Sophistication Sundays - The Haircut

My sophistication muse, Audrey Hepburn
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Sophistication Sundays will revolve around my favorite beauty finds, techniques, fashion trends and anything else "pretty" that catches my eye. I look forward to sharing these ideas with you and hope to hear your suggestions and feedback as well! I am no expert at beauty or fashion by any means but perhaps that will make my thoughts more relatable. Simply put, I'm just a girly-girl navigating my way through the fabulous finds I come across.

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Well I have to start off by apologizing for my noticeable absence the last 3 weeks. With the end of the semester closing in on me and projects and papers to finish I was simply swamped. So needless to say I finally finished with finals this last Monday and for the rest of the week I was out of town participating in some very fun UST Choral Alumni events. It was a great chance to relax and reconnect with college friends and one of my life's truest loves, choral singing.

So now that I've made my peace it's time to address the real subject of the post: my haircut. To give you the back story, I have always had long hair. I grew up with my mom quoting the bible verse about a woman's hair being her "crowning glory." Needless to say I eventually cut my hair just to my shoulders in 7th grade, without asking, and was subsequently grounded. :)

After all those years of long hair I became quite attached to my own. I was careful to never cut it too short but often heard a voice in the back of my mind saying, "I'm kind of tired of long hair... this is boring." Still when I thought about cutting it I kept thinking I would somehow lose my "femininity." It's funny how much hair can become a part of you (or rather, what you believe is a part of you).

I had been putting off cutting my hair for what seemed like a long while. Finally I was feeling sick of it and decided well I should just cut it! For inspiration and a haircut that wouldn't shock me too much I looked to this Jessica Simpson cut from a few years back & a very talented youtube "vlogger":

Jessica Simpson

I thought this cut was pretty simple and incorporated bangs (a must for my lovely, somewhat large forehead haha) and would help my hair appear thicker.

Lola Marie 7

Would you believe I just recently started looking to YouTube for beauty and hair tutorials? Lola Marie 7 is by far my favorite. She has great tips and always makes me laugh. I loved how voluminous her hair looked here and I loved her bangs.

So here is a "before" pic. Not the greatest because my hair was ratted and pieces were crimped for Beth's 80's themed birthday party. You can see how dark it is and although the picture only shows the front layers, it all came down to just below my chest.

Annnnnnnd After:

In the end I had 8.5 inches cut off. The most I've EVER cut! I felt like the final product was a happy medium because it was a tad longer (just below my collar bone) than the original pictures.
I quickly realized it wasn't that drastic but it was definitely a change. My hair felt healthier and thicker and I kept asking myself, why didn't I try this before?!! Nathan even noticed RIGHT AWAY (yes, big deal for a guy) and commented more than once that he really liked it. You know that's what every girl wants to hear from her man after a haircut! ;)

So the lesson I learned here is not to be so afraid of taking risks, particularly when it comes to fashion and beauty. Maybe you're hesitant to try a crazy nail polish color or a bright red lip. Perhaps you've been eying the trendy jumpers or feather hair extensions. Why not give it a try? In my experience I've learned that I usually don't regret trying something new and fun.

~Christi