Should You Cut Your Hair?

Whether you’ve recently grown that big mop sitting on top of your head, or your long locks have hit your hips since you were knee-high, that high ponytail headache isn’t much help when it comes to deciding how to handle it. But at the end of the day when we let down all that hair, what’s the real reason us girls get squeamish at the sight of scissors?

Jaidynn Maynard, sophomore at Fruita Monument High School, has had long hair since 6th grade after keeping it short up until then. Maynard describes how her confidence rises the longer her hair gets. “I really do think I am more confident with long hair. I also feel like it looks good on me and it’s easier to style,” she said.

But what exactly is this link between hair and confidence? Considering that hair is listed as one of the main elements in expressing human personality and identity, this plays into the way we see ourselves as a whole. That being said, this is why parting with it can be so scary, especially when we are unsure of the results.

Twenty-three year old student of Colorado Mesa University, Raena Anderson, suffered from these uncertain results after a botched haircut left her confidence shattered in 2012. “I just thought I would try out one of those super cool asymmetrical haircuts and it sounds really dramatic but it literally ruined my life,” Anderson describes. “It’s honestly still so hard to look back on pictures from that time because I feel like I’m not even the same person,” she continues. “I feel like myself again now that it has grown out… Like a girl again if you will.”  With her weave now to the middle of her back, and her wisdom stronger than ever, Anderson advises anyone thinking about cutting their hair to “consider the fact that it’s just such a dramatic change, and you have to think long term. Pretty much just be prepared to hate it,” she laughs.

Before you book your next appointment to go under the scissors, weigh your options, think long term, and ask yourself what is right for you. What is it that you want to gain from losing all that hair?