes started so I went back for a trim just to even it up. I really was planning to let it grow a bit to be more like what I had first wanted. He was overjoyed to see me and quickly wanted to trim my hair back to how it had been. I stopped him and told him to cut it just ½ inch, to even it up all over. He immediately started with his clippers and in one sweep went right up the side of my head. In less than a second 4 inches of my hair dropped into my lap and I was buzzed less than ½ inch long right up the side of my head. I started to cry but he never flinched. With the next half dozen strokes he had clipped my head right around the sides and back right up over the crown. I left with a full crew cut and I look like a boy! Now I have go back and face the students who all are expecting me to show up with waist length hair.