Four Steps that Got Me to My New Haircut

I got my hair cut.  Short.  You can skip to the bottom of the post if you're really impatient and want to see the new do rightthissecond ;o)

But it all started about six months before we moved to Germany when I thought it would be a good idea to color my hair black.  I like to experiment.  That was a bad one.

So Step #1 = Color your hair black.  It wasn't bad because I hated the color... it was bad because I had to color it OFTEN (brown roots show up the worst!) and then when I got bored of black, Nina refused any drastic methods of coloring it brown again.  (i.e. she [thankfully] refused to bleach it so it would all be one color because she wouldn't ruin my hair)

So as Nina was helping me grow out the black (Step #2) by periodic highlights and a brownish-red at the roots, I'd been thinking for awhile that it'd be nice not to color my hair at all.  It doesn't seem like a very hippie-crunchy-earth-momma thing to do (chemical baths to my scalp and all)... and the other thing that was annoying was that the black line was pretty obvious as it grew out.

So I decided a cut was in order.  It just made sense.  The easiest way to grow out my natural hair color without it being super obvious.

But I wasn't ready to go from super super long to super super short, so I went in stages...

To commemorate the end of the longest hair I've had since high school, Kirsten did a mini photo shoot for me out by the rose bushes!

Thanks Kirsten for making me look and feel like a rock star for the morning!

So the long hair is nice.  It's my favorite way to keep my hair... mostly because it's easy.  I can go days without washing it, it braids nice, it goes up in clips nice, and it makes me feel pretty.  But let's be honest - I never left it down, it was damaged, and I was bored.  

Bye bye long hair.  Step #3 = Cut #1

Apparently my Dad isn't the only one super partial to my loooooong hair... I practically had to hold Nina's hand and FORCE her to make the first cut!  Bye bye long hair and bye bye black hair color at the ends!  It was fine at this length but not quite what I wanted!  (PS photo credit to me - first successful self-portraits in awhile!)

Ready for the short cut?  Ready?  READY?

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Step #4 = I FINALLY DID IT!  I've wanted to go this short for a long time but I always chicken out!  Not this time baby! (photo credit to Steph, edits by me)

I LOVE IT!  It's a super-fun-controlled-mess and it's way easier than I expected... I was afraid short hair would require a lot of styling each day.  Not true!  In fact, it's even better to start with bedhead because I just wet, gel, and GO!

I was also a little afraid that a short cut would make me look too boyish... less feminine.  Also not true!  I feel playful, sassy, and still plenty girly!  The flowery hair accessories help ;o)  Plus I'm all about eye makeup, earrings, and high heels lately.

Did I mention how easy this style is for me?  EASY!  I was so so so glad I cut it before the beach, because man is short beach hair the best.  

So there you go everyone - the hair pics!  Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go purge myself of all this narcissism by wiping the butts of my tiny humans and changing out of sweat pants.  

Holiday Hair

I wore a sock bun for the squadron's Christmas party last night.  Thanks to Amber for the inspiration! 

With a little practice, it would take less than ten minutes to make this classy, dressy little hairstyle.  It did not, however, take me less than ten minutes ;o)  In fact, we were running late because of it.  I kept having to redo it! 

We still made it to the party on time but we weren't able to hit the Otterberg Christmas Market :o(  Good thing we're going to be living in Otterberg for two more Christmases :o) 

The bun was totally worth it!  I love it because it makes my usually sad little bun (stupid thin hair!) look amazingly full!  Plus it's fast and easy (well, if you practice it a bit) and it looks really fancy.  AND since you don't need bobby pins, it doesn't pull or hurt at all!  Though I don't think it would withstand any dancing... thankfully no one really got out on the dance floor so I didn't have to decide if I wanted to sacrifice my hair to have fun.  My bun stayed in all night and I still had fun! 

Here's the tutorial I used.