Life Lesson

From Bad Hair Day to Really Bad Hair Cut

What made me think I could cut my own hair?

There’s no doubt that COVID-19 created many challenges and led us down new paths, but cutting my hair should not have been a task I accepted. Impatience forced me to make a choice that was so poor that I found it necessary to keep my hair hidden from view until the issue could be resolved.

It seems my hairdresser left town!

During the pandemic, with all the fear and panic around us, visiting the hairdresser was the last thing on my mind until I realized my hair was in a frightful condition.

By the time they gave us the okay to meet in public with a mask and distancing ourselves, I had over 3” of gray roots, and my bangs were hanging down over my eyes. When I called for an appointment at my favorite salon, the number had been disconnected.

Not wanting to believe my hairdresser was no longer in business, I drove to their place, and they were closed. Peering through the glass front, I could see all the shelves were empty, chairs gone, desktops cleaned off, and no forwarding phone number or address on the door. Now, where do I go?

Good time to let my roots grow out

Maybe it’s time to just let my gray roots grow out and wear a simpler style. In the meantime, I did have to use a root touch-up product and pull my hair back, thinking it was temporary.

Months turned into a year, and I was still pulling my uncut, multi-colored hair into a bun or something on the top of my head and spraying my roots. Then one day, while out shopping, I saw a woman at the register who had her hair the way I always wore it, sort of a non-fussy shag cut from the ’70s. I just want to wash my hair, shake it out, and go. No curling irons or blow-drying.

Desperation drove me to be bold enough to ask her where she had her hair done. She willingly gave me information, and with much anticipation, I called the number only to find a long explanation on her answering machine.

It went something like this: “I have just had an operation on my hand and won’t know for weeks if I will need a second one. Please call back at a later time.”

I did not leave my number and waited about three weeks before I called again. This time the message was more hopeful, as it said something about healing well and being back to cutting hair soon. “Leave a message.” I did. I told her about the girl in the store, even gave her name so she’d know what style I was talking about, and could she please call me back?

Nothing. She did not return my call. Another three weeks went by, and this time her message said she was back to cutting hair but limiting her days and times, which she listed, then ended with “Leave a message; I’ll call you back to make your appointment.” Once again, I left a similar message to my previous one.

After leaving another message or two, she finally left me a message: “I did receive all your messages; sorry I didn’t get back to you. I’m not taking any new customers!” I wish she had taken the time to mention that in one of her numerous messages. Anyway, now I had to start all over again.

Time to take care of the problem myself

I couldn’t even wrap my head around what to do next. Unfortunately, I took the matter into my own hands, went into the bathroom, dug out my hair-cutting scissors, and started chopping at my hair.

The ends were dry, so I cut about 8” off the bottom, then started working on the sides and top, although it didn’t look great, it was better than that ponytail or bun I’d been wearing, which was starting to make a sensitive spot on my scalp.

The front of my head didn’t look too bad, but when I looked in the mirror to see the back of my head, there was this bump right where the flat part of the top of my head met the slant going down toward my neck.

I tried flattening it out by wetting it with water, then I tried mousse, but neither worked; the clump of hair was still sticking out.

Grabbing the back of my hair from the bottom to the top, I attempted to layer it, thinking I could blend the bump in. When it didn’t flatten out, I thought if I cut it from the sides, it would look less noticeable, but there was no way to manage this thing. The more I cut, the more uneven it got, and the more I had to cut.

By the time I got done with it and gave up, the bump was still there, and I was left with a whole section on the back of my head that looked like I had taken a weed whacker to it. It was highly embarrassing, and now I didn’t have enough hair left to put it into a ponytail.

Time to find help

The search was on; I had to find someone who could now fix the mess I made. Luckily, a new hairdresser opened fairly close to my home. I made an appointment, died my roots before I went for the cut, and then explained my woeful situation to her.

She was kind enough not to laugh or show any sign of shock as she examined my grand faux pas and was able to cut around the bare spot, blending the rest of the hair in nicely, but it required cutting it a lot shorter, much shorter than I’ve worn my hair in years.

Time heals all wounds, and hair eventually grows back.

Only time could save me now. It took months to even want to show my face in public because the hair that was left, even though layered, went into shock as it always does when it’s cut and lies flat against my face with no body or life.

My family knew something about my predicament as I wrapped a scarf around my head before our visits.

I still cut my bangs occasionally, which I’ve done in the past between haircuts, but that’s it; no more crazy chopping. My hair-cutting scissors are not easily accessible now, as I put them in a bag in my closet, which gives me a few minutes to rethink what I’m about to do in the time it takes to dig them out.

A hairdresser, I’m not! I’m not even sure hairdressers cut their hair! Whatever made me think I could actually cut my hair and come out looking presentable? Desperation!

It will be at least a year before my hair is where I want it to be.

This is not something I would ever recommend, and I certainly will never try it again. I learned a valuable lesson from this: leave the hair-cutting to the professionals; it’s almost impossible to cut the hair on the back of your head correctly.