Life is spontaneous, and there’s always something out there for people to try. I see myself as an advocate for trying out new things, especially when it comes to personal changes and growth. Hair is one of those things people generally turn to whenever they want to signify a new chapter, or if they simply just want something new in their lives.
But, most of the time, people seem to shy away from dying their hair certain colors, or cutting their hair a certain style because of “myths” or other negative consequences that follow soon after changing your hair. I’m basically here to break them for you, and also give you reasons why you should just go through with the change.
1. One of the things I hear that discourages people from getting the hairstyle they want is that “they’re scared of damaging their hair,” and I know damaging your hair can obviously turn for the worse, but there’s nothing with hair you can’t fix. I personally use deep conditioners to fix the obvious damage that comes with bleaching your hair multiple times, but laying out a hair regimen specific to your hair type and texture can help, too.
2. Being uptight about keeping your hair hinders you more than helps you in the long run. I used to be one of those people preaching about how I could “never touch my hair,” or “never cut it” and let it just roam free. That is, I preached until I figured out that it’s emphasized by hair experts that you should cut your hair regularly (around every 4 months, which is when I trim my hair) because keeping old ends can stunt growth. Ever since I cut my hair, I’ve witnessed the growth.
3. It doesn’t hurt to dye your hair the color you want, and if you don’t have permanent hair dye, there’s always temporary dyes for your hair available. If you don’t want the color for long, you can just wash it out.
4. I believe being in college, this is the best time to start experimenting with your hair. With college comes adulthood and freedom, but not as much responsibility as someone working a full time job with a employer to impress (even though that’s kind of what some of us, including myself are striving for). I see this as the best, yet last, time someone will probably ever get to do things with their hair that may not be seen as “acceptable” in the work field. It is this fact alone that is motivation for some people to go crazy with their hair choices.
5. Being able to express yourself through your hair is one of the greatest ways to express yourself.
6. It’s a learning experience. If anything goes wrong, the great thing about that is, you’ve learned to never do that thing to your hair again.
7. Ultimately, hair is just hair, and hair always grows back! In the end, your hair situation either ends in something really beautiful, or something that grows into something beautiful overtime. As long as you are taking the proper care of your hair, you should be fine.
I believe it’s important to always be open minded about choices regarding to your hair, but obviously don’t overwork it to the point of frying it. Remember that everyone’s hair is different, which means that the same process could result in something completely different for you then someone else, but I think the uniqueness in hair results is what keeps it fun, exciting, and refreshing.
Photo credits: Cover photo, 1 contributed by author