simont | (no subject)

I'm wondering whether I should get my hair cut short all over.

I've never had much patience with haircare; I'm one of the few people I know who has steadfastly refused to even try growing their hair really long, because no matter how good various people thought it would look, it would simply annoy me too much. Even the length I normally have it at causes enough problems – going into dandelion mode when I get caught in a high wind and it hasn't been cut for a few weeks, for example, or sticking up annoyingly when I get up in the morning. Also, I'm getting increasingly irritated with barbers who never quite seem to be able to do a proper job; the guy in charge at Il Barbiere is very good, but I seem to have about a one in three chance of getting him and normally get it cut by his junior who isn't nearly as good and often misses bits.

So I had a look in the mirror recently and judged the length of the longest bits at the front, and I calculated in my head that if I get it all cut short now then it probably wouldn't take more than a month or two to grow back out if I decided it was ghastly. But if it doesn't look too bad, then (a) I'd have a hairstyle which even an incompetent barber couldn't foul up too badly, and (b) I might even be able to maintain it myself at lower cost and greater convenience. Not to mention (c) strong winds and early mornings wouldn't bother it.

On the other hand, I'm nervous at the idea of looking ghastly for two months; I've never thought of myself as vain (you can't be when you look like a teddy bear), but precisely because of that I'd hesitate before making myself look even worse :-) And since my cheeks are quite chubby, I'm worried that if I get rid of the bulk of hair at the top of my head it will end up looking completely bottom-heavy. And I'm not 100% convinced that my rough calculation of my hair-growing rate is right, so it might take longer to grow back out if I don't like it.

On the third hand, I'll never know if I don't try, and the start of summer is the perfect time to try it because at the very least it'll keep my head nice and cool all summer, so I think on balance I'm leaning towards giving it a go.

If anyone has strong opinions or advice to give me one way or the other (especially if they think my rate calculation is way off), now would be a good time to shout :-) What I'd really like is some means of taking a photo and electronically doctoring it to give an idea of what it might look like before I try it, so if anyone knows of a way of doing that then that would be even better…

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Is it life endangering? no? then do it! That's my philosophy, anyway :)

I too dislike long hair (and would never grow it) because it's too much effort. I'm not sure I'm quite brave enough to have it that short, though...

I'd thoroughly recommend doing it.
Everyone looks good with really short hair.
In my opinion.

I disagree. OTOH I'd hope that

simont has the sense not to take hair advice from me... :)

Callously enough, this made me laugh. I'm sorry, but not sorry enough not to tell you. If you do decide to crop, it'll probably grow out faster than you think. Beware: you will feel a bit odd for a couple of days, as you'll try to brush Hair That Isn't There.

It's nice how it is. But the thought of short *cool* hair is a very appealing one in this weather. And hair grows quickly, and time goes so fast nowadays anyway...

Of course, this is from the girl who's wanted to try a short, almost Sarah-esque hairstyle since she was 16 and hasn't quite had the guts to do it yet...

I think it would suit you.

The amusing thing about this posting is that the wibbling about "should I cut my hair short?" is now accompanied by a picture of someone who's made their mind up and I keep thinking of temporal paradoxes (but maybe I've been watching too much B5 recently ;-).

FWIW I always got (IMHO) good haircuts from Reed's on Trumpington St (near Brown's IIRC) for around a tenner, so if irritation with barbers is a concern then I'd try them. I may just have low standards, though.

IIRC Dawn has some software from Cosmopolitan or something for virtual makeovers. It may not work as well for giving males very short hair, but it might have the additional benefit of helping you choose eyeshadow. (-:

If it's any help, my scalp skin seems to be in better condition that I thought it was, so that worry about hair shortening proved to be needless.

If it all goes horribly wrong, pretend to be your brother for a couple of months who's helping you out after a temporarily-debilitating accident. (-:

It probably will only take a couple of months at most to grow back, and I think it'd look quite cool. Number 3 razor all over. :)

(Not that I'd have the courage to do it. But then if I shaved all my hair off, it'd take five years to grow back.)