The pixie cut. Often considered an unconventional and bold cut, the pixie cut was popularized by actress Audrey Hepburn in the 1950s and has continued to grace popular culture since. Celebrities who have sported the look include Mia Farrow, Emma Watson, Miley Cyrus, Anne Hathaway, Winona Ryder, Kiera Knightley, Halle Berry and more recently, actresses like Shailene Woodley and Jennifer Lawrence have jumped on the bandwagon.
For me, my hair evolved in stages. Since I first cut my mid-back length hair to my chin in eighth grade, I’ve always wanted, somewhere in the back of my mind, to go further and cut my hair in a pixie. I’ve always admired women who have pixies. They always look so chic and put-together. However, I was reserved and terrified it would end up looking terrible and I’d hate it. My sister often likes to bring up the time when I was in fifth grade, with long, thick hair, and I refused to allow my mom to trim it a little, screaming, “Girls have long hair!” So, I let my hair grow to my shoulders or past and kept cutting it back up to my chin, occasionally branching out and getting a shorter bob until about two weeks ago. That’s when I decided to just go for it and cut my mid-neck length hair into a pixie cut. And now I’ll never go back.
Here are the six perks of having short hair:
1. Shorter showers and less shampoo!
Instead of spending precious minutes before my 8:55 class trying to wash copious amounts of shampoo and conditioner out of my hair, all it takes now is a tiny drop of each and a few seconds until my hair is nice and clean!
2. Prep time is just a few minutes.
Say goodbye to a half an hour of damaging blow drying and flat ironing. Now, styling my hair just takes a few minutes. There aren’t even any tangles to work through! I’ll put some product in, maybe a little bit of blow drying and I’m good to go.
3. You save a lot of money.
Less product, less shampoo, less conditioner, less hair dye, less buying new brushes because your last one broke getting caught on a tangle in your hair (a pain I knew all too well from when I had longer hair.)
4. You feel lighter!
Coming from someone with extremely thick hair, cutting it short can make you feel so much lighter. No more fanning myself with my own hair in an effort to stay cool and keep it off my neck.
5. You feel chic and daring and sassy all at once.
Pixie cuts have always been associated with the daring. It’s an adventurous cut and the media is always all over it whenever a celebrity gets one (remember the hype over Emma Watson’s cut?). Getting one was definitely a bold move and, for me, it makes me feel smart and modern.
6. That knowing look you get from other girls with pixies.
If you’ve ever had a pixie, you’d know this look. Girls with pixies exchange it on elevators, in class, or just as they walk past each other. Next time, try to spot it as you observe two girls with pixies walk past each other! As a good male friend of mine once said, “girls with pixies seem to know something the rest of us don’t.” Well, maybe we do. But, I’m not telling.
Flaunt whatever length hair you have and never feel pressured to keep your hair long or short. You can be modern, chic or daring with any hair style. But, if you’re looking for any of the above six things when you go in for your next haircut, I’d suggest going for the cut. At the end of the day, it’s just hair.
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