As someone who made the decision to cut off a good portion of her hair two days after her high school graduation, I am familiar with the phases of a pixie cut. It doesn't matter how much hair is lost in the transformation to a pixie cut, there are a few phases one goes through in the aftermath.
1. Shock: It definitely takes some getting used to seeing a drastically different reflection in the mirror. I remember waking up one morning, glancing in the mirror and jumping nearly a foot in the air at my unfamiliar appearance. It is also an interesting feeling to run your fingers through your hair and have an unexpected drop off where you recall the rest of your now nonexistent hair being.
2. Pride: You are extremely proud of yourself for making this leap of faith into the unknown realm of pixie cuts. There is a shocking amount of diversity in the pixie cut world and you somehow picked the best one for you. This hair cut not only makes you look great, but you also feel great. There is something freeing about having nearly all your neck and facial features exposed to the world.
3. Surprise: Nothing makes you realize how fast hair grows than getting a pixie cut. I could have sworn I got my hair cut just a couple of weeks ago and it's already in my eyes again! Pixie cuts take a surprising amount of maintenance from the time it takes to blow dry, style, and make a hair appointment. If you don't have to blow dry or style your pixie cut every morning, I am envious.
4. Curiosity: What if I try this style? What if I go even shorter? Maybe I should grow my hair out again! For me personally, I went shorter and then later decided to grow my hair out again.
5. Doubt: What if it doesn't look good? What if I don't have the patience to grow my hair out again? What if I'm permanently stuck in the in-between stage? I asked myself these questions over and over again both when I was getting my pixie cut reshaped and when I was growing it out again. Remember how surprising it is to notice how fast hair grows in the surprise stage? In the doubt stage it feels like hair doesn't grow at all.
6. Acceptance: No matter if you decide that a permanent pixie cut is right for you or if you would rather experience a pony-tail again, acceptance is the last stage of the pixie cut journey. At some point in growing out my hair I felt at peace with my decision. My hair might not have been growing out as fast as I wanted it to, but I knew it would get to where I wanted it eventually. I might even end up cutting all my hair off again at some point!
I will never regret my decision to get a pixie cut and experience everything that comes with it. I encourage anyone considering a pixie cut to push on to that journey, you can only learn more about yourself through the experience.
