The Pixie Haircut: Why I Let Go of My Very Long Hair

So the question lately is why did I get a pixie haircut? Why did I trade my long hair for a pixie cut? Whatever was I thinking?

Note: Below is an updated photo where I got my pixie cut seriously trimmed at a fabulous hair salon in Taipei, Taiwan in September 2013. I first cut my hair in February 2012 and can’t imagine going back to long hair now or perhaps ever.

Have you ever done something really gutsy and brave, or gone against the flow of society, not because of peer pressure or hype or the “coolness factor” but because you and you alone were drawn to making that specific drastic move?

And did this decision, which you made of your own will and choice, did it turn out well? Or possibly, even turn out to be one of the best things you’ve ever done?

Oh and just for clarity’s sake: I am not looking for crazy stuff that lasts 12 seconds, gives you a super fast rush, but could potentially kill you or put your safety in a very compromised situation. I am looking for decisions that impact your day-to-day life.

Me, My Long Locks and I

Me, my long locks and I, we were quite the item. Inseparably in love as the physical bond that attached us. Up until that evening in Australia.

Sydney downtown, December 2011: Just before sunset one evening, after a full day of working, we were taking our hungry bellies to go grab yet another serving of Laksa (Malaysian Yumminess in a bowl), I came across a blown up poster of my favorite woman of all time, Audrey Hepburn. She was glowing as always, with her demure, confident, sweet gaze, the gorgeous eyes, the perfect nose, the royal neck, the lovely dress, and yet, the one thing I noticed about her this time was that killer pixie haircut. The type of a pixie cut that makes you drool and yet terrifies you to consider for yourself!

Oh.My.God!

Instantly, I wanted the pixie haircut, and what I want, I generally get! So I made up my mind to cut my hair without even processing the decision through the standard filters of paranoia, craziness, and logic.

I had not once considered cutting my hair that short in my adult life. Why would I? It is plain and simple crazy. A woman’s hair is her beauty, her signature mark, her touch, her blanket, her loveliness…

Can I be totally honest here? I used to believe that my beauty as a woman rested for a major part on my hair! I used to believe that I could never again turn another man’s head if I wore a super short cut – and yes, that matters even to a happily married woman for completely unrelated reasons than you might think.

I was convinced that I could not be feminine enough, sexy enough or beautiful enough with a super short do, especially the brave pixie cut, and that I was going to look too much like, well, a boy!

On top of that, I used to love those poor locks. They were long, beautiful, healthy, and lovely and on most days, they behaved rather well.

Obviously, I had really no compelling reason at all to cut my hair. A short cut just wasn’t for me.

And yet I got an urge from that Audrey poster that could not be silenced by any force. What if I did get a pixie haircut? What freedom! What boldness! What liberation! What new lines of courage to mark in the sand!

So the moment that I secured a trustworthy hairstylist, I went through with my decision. On February 8th, I swapped my long luxurious and glamorous hair for a super short do and it has only been the second most liberating, self-affirming right decision of my life.

The strangest thing of all is that I have not once missed my long hair. I have not for a second regretted my pixie cut. I embraced the new look and let go of the old as quickly as it came to be. And unlike many stories I have heard, I did not shed one single tear yet!

Amen to listening to that inner voice yet again! Do you listen to yours? Do you honor it? Do you in the very least acknowledge it even if you don’t always take action? That voice has yet to fail me, even if I have failed it many times myself.

Why I Really Got the Pixie Cut

As if Audrey Hepburn alone is not enough reason to call me to action …. she most certainly is but alas, I found even stronger reasons.

Once the idea planted itself in my stubborn head, I could not think about it without raging nervousness and borderline paranoia. Was I crazy? It was going to take years to grow back my hair so if the look did not suit me, there was no going back. My beauty would be lost and without it, my confidence would probably be shattered. That and a few other rubbish fears started to get in the way.

And that’s when it hit me: This irrational attachment of a woman to her hair. What on earth! It blinds us to the true beauty that we can portray with our face, our features, our eyes, and our outward demeanor. We hide behind that hair, we use it as a shield, a blanket, a distraction, and we grow unnecessarily attached to it, and I did not like that very much.

