A cascade of hair

“People say women shouldn’t have long hair over a certain age, but I’ve never done what everyone says.”
~ Jane Seymour

It has taken roughly two years to get my hair from super short to what could be described as a cascade of hair. I first cut my hair short when I got pregnant with my son, then I grew it again and then when my daughter was born I cut it again. Over the years it gradually when from a shoulder length bob to chiseled bob cut that followed the line of the chin and was shaved into the nape of my neck. That is one of the problems with short hair that when you fancy something new the only way to really go if you want something fairly instant is shorter. Eventually you end up with shorter than shorter short.

I had tried a couple of times to grow it out but it always got to the annoying stage where it was not one thing or the other and my impatience would have me cutting the style back in.

What changed? My daughter has beautiful long thick dark hair. Really, I mean it is like a dark shiny river of hair that the older she got the more she perfect it seemed to be. I would sometimes dry it for her after a bath or shower and loved the way it felt and looked. I will admit I was a little envious of it’s beauty and the fact she could do pretty plaits and other fun things with it.  I kept thinking about growing mine but then talking myself out of it until one day I realised that if I didn’t do it soon I never would. Hair growth is something that slows with age and the thought of never having long hair again made me sad and so I decided to give it 6 – 9 months to see if I could at least get it to back round my shoulder.

To say I was surprised how well and quickly it grew is an understatement. I had hoped to get it long enough so that I could put it into pigtails. I passed that milestone probably a year ago now. Currently it just grazes the middle of my back, roughly where my bra sits but it continues to grow. I just had it trimmed yesterday so I have lost about an inch, but it is glossy and thick and I absolutely fucking love it.  Pigtails and plaits (braids for the Americans) are totally a part of my life again now. Most days I straighten it but the truth is my hair is naturally a bit kinky, just like me, and so sometimes I just leave it and let it be it’s wild self. I am not quite ready to embrace the amount of grey in it though and so I continue to dye it but I love how it looks with the rich red or purple colours running through it.

I can’t ever imagine going back to having it short again to be honest, despite what people say about women of a certain a age. Or maybe even because of what they say. I love my long hair. I think it suits me and I enjoy it. I am curious to see just how long it will get. It has exceeded all my expectations so far and I would love to get it long enough so that I could have one long plait that came down over my shoulder. But whether that happens or not I don’t really care because it pretty damn fabulous just the way it is.