Like many women (and men too), I’ve always been vain about my hair. It’s the one feature that still gets compliments in this youth-oriented society. Worn long since puberty, it gives me strength and a sense of security. Older women with long hair were once considered eccentric, but thankfully, attitudes have changed. This is what I wrote in Feb. 2012:
It used to be that women of a “certain” age were expected to have shorter, more “mature” hairstyles and those of us who kept ours long were considered radicals. (I prefer the term “hippie”, myself. 😉 )The times are a changin’ now and anything goes. Say thanks to those of us from the Baby Boomer generation; the largest age group on the planet. 😀 Read more ►
I was still suffering through the hair dyeing drudgery at that point but gave it up a few months later. From Oct. 2012:
Thanks to us, the Baby Boomers, there are some new catch phrases being flung about. Who hasn’t heard “40 is the new 30”, or “50 is the new 40”? So, it follows that we’ll be hearing “60 is the new 50” (or optimistically even, 40), yes?
I’m certainly gung-ho about those!
My new favourite? “Grey is the new blonde”. Yes, indeed. After dyeing my hair for over 40 years, I am finally FED UP with the whole thing! You become a slave to it; every 4-6 weeks, without fail, otherwise those dreaded grey roots become oh so visible.
You know what? NOW is the time to embrace one’s “greyness” and revel in the independence. Liberation from the drudgery and mess! Read more ►
There was a follow-up after seven months:
On Oct, 9, 2012, I wrote about kicking the hair dyeing habit and letting it go natural. Well, it’s May 2013 now and the last bit of synthetic colour was applied one year ago!I have cut it twice; four inches in the fall and five inches the other day, to speed up the transition. Let me tell you, that was difficult because like Samson, long hair gives me strength. It’s my “security blanket”. Read more ►
Notice the recurring theme here? 😀
I seriously don’t like getting my hair cut and May 2013 was the last time:
Before and After – Minus five inches!
It’s two and a half years later now and my hair is longer than ever. Time for a trim at least, to get rid of the split ends (not many), or, should I be more drastic and lose several inches? Decisions, decisions….My friends say, “trim only” and that’s what I’m leaning towards, but, I still haven’t done it. Maybe next week!
♫♫ Letting my Freak Flag Fly!♫♫
P.S. Do you like this song? Come back on Tuesday, December 1st, when it will be the featured Battle of the Bands selection. See you there!
What’s your preference? Long hair, short hair, no hair?
How do you let your “freak flag” fly?
Looking forward to your comments!
MORE FROM THE BLOG:
LATEST FROM INSTAGRAM:
Follow THE DOGLADY’S DEN on WordPress.com
Discover more from The Doglady's Den
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
37 thoughts on “ALMOST CUT MY HAIR!
PERISH THE THOUGHT!”
Love your hair. I keep mine at shoulder length now, just for the ease of it, and yest I get it colored several times a year. Still trying to find that strawberry blonde of my youth. LOL
The gray hair pops out, but it’s much worse on the eye brows – pluck, pluck, pluck!
Someday maybe I’ll stop the dye too, but not yet ready. 🙂
Bravo to you!
Thanks, Yolanda. 🙂 I went with strawberry blonde towards the end, trying to make the grey blend in a little better. Yes, you have to be ready to stop the habit. It’s a difficult decision for many. I felt so liberated! Easy on the plucking – ouch!
Well Debbie dear- I like the song, I love your hair, and I LOVE your attitude… HATE people who try to make others “act or do what they think… Act you age= stupid. Do what you feel is right for you, and shake that long lovely hair, let it low in the wind and enjoy. be happy:-) Big hugs
Thanks, Eli. You are so right! Hugs back 🙂
Your hair is gorgeous! My vote is for a trim only. For now. If you’re debating it so much, it may mean you’re just not ready for a serious cut. I used to have long hair, really long thick hair, and it was beautiful but I always wore it in a pony-tail because I couldn’t stand it in my face. I just got tired of putting it on top of my head all the time. And in the Texas heat, having super thick long hair isn’t always pleasant. So I bit the bullet and did a drastic cut. To very short. No hair on my neck! I call it my “Menopause Do”. And I love it! In fact I’m going in for another cut on Tuesday. It’s so easy to take care of (but my hair has always been easy to care for: shampoo and go. I never even blow-dry).
