A Trim of Triumph

Who knew that something as simple a task as trimming one's hair could bring such satisfaction? Not only does trimming the hair's ends defend against breakage, it is a symbolic act that is like releasing all your cares to the wind. In life, we encounter many tragedies and trials that weigh us down. Trimming the hair, or even cutting it completely provides an automatic sense of relief that is so esoteric. When life gets you down, cut your hair. It is a method of creative energy expelled through a pair of shears, bringing about a sense of change of the most indubitable proportions.

I once gave a homeless woman a makeover. Her hair hadn't been touched in what seemed like years judging by how long and matted it was. However, after the tender loving care given to her crown, the transformation I witnessed in the forefront of my vision can only be described as exuberant. Even through washing, detangling, and conditioning, her demeanor didn't seem to turn completely around until the final task of the cut was complete. It was as if I had not only cut away the tangles and matted locks, but the depression, sadness, and stress she said she had been experiencing as well. The scissors allowed me to give to what most is a routine grooming procedure, a life changing alteration for this woman. Her whole aura had changed, her confidence renewed. She was even able to go on and receive other services that she was desperately in need of.

Often I will decide on a whim to change my own hair via the strokes of the hand, the blades of the scissors working their way through my hair as if gliding effortlessly on their own. Many people, especially women, are afraid to cut their hair, particularly if they have spent lots of time and effort into growing it. To me, hair cuts are a sense of relief. They are representative of positive change. The thing about hair is that unless one had medical conditions preventing growth, it will always come back. Scissors help remind me that in a way, our need to have hair as women is superficial and vain. I have often been criticized for always cutting my hair, because I am a woman and women shouldn't cut our hair. Often hair can be a burden for many women, whether we are conforming to corporate America or adhering to what is deemed right and acceptable. The need to fry and dye, wring and frazzle the hair based on someone else's opinion is preposterous. Taking scissors to my hair serves as a reminder that women's happiness should not be dependent upon societal standards, but personal preferences.

I find that sometimes people associate their need for long hair with people, things, or events that happen in their lives. For instance, I had a friend in the Navy who had hair as long as Rapunzel. I never figured out how she managed to fit it in a bun so small. She told me that she kept her hair that long because her father who had died years earlier loved her long luxurious locks. Her long length seemed to be a last thing that kept her connected to her father whom she loved dearly. The proverbial light bulb went off when she told me her reason; if people with longer hair can associate their hair with people places or things they were fond of, perhaps my urges to cut my own hair were fueled by the need for change and distraction things that no longer served by best interests or made me happy.

Coming to this revelation helped me embrace the art of hair cutting. It will forever be a method of self rehabilitation and healing for me. Not only does trimming and cutting the hair benefit the hair itself, it is also metaphorical to the repair of breakage and damage in other aspects of life. To cut one's hair is to be made new and complete.