Hair Update

Now that the holidays are over and I’m out in public more again, more people are noticing that my hair is much longer than it used to be. This has led to a few explanations about why I’m growing it out, and naturally a few comments over how it looks.

(Though this is something I’ve never really understood, I realize that from a linguistic standpoint, “changes in hair” is deemed a socially acceptable topic to bring up. And for some reason, there are many who feel their opinion on hair is something that demands attention. Maybe one of the reasons this doesn’t really click with me is that someone has to have drastically changed their hair for me to notice it’s different. We’re talking, dyeing it a bright purple, or shaving it bald. Anything less isn’t something that registers with me for some reason. And so I don’t really care what people do with their hair. I might find some styles better looking than others, but I can’t remember ever telling someone what they should or shouldn’t be doing with their hair (or clothes). Maybe I’ve made comments to my kids once or twice? Or given my opinion if someone asked for it? But even then, it would have come with a big disclaimer that I don’t know what I’m talking about.

So when people tell me they think I should cut my hair, or that my hair looks too long, or that I need to dye my beard or cut my beard or shave my beard, I just kind of scratch my head, smile and nod, and then ignore whatever it is they’ve told me to do. I don’t see that my hair is anyone’s business but my own.)

With that said, I’m definitely noticing how long my hair is getting, and at times I feel like a sheep that really needs some shearing. If I didn’t have the end goal in mind, I likely would have waved the white flag and cut my hair weeks ago. There are just things about long hair that I didn’t realize would ever be a thing. The way it gets in my eyes all the time, blocking my vision, or making it difficult to look down at something without constantly pushing my hair back so I can see.

I’ve taken to wearing some hair clips at home when I really need to concentrate on something in front of me, but I don’t know that I’ll ever feel comfortable wearing hair clips out and about. Maybe if I got some cool Batman ones or something. 🙂

People who have longer hair have told me that it gets easier. That right now my hair isn’t heavy enough to weight itself down, so it’s just poofing more and more out, but that this isn’t something that goes on forever. That’s good, because my head’s big enough already without my hair helping so much. However, I’m not sure what I’ll do with it once it’s even longer. Maybe a pony tail? A bun? (Librarians are always supposed to have their hair in a bun, right? Does “librarian bun” outweigh “man bun”? Braid it? I don’t know. I suppose I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

How long is it right now? Probably around . . . 4 inches on the top? But probably more like 2.5 on the sides, where it had been cut the shortest. Which means I likely need to grow another 11 or so at least to get to the point where I can donate 12. That’s another 22 months of hair growing, folks. In other words, get used to it.

I haven’t changed my mind about the decision at all, in case you were wondering. Yes, it can be a pain (and washing it is becoming more and more of an ordeal), but it’s been fun to see the changes as time goes on. It beats stamp collecting as a hobby, that’s for sure. 🙂 Maybe I’ll have to get a new author photo at some point. We shall see . . .

And because enough of you have asked, here’s a picture of the present length: