The Power of a Good Haircut

I’ve spoken before about the importance of appearance on a first date.  How we develop our own uniforms – a comfort blanket or dating armour, which make us feel more in control and confident when we’re out there meeting strangers.

But appearance goes beyond clothing.  And it’s incredible just how much your haircut can affect your attitude.

I can still remember the worst ever haircut I got.  A Groupon deal when I’d returned from travelling.  The horrendous salon (a place called Bamboo in Theale in Berkshire) chopped my fringe so wonky, even my step-dad spotted the issue!  They also gave me ‘highlights’ which looked more like badger stripes, down just one side of my head!

As a result, I’m so careful with my hair, that a year after moving to London, I still travel back to my trusted hairdresser in Reading, whenever I need a cut or highlights.

Your hair is something you see every day.  Something it’s near impossible to hide.  It can be the source of first impressions, both good and bad, and how happy you are with what’s on the outside of your head can certainly affect how happy you are on the inside.

As you may have seen from photos of me, I have rather long hair.  Or should I say ‘had’ …  For the last 12 or so years, the most I’ve ever had cut off my hair is the standard inch trim, every 3 or 4 months.  I love my long hair.  In a lot of ways, it has become a part of my own personal brand, because it’s looked basically the same, throughout my entire adult life.  Yes, I’ve dyed it a couple of times in the last 12 years, but the length has always stayed the same.

And so when I had the idea of cutting my hair a few months ago, it was a really big decision.  My hair doesn’t grow particularly quickly, and the look I wanted (Sharon Horgan’s hair in recent dating movie ‘Man Up’) would mean saying goodbye to at least 8 inches of hair! Eeek!

And then central London dating salon Muse of London approached me to ask if I would like to try out their salon.  And I saw it as a sign!

Maybe it was time to ‘man up’ myself (boom boom) and trust someone within central London to cut my hair!  If the salon was good enough for celebs, surely I could trust them with my locks?  And with a senior stylist on hand to take charge of my hair, maybe it was time to put my trust in her and go for a real change.

And so a few weeks ago I found myself in Muse of London.

Hayley, the stylist, was the perfect person to cut my hair, because she was totally reassuring.  She put the 8 inches into context, reminding me it would grow back, and suggesting I might not even think I’d gone short enough, once I’d got use to my new ‘lob’ (long bob?!).

And she was right!

It took some getting used to, but now I’m tempted to take off a couple more inches!

The funny thing was, what was such a big move for me, and seemed like such a big change, has gone barely unnoticed!  I went home the following week and no one even commented on it!  And the Rugby Boy admitted that if I hadn’t told him I’d had it done, he probably wouldn’t have noticed!  Whilst on the one hand that speaks volumes about men and haircuts, it also just goes to show how we can focus on aspects of our own appearances and see them as really big things … only for those around us to not even notice them!

So here it is … my new look! And one which has now been incorporated into the new Miss 29 cartoons!!! 🙂

Charly xxx