My hair and I have been through a lot: the good, the bad and the ugly. In high school, I envied my friends who could change the color of their hair with a snap of their fingers. Because I have black hair, it’s always been difficult to dye mine. At one point, I tortured the ends of my hair with bleach from a box, and for a while, I rocked that ombre look. But I swear, my hair wasn’t very happy with me.
While I rocked that ombre look, exactly a year ago, I decided to the side-shave hairstyle. The style was definitely on the cusp. And while I usually go through hair changes during the spring, which I attribute to some ethereal concept of “transitioning,” I just felt like it. Changing your look, trying to create a new experience, trying to change yourself is frightening but liberating. It might just be hair to you, but to me, it was a time to let go, to modify, put myself in perspective. To be honest, I didn’t really care whether I could “pull it off,” whether my parents or friends would approve or would like it.
Fast forward to present, that was my favorite hairstyle. No regrets. My philosophy is: it’s just hair; it’ll grow back.
The Spread 