A change may make you smile

Sometimes when you’ve been working with the same stylist for a while one or both of you falls into a rut.  The conversation becomes, “Same color?  Clean up the ends?”  Reply, “Sure”.  Every once in a while the response will be, “Can we do some foils too?”  Not for lack of ideas but sometimes because these people are friends and have other business to discuss!  Sometimes we get caught up in tradition (and conversation).

I am always happy when a friend comes in and says, “Cut it all off!”, and means it!!  These are my happiest days.  I LOVE change for my clients!  You want some red highlights and you haven’t done that before?!  Excellent!  I have free range with your cut as long as it can fit in a ponytail?!  Lovely!  These are the best surprises for me!  I hope to start documenting them a little better and sharing them.  Sometimes I believe complete overhauls are where I do my best work.  They get me thinking outside the usual lines where we’ve worked for so long.

My first such documentation for you is my friend Kim.  She is fantastic and I am very lucky to have her whole hearted trust.  We’ve been through a few changes together but this was by far my favorite.  Kim is a working Mom of 3 who is always running somewhere.  She has some wave to her hair and felt the need to flat iron all the time.  She also has a lot of hair.  How much extra time does any Mom have in her day?  None.  The flat iron can be a lifesaver for most who use it but time is sometimes a negative factor and the more hair you have the longer it may take.  Let me give you a visual.  This is Kim’s before photo:

A lovely lady, right?!  I STILL like her hair like this.  If she wanted to grow it out at some point I would be all for it.  She’s lucky in the fact that she can go long or short.  You will see what I mean.

Kim came in finally ready for a change.  I phrase it this way because she has been putting limitations on those changes for at least two years.  “When this happens, I’ll cut my hair”.  She had finally come to the glorious realization of, “Why wait?”  I love this realization!  More on that in a minute.  I want you to see the lovely Kim’s after shots:

Amazing, right?!  She looks absolutely incredible with shorter hair and beautiful golden highlights!  I can’t take all the credit, she came in prepared with an idea.  Here are some side and back views:

Isn’t she cute?  So it’s a great look for Kim that takes her less time in the morning.  Additionally I am happy to report that she left with a hop in her step!  She seemed like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.  I am happy to have helped her feel that way.  (Thanks for the pictures Kim!)

So back to, “Why wait?”.  Sometimes in life we get stuck in the cause and effect or effort equals reward cycle.  We need to remember that a little change can go a long way.  So maybe finally cutting Kim’s hair short has helped to inspire her in other ways so that the other things she has been working towards she can be even more confident about while working towards them that much harder.  I don’t know if that’s true but I like to think so.  A small change within ourselves can sometimes go a long way.

Maybe you are recoiling at my thinking this is a small change.  Really?  It’s hair.  It grows back.  Will it pay your bills if you have it?  Will it get you a better job?  Unless you’re a hair model, no.  How would you change your look?  Spring is coming.  Make the change.  Cut, color, style, whatever you can handle.  Who knows, it may make you smile 🙂