POV You’re A Girlie Who Just Got A Haircut

Day 1: She is reborn

It’s 2pm on a sunny late summer afternoon. A Diet Coke in hand, you throw on your 90s super model sunnies and strut out the salon door with 3 inches of hair gone. Your once thick, lifeless locks are now noticeably shorter, and your bob is giving you the renewed confidence of a mediocre white man.

You’re unstoppable bb.

This short haired alter ego who has just emerged is freaking cute and powerful and she’s ready to take on the world. Where to next darling? you ask yourself coyly. Is it time to shop for a whole new fall wardrobe? Do something else impulsive to match the boldness of your new hair? Get another piercing or buy a new bag perhaps? The world is your oyster babe! 

…on second thought though, keeping it real, you did move around your work schedule to get this done at 12:30 on a Thursday, so let’s get back to work. Those deadlines aren’t gonna meet themselves, girl.

Ok but first, obviously, take a video of yourself in the car.

Especially because you made a video of yourself in the car before you got your haircut. 

Now you have before and after content, slay

Oh, and text your husband. He’s gonna wanna see this.

Let’s take a few selfies first. 

Just a few, no biggie.

Video and photo content yeees killing it. 

Omg this truck in the background, please move sir.

… thank you 

Ugh I don’t like the lighting 

Why does the video look fine but a photo doesn’t? 

Try from another angle

Is it weird these are in the car?

…

You take about a dozen sub par selfies, eventually drive home, then proceed to take a few dozen more once inside. (Obviously) You finish up work and grumble a bit bc wow you look cute, but date night was earlier in the week before you decided to impulsively chop your hair (you literally texted the salon and snagged a 12:30 appointment just two hours before) and you have an early morning workout the next day, so a chill night at home with your cutie new hair it is. 

Day 2: She is skeptical

You wake up and stare at your day two hair in the mirror. The curls have fallen and it’s admittedly not as cute as it was yesterday. Slight dread rises in your tummy. You throw it up in a considerably much shorter ponytail and head to the gym. Post workout, you take your hair out of the pony and it’s now Lord Farquad vibes. Not curly at all, flat and stringy. The opposite of cute. Your worst nightmare. Ok ok, this is fine, it’s all fine, you tell yourself as you desperately reach for product.

Texture spray and dry shampoo, 321 lets go

Omg why is it simultaneously flat but also kind of poofy?

I don’t have a curling iron the right size anymore, hm.

Should I straighten it instead?

Should I shower?

Am I gonna have to wash my hair everyday now??

Oh please no, I’m too lazy for that.

Ok let’s dry shampoo it out a little more.

I dunno if I like this.

Let’s just… let’s just wear a hat. Your hair still looks cute in a hat!

Right?

Yeah. We love a baseball hat and a dress combo.

Ok this is fine. We’ll figure it out later.

You have lunch with a friend and have a lovely time. No one says anything about your baseball hat. Your hair is flat and gross and even though you loved your time out, you’re a little worried about your bob. Maybe this was dumb. Maybe you should have just gotten a trim instead. Ugh. Hm. I dunno. Hmph.

Day three: She is contented

The first wash day with new hair is an event. Reality sets in. Are you destined to live with regret after impulsively chopping your hair?? Or are you primed to meet the hottie that left the salon two days ago? Time will tell. And that time is now.

You shower. You wash your hair, this time with considerably less product (a plus!). Sabrina Carpenter’s new album blasts out of your shower speaker. You’re feeling confident and excited to play. After a few spritz’s of heat protectant, you blow dry your hair in record time (omg the perks of short hair!) and try to curl it with the random tiny curling wand you bought sophomore year of college when you literally didn’t know anything about hair. It is, as you expected, not the vibe. Tbh you never really learned how to use a curling iron properly and feel slightly embarrassed about it.

Undeterred, you brush out the curls and reach for your straightener instead. Ok ok, you know this is a lot of heat on your hair but it’s the first day of truly styling it so you just gotta go with the flow. All will be well you tell your cockeyed curls as you slowly and gently straighten each piece of hair. Ok, we’re getting somewhere.

Eventually, finally, you see her.

Ah! you think to yourself as you stare into the mirror. There she is.

It’s me.

Somewhere between the hot new bombshell that entered the villa and the frazzled girl with day two, post-gym hair covered up with a hat. It’s just me with shorter, lighter, cute new hair.

A haircut can certainly signal the start of a new chapter, a new era, a new season—but at the end of the day, a haircut can remind you that you’re still just you. You have everything you need to succeed. You’ve always been capable. You’ve always been enough. Maybe you just needed new hair to remind yourself.

You smile at your reflection, satisfied, contented, and ready for a new day.

Hi girlies!

Just wanted to pop in here and thank you again for reading my cutie essays. Since starting my Substack in July, it’s been such an incredible summer and I’m so excited for fall!

As always, if you loved this essay, please feel free to subscribe, share and/or tap the little heart button. Your support truly means the world and as a gentle reminder, paid subscriptions are available too, with perks to come! I’d love it if you come along for the ride :)

Happy September!

xx, Kristen