How badly do you want to escape your boring old hairstyle? Is your regular stylist holding you back. If it was up to you, would you dare with your hair?
Apparently, Julia Roberts would. She was asked what would happen if she wanted to make a change that her go-to stylist was against. Julia told People Magazine in the May 2017 issue that, “I might have to go to Supercuts for that.”
Is your regular stylist holding you back?
My close friend, who is also my stylist of many years, was keeping my boldness in check. We both recognized that. She cared about me and was unsure of that sloppy shag I wanted. After all, that slick bob might be a boring old hairstyle to me, but it looked good too.
What if I hated the new style? Would that affect my confidence or worse, our friendship? I made a trip to Supercuts to help my regular stylist get brave with my hair.
Cheating on your hairstylist
Now, it is wonderful to have a stylist who is so invested in our good looks. But sometimes, you may have to break away. A visit to a chain salon was my escape.
My friend Debbie was even more adventurous. She got fed up with all the time she was spending trying to cover her silver roots. Her original color was so dark and her roots so white that she worried about looking like a skunk only three weeks after each color appointment.
She’d already stopped straightening her beautiful curly hair and was wearing it long and natural, like Evangeline Lilly on Lost. But that still didn’t deal with the increasingly prominent white roots.
Change your style icon
Then she really stepped out. She’d been informally mentoring an African-American girl from elementary school up into high school. As she became more involved with the girl’s family, Debbie ended up also playing big (sometimes bad) sister to the girl’s mother, who had weathered some setbacks.
Now an involved parent, hard-working employee and potential home owner, the mother returned the favor by introducing my friend to styles popular among black women. Black women could write the book of being bold!
Could you fall in love with a “fault?”
My friend first tried long, straight dark hair extensions. Now the exposed natural silver hair framed her face. It looked spectacular and trend-setting. You’d mistake her for an artist or avant-garde performer.
She’s kept the long extensions and gone back to a darker root color that is quick and easy. Debbie looks gorgeous. All because she got bold with her hair experiments.
Debbie got rid of her boring old hairstyle. She tried new style influences and stylists. She even spent some time loving on her silver roots.
Follow your gut
Shamed by my friend’s bold moves, I took advantage of a marketing pitch I was making to the Houston Supercuts franchisees. In good conscience, I couldn’t tell people to go to Supercuts if I wasn’t trusting them with my own hair. For maximum consequences, I had my hair hacked just two weeks before the presentation.
My Supercuts stylist had no history with my hair or with me. She was free to chop away and take me much shorter and more layered.
Be prepared to adapt your morning routine
Supercuts trains their stylists well. My stylist there warned me about the extra work I would have trying to work around my widow’s peak. I might be ready to abandon my boring old hairstyle but how was I going to deal with that pesky cowlick? Luckily, she gave me some tips until I’m ready to embrace my Morticia Adams hairline like these celebrities have.
Free from my boring old hairstyle!
Bottom line – my hair looked and felt liberated. It had lots of messy movement as compared to my buttoned up corporate style. I felt emboldened doing the marketing presentation later to Supercuts, even if we lost out to a bigger national agency. Hey, I came away with a new do.
I did go back to my regular stylist for my next cut. She was thrilled I’d made someone else do the initial style change. Seeing how well it worked and how much I liked it, she ruthlessly cut and layered even more. Our friendship was stronger than ever. And if I want to return to my bob at some time, she’ll take me there.
My new chop after a few months
Is your stylist playing it too safe?
Are you feeling like you and your regular stylist are playing it too safe? Ready to escape that boring old hairstyle? You could go to a Supercuts or other quick and inexpensive salon.
Or if you are really brazen, try something more outrageous like my friend Debbie did.
Like a one-night stand
Think of it as a one-night stand in an otherwise commitment relationship. Get that salon to cut or color in some new way you’ve been dreaming of. Love it or hate it, resolve to be proud that you broke out in this way.
And just in case it is a total disaster, you might find you look great in hats!
What’s your fashion break-out?
What have you discovered goes better with the bolder you? Hair, clothes, make-up, cosmetic procedure or that hated feature you’ve decided to embrace. Share your story!