But you have to be ready for it Debbie. Because once it’s gone, it may be gone forever: you may like your short hair and therefore keep getting it cut short. I could grow mine out again but choose not to.
Will be anxious to see what you decide to do.
Love the CSNY song here!
Happy Sunday!! Thanks for being you!
Michele at Angels Bark
Thanks, Michele! 🙂 I’ll likely never have short hair. This mane is too much a part of my personality and I hate getting it cut. It needs a trim, but I’m even stalling to do that. LOL One of these days…..
I bet you look great in your “Menopause Do”. 😀 I’ve never even put my hair up (very unflattering) let alone cut it short.
Yup; strictly “wash and go” for me too, except on very rare occasions when I’ll stick some velcro rollers in.
Glad you like the song! I found a couple of excellent covers for Tuesday’s BOTB.
Thanks for dropping in and have a great week!
Hey Debbie…
I totally get u…Love ur hair..esp the length 🙂
Thanks, Ananya. 🙂 It’s part of my personality.
I’m so glad you decided to go natural, Debbie. My mom started dyeing her hair when she was 19 (premature gray runs in the family, apparently, though it seems to have sort of skipped me). She turned 70 this year, and she’s *still* dyeing it—her original (we assume) brunette color. When does it stop, I wonder? As for me, I had a dye job 20 years ago when I was modelling—and swore never ever to do it again. Yuck, man. My hairdresser has learned to stop suggesting it; now he just sighs over the multiplying gray strands 😀
Hi, Guillie; Apologies for the late response. Your comment somehow ended up in the spam folder; a WordPress glitch. 😛 I started dyeing my hair at 15 just for fun, but noticed grey roots at 25 already. I agree it must be hereditary; my father was white at 23. It stops when you get tired of the drudgery. 🙂 For me it was age 57, but my mother kept at it well into her 80s. You’ve certainly had an interesting life! Modelling must have been exciting and now you’re an author. Grey strands give you character; they’re trophies of having lived life to the max, yes? Here’s to “Grey Power”. 😉
About twenty years ago, I decided I had had enough of the getting-my-hair-cut-every-6-weeks BS and started wearing it in a ponytail, disparaging comments about men with ponytails be damned. I added a beard this year. I have no one to impress anymore. Mary had been dyeing her hair when it started going gray, then decided that was stupid and just let it go natural. She got more compliments about her hair when she did that, and she really looks good that way.
Yours looks great, and if you want to keep it long, go ahead. I remember at my brother Pat’s wedding Mom made all kinds of catty remarks about my sister-in-law having long hair after 40. She’s happy, and that’s all that matters.
I turn sixty next March, so I’m declaring that 60 is the new 20…
Hi, John; I think older men with long hair and ponytails look great! 😀 Like your wife, I get many compliments on my natural hair now and it’s so liberating!
We are a young-minded lot, here! I’ll go for “60 is the new 20” or even Shady’s idea of 66=16. Have a good weekend.
It’s been a crazy busy week, sorry I have not responded sooner.
Getting my hair cut is something I hate doing. I don’t know why, I just do. But I hate long hair. Once it starts getting over my ears and close to my shoulders, it’s time to get a very short cut. The problem is, my hair is very straight and almost unmanagle when it’s short. And just about the time I think I can actually do something with my hair, (outside of just flop down in my face), it’s too long.
Personally, I think whatever works for you is best.
Hi, Jeffrey; These posts are always open and there’s no time limit on commenting. 🙂 No need to apologize! I’m usually a late responder, as well.
You hate getting haircuts but like short hair, so I guess you’re stuck. 😉 Luckily, I can get away with not going often, but it’s overdue now.
Do you like the song? Think I’ll tie it into the next BOTB. Wish I’d thought of that before publishing the post!
Have a good weekend.
Yes, I think that would be a perfect song for your next BOTB instalment. 🙂
Thanks. This is one of those, “Why didn’t I think of it before?” moments. DUH! Oh well, I added a postscript. Found a couple of great covers, too. 🙂
Hi, Shady; Sinead O’Conner?! Yikes! Kidding aside thanks for the compliment. 🙂 “To thine own self be true” is a good motto, right along with “You’re as old (or young) as you feel”.
I’ll never understand why some people are hostile to tastes and opinions other than their own. What a stifling world it would be if we were all the same! Your site, your music, your rules. Give ’em hell! 😉 Love the Jimi Hendrix lyric!