So the quest for the pixie haircut became the ultimate exercise in detachment.

I wanted to be free of something that was no longer serving me, even if I loved it. And I had outgrown my long hair for sometime now. I was bored with it. I wanted to explore with a drastic new look and not be weighed down by letting go.

When I let go of my six-figure salary, I felt richer than ever before, and believe me, I still plan on becoming obscenely rich on monetary measures too. But the irony struck: Letting go can be empowering!

What would I feel if I let go of my beloved locks? What if I can love me without them?

Why The Right Decisions Are Both Easy and Terrifying?

The best decisions in life are not necessarily difficult to make; you are not inflicted on the inside or torn between the two things that might be right for you. You know what is right because you know what you want and what steps need to be taken to get there. The decision itself then is obvious and therefore, easy. There is no complexity because you know the right path, and like a perfectly paved yellow road, you need to follow it.

Oh but the act of execution, the carrying out of that decision that you silently have already made in the depth of your heart, now that is nerve-wracking, scary and even terrifying. Or is that just me?

I remember that I used to think leaving the corporate world would be the most difficult thing I will ever do. It most certainly wasn’t. I was as attached to that company and to that job as I am on the dirt that piles up on my cycling shoes before I wipe them off super clean! So tending my resignation was one of the easiest things I did.

Yet, I was terrified! I remember pacing the cafeteria floors for my manager who happened to be late only 40 minutes. I remember recounting my speech and breathing to control the nervousness and yet no force of nature was going to stop me from doing the right thing.

The emotion cycle repeated for my pixie haircut. Even though the moment I decided to do it, it was a done deal, I still felt some healthy paranoia in the days ahead. I had a few freak-outs and probably sat in the car much too long before confidently marching in that salon to get the best haircut of my life.

And yet, these two have been the best decisions of my life. I can honestly say that I have not once looked back on either occasion. Not once. Not.For.A.Second, baby!

Top 10 Reasons I Love My Pixie Cut

So it turns out I was pretty wrong with my assumptions. The pixie haircut has been transformational to say the least.

Here are my top 10 reasons I love, adore, and highly advocate super short pixie cut:

1 Style: I have a chic style all the time, save for the first few minutes out of bed. And I have as many ways to wear this as I did my long hair so I don’t lack for variety.

2 Time, darling, time: I have to admit, you have learn to work with a pixie cut, and it does take some time, but nowhere nearly as much as long hair but the best part: No more hair playing when I need to focus.

3 Showers: The supreme ease of taking a shower with super short hair, the fun of running your hands on top of your head and pulling on the ends and having the water hit the back of your neck.

4 Facial features: I honestly feel like a new person. I have never seen the shape of my own head, the length of my neck and the depth of my facial features as much as I do with the pixie haircut.

5 Yoga: Doing yoga with short hair leaves plenty of room for inward focus. Even when I had my hair pulled back, I was always aware of it and it would always get in the way especially during inversions. No more!

6 Cycling and exercise: It rocks to sweat it out in short hair. It is easy and fun to manage hair on the bike or during any other activity when you are moving fast and furiously. Oh yeah!

7 Easy Neck access: I absolutely and positively LOVE having no hair below my neckline. I find it divinely stylish. I doubt I’ll grow it below my neckline for the foreseeable future.

8 Spooning: It is so much easier not to have all that hair in the way when I spoon with my hubby in bed, but movies will have you believe otherwise, so watch out! 🙂

9 Donation: I decided to donate my hair. I hope that it will go to good use, and if it reaches the right hands, I hope that it provides a service to others in need of hair.

10 Inner confidence: I actually feel more feminine, more confident, more beautiful, more stylish and sexier. Imagine that!

So if there are attachments in your life that have more than worn out their welcome, and about which you are doing nothing for the sake of routine or time or comfort, then I want to encourage you to infuse your life with a lot of excitement by doing something gutsy that has been weighing on you for a while. So please ditch the comfort zone, the bad relationship, the stale friendship or the wrong job.

I got my excitement with ditching the corporate world and getting a pixie haircut. How will you find yours?