“A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life.” -Coco Chanel
Today I watched yet another video of a young lady who did a big chop on her birthday after being on a ‘growth’ and ‘hair care’ journey for a few years.
The one thing that each woman says, regardless of any additional reasons they might give for cutting their hair, is that they want to do something different.
They get on video with excitement in their voices about the new changes they are about to make in their lives; new goals, new relationships, new endeavors all of which starts with a hair cut.
If you just look at this practice on the surface one might think it’s a bit strange, yet all women do it. They cut their hair and it means way more than, scissors, a close shave and fancy earrings.
According to Owen Gould, a celebrity hairstylist:
“Hair holds so much more energy than most of us are aware of. Some women use it as a security blanket whose purpose is to shield and protect, while others use it as a secret weapon to tease and entice,”
“It can be used as a statement, an air of strength, a ‘don’t f*ck with me’ effect,” “and cutting it off can be incredibly liberating. Whether it’s to signal the end of a relationship or a new promotion at work — there is usually a direct correlation between what’s happening on our heads and what’s happening in our lives.”
I couldn’t agree more, there is an air of “I am serious this time” and “don’t mess with me” with every stroke of the shears and every snip of the scissors. There is a sudden renewal and newness that is unmatched when compared to anything else you might do to yourself to signify change.
So what might it mean when a woman cuts her hair?
Screw you and your beauty standards
“You have a round face so you cannot possibly wear your hair short, it wont look right” , or “wearing your hair long is what makes you beautiful”, How many times have you heard these statements?
These days making such claims is almost primitive as we have single handily watch women do the big chop and love it so much they never get to the growing out phase. Short hair is its own standard of beauty and it is clearly not driven by the shape of your face or body for that matter.
Getting rid of distraction
This one is weird but if you are known for your hair and what you do with it sometimes breaking free from those shackles can be difficult. To get rid of the distraction and to be more than ‘just hair’ sometimes you just have to cut it all off and start fresh.
Yes, everyone will be sad, some people might even call you selfish for it especially when they are depending on you to get them through their own growth journeys. The truth is once you make the decision to let go there will be casualties that you must be prepared to deal with or not deal with depending on your state of mind.
When you have that huge ‘from rockin’& you get that feedback from someone who will never have the experience of wearing hair that luxurious, that real…. You know why the big chop isn’t a little snip
*Huge ‘fro rockin’
when you’ve never had short hair..big chp short…it feels Freeing. I really do less to my hair now and everyday it’s the look you were going for
I loved the big chop I was able to donate it to Locks of love and now it has grown back. However, I like shorter better. I am currently scoping out the next style for my next cut.
Because as black women our hair is a part of my beauty and we cherishes the woman feel so great about herself that’s why
I was going to cut my hair and my bf flipped out. NBD to me either way but I guess it matters to him
Because it takes time to grow
Just my opinion , I feel when a black women cuts her hair down,it’s showing an inner strength. Cutting out your past striveing forward to a prosperous future.
Most coveted and attributed to beauty, so cutting can sometimes be rebellion or freedom!
It never has to me.
Cutting my hair is like cutting my nails. It grows back.
Hair shouldn’t be a defining point, it should be a styling canvas.
I just did it. Its freedom!