Your hair is fantastic. You are fantastic. The end. 🙂
Thank you, kind sir. 🙂 High praise, indeed. Happy Thanksgiving, Myke.
I just love watching women with long hair bunch it together and with a clever twist, wind it around the back of their heads, holding it in place with a lovely clasp, sparkling with fake diamonds.
Sigh… I will never be able to do that. I’m lucky if I can wind a wisp around a little finger. Har har… or should I say hair hair.
If I had your hair, I would never cut it either. Do you ever wear it up?
That’s a good look for somebody else. 🙂 I’ve never worn my hair up, Angelika, because it’s too unflattering, (yes, I have tried it), plus I like it best long and flowing. Your hair is a lovely shade of silver – nicer than mine, which still has dark underneath.
Your hair is gorgeous, Debbie, and I LOVE the natural colour! I’m envious of the length – I would love to have long hair, but mine is quite fine and thin and tends to get very wispy when it gets past a certain length, so short is better for me.
Thanks, Laurel. 🙂 I’m so relieved to be free of the colouring drudgery. Your hair looks great on you. 🙂 Fine hair would be difficult to grow long.
Growing up, my lit’l sis and I could sit on our hair. Hers was to her butt and mine was passed my thighs, and thennnn, THE DOROTHY HAMIL WEDGE! Yep. Since then my hair has been long, short, and thanks to chemo – gone! – But I realized I’m a short n’ sassy, spiky hair kinda’ gal and I love it short! You do have beautiful hair Debbie. Both of my sisters have long beautiful hair so I’m sorta’ the odd sis out but that’s okay, guess who’s hair is dry and ready to go in 10 minutes?? This sister right here. 😀
Wow from super long to super short! That must have been quite an adjustment. 🙂 Losing one’s hair to chemo, even more so. Your sassy, spikey “do” really suits you, Karin. Short hair is definitely easier to manage, although, most days, I just “wash and go”.
I have always, always, wanted to have long hair, but mine is naturally curly and very frizzy and it always looked a mess when it got long. Now I’m reconciled to it and prefer to keep it short. I also admire women who look great with gray hair, but because my husband is ten years younger than I am, I’m not going gray until he does! (And I love that CSN&Y song!)
Nice to see you, Elaine! 🙂 Curly hair would be difficult to grow long. Heredity played a big part in my grey hair; my father had it at age 23 and I started getting it around age 25. Sounds like you’ll be colouring your hair for quite awhile, yet. I did it for 42 years and got tired of it. 😛 That is a great song and the perfect match for this post. Thanks for visiting!
I can’t imagine having such long hair. I never had long hair in my life. If you ever did cut your hair, you would probably have a lot of people upset with you LOL. As far as the color, I love grey hair but so far, my hairdresser can’t even find one single strand, so I probably will never be one of the boomers where grey is the new blonde.
My husband would definitely protest if I cut it too short, Carol. 🙂 Amazing that you don’t have any grey! My mother only started getting some in her late 50s, but my father was white at 23. I guess in your case “Blonde is the New Grey”. 😉
For myself I’ve tempted to shave my head, but my wife thinks a little hair is better than a bare head. I used to wear my hair long, but those days are long gone.
Arlee Bird
Are they still saying “Bald is Beautiful”? 😉 Shaving your head all the time would be even more of a drudgery than hair colouring. I remember you recently posted a photo of yourself from the 70s with the “hippie” hair. Looked good! 🙂 My husband still keeps his hair somewhat longish at age 65, but it’s thin in front.
I love your hair, Debbie. Glad you’re not a slave to the dye bottle anymore and are letting it do what it pleases. Good for you! And growing it long is wonderful. Might as well celebrate having such beautiful hair as it is part of what makes you unique. I just started dying my hair to cover the grey and you’re right, it is a drag to do it every 6 weeks. Not sure how long I’ll keep it up. I resisted doing it for years and then finally started.
I like keeping my hair short just because it’s easier to take care of and I’ve always had thick and heavy hair. It’s always been one of my nicer features, too and I liked the beautiful red colour that I inherited from my mom who had lovely hair. I like my hair better than my plump thighs! LOL! Don’t think I’d have the patience to grow it long like you have though. I’m too used to it short like this now.
Red hair is beautiful, Cathy. My synthetic colour ranged from auburn to strawberry blonde. 🙂 Now the grey gets favourable comments.
I saw a couple of pictures you posted and thought you looked great! 🙂