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Chop it off. Come on, I know you want to. It’s a good idea. Trust me. If you have been considering cutting your hair short, this is your sign. December is the peak time to do it.
Instant holiday small talk.
Has not much happened to you between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Is there an elephant in the room that you wish to avoid talking about? Getting your hair cut short is a good conversation starter for relatives and acquaintances, you don’t have to say anything, you just need to stand there and someone’s bound to ask: “Did you cut your hair?” This question opens the door for all different types of conversations. Here’s a short list of my favorite responses:
- “Yes, thank you for noticing. I got it cut at (insert place). Where do you usually get your hair done?”
- “Actually this is a wig.”
- “No, my hair has always been like this.”
- “No, my hair just shrunk. It can happen to anyone, so you should be careful. It could happen to you next.”
- “What? What makes you think that? Oh my gosh. Did someone use the scissors on my hair while I wasn’t looking?”
A visible way to see a year’s worth of growth.
Tracking how long your hair has gotten throughout the year is so much easier when you start in December because you can use the calendar to figure out how much your hair has grown. You can track it while being spared all of the “new year, new you” jokes of a January haircut. Knowing whether your hair grows faster or slower is a useful tool for making any future decisions for trying out new hairstyles. Even if you aren’t interested in learning how fast your hair grows, it’s still nice to see a visual representation of how you’ve changed in a year. Even if almost nothing changes for you next year, you can still say, “Well, at least my hair looks different from last year’s holiday pictures.”
Winter style bonuses.
One of the worst parts about going outside in the cold weather is having to deal with the uncomfortable and sometimes painful interactions between long hair and coat zippers. Short hair makes sure to stay out of the way of your zipper. There’s also that awful feeling of doing your hair, getting caught in a blizzard, and now it’s all wet and ruined. With short hair, there’s less to worry about. But wait, won’t your neck get cold in the winter with short hair? This is a perfect excuse to use a cute scarf. With long hair, scarves are always hard to put on and adjust. Short hair makes scarves easy and gives you a reason to wear one.
Many other seasonal benefits.
Typically, hair grows around half an inch per month. With that in mind, there are some benefits you can expect to experience throughout the course of the year. First, in February when seasonal depression is at its height, your hair will finally be long enough to put up in a little updo, which can add some joy and something new to that bleak month. In spring, many people have family gatherings for spring holidays like Easter, Eid al-Fitr, Holi, or Passover. This time the conversations with relatives will stem from how long your hair has gotten, but it still has the same awkward-silence-killing effect as it does during December. By the time it’s summer, your hair should be long enough for a ponytail that you can put your hair in while you swim, or do any other outdoor activities. However, your hair is still short enough to dodge the negative effects of having long hair in the heat. When it gets to be autumn, depending on how short you cut your hair to begin with, you should have an effortless looking shoulder length hairstyle that matches the cozy energy that fall brings.
Eventually, it’ll be December again before you know it. As you look back on the year you had and see how much you and your hair has grown, you could continue to let it grow and see where the next year takes you. On the other hand, you could always repeat the cycle of cutting your hair short in December again….