Cut My Hair, Never Felt So Cool

2025-05-26 08:52:27

A few years ago, I fell victim to the unavoidable
hair-chop epidemic
of the 21st century. You know the one.

And while I don’t regret the spontaneity and bravery of it all, I experienced something I wasn’t anticipating while caped up in the
hairdresser’s
chair.

But before I get too deep into my hairy reflection, I would like to add that at the time, the French/Italian/Fleabag
bob
was a relatively fresh trend. There was no commentary on the short vs. long debate, all I knew was that I’d had long hair my entire life and the world was telling me that the more hair, the better.

Watch: Indy Clinton opens up about the shock of postpartum hair loss—and why we’re never really prepared for what hair can put us through. Post continues below.

Previous to the chop, I was a fake blonde with a head of hair that I had been treating like an accessory for years. Looking back now, I realise just how much I relied on it for my confidence, my overall appearance, and the feeling of being… well, hot.

The weird part was that this feeling didn’t come down to hating the haircut. Actually, I loved the bob and felt worlds cooler than I ever had. It was giving chic. Giving effortless.

So, it wasn’t adding up. If I liked the cut itself, why didn’t I feel the kind of

hot

I had before?

The history of long hair.

I won’t go into a full-blown ancient history spiel, but you should know that the ‘long hair equals hot’ thing actually dates back well-before Rachel Green’s Pinterest-worthy locks.

Back in the days of Ancient Greece and Rome, long hair was a symbol of fertility, youth and good health. Basically, if you were a woman with short hair, you might as well have packed it up.

According to history (and

Game of Thrones

) men also flaunted the long mane back in the day. So when did it become the norm for

them

to embrace the chop?

Well, it came down to the amount of swordplay. Battles, wars, and general knight duties meant men needed to commit to the shear.

But at the same time, long hair also became a marker of wealth for women. The richer you were, the longer your hair, and the more servants you had to brush it for you. Men weren’t exactly big on this level of care, so thus the hair was choppeth!

The Miranda Hobbes effect.

I’m going to expose my true colours here.

But back when I first delved into a little series called

Sex and the City

, I had my reservations about our favourite feminist icon, Miranda Hobbes.

I knew Miranda was objectively the coolest and cleverest of the foursome, but for reasons unbeknown to me at the time, I couldn’t take her romantic storyline seriously with her short hair.

Let the records show that I recognise how ridiculous this sounds. But back then, my brain had been so thoroughly marinated in long hair propaganda, it had just never been shown to me that women with short hair could be sexy.

What does it really mean to feel free from your hair? This exclusive episode dives into the emotional weight we carry with our strands. Post continues below.

Disney princesses,

Barbie, Mean Girls

, Megan Fox, Paris Hilton, Kim K. Maybe it wasn’t explicitly said out loud, but for most of my life, my favourite pop culture icons were silently spreading that long hair = hot girl.

But needless to say, we’re slowly seeing hair hold less value in media. With queens like Miranda Hobbes triggering the domino effect of a rise in bobs and pixies without minimising their sexual appeal. We’re now seeing long-haired celebs like Florence Pugh and Zoë Kravitz shed their long hair and step into a new age of sexy.

Why does a haircut send us into a spiral?

This chop wasn’t the first time I’ve dabbled in a dramatic hair change.

I’ve had pink hair. I’ve had brown hair. I’ve had black hair. I’ve had bangs and I’ve had a fringe (and yes, they’re different). But never once in these, albeit slightly gothic, phases of my life, did I lose my ability to feel hot.

So why did this appointment in particular feel so

personal

?

Well, every other major hair change in my life hadn’t resulted in an identity-altering sense of self.

Cutting hair has famously been likened to a shedding of the skin. Memories of the past are discarded and a new identity is born. It symbolises ‘letting go’ and stepping into your new self.

It’s why so many of us reach for the scissors when we’re stressed, or fall for the post-breakup cut. Spoiler: step away from the salon.

So while I experimented with shades, foils and dyes, my sense-of-self was still the same at my core. I had my long hair and it didn’t matter what colour it was. I was still

feminine

. Still hot.

At the time of writing, I’m back to my natural colour and in the throes of the awkwardness that is the growth phase.

What I’ve learnt from this identity journey is this: two things can be true at once. You can feel cooler than you ever have, and still question why you don’t feel as

attractive

. After all, we’ve been programmed to feel that way!

So try not to feel shallow for it. Maybe, you could just feel like someone who’s figuring themselves out, without the hair they used to hide behind?

So no, I still don’t feel the blonde bombshell type of hot that I used to. But I feel the most myself. And honestly, that feels pretty hot too.

More on hair, identity and everything in between:

• ‘When I asked a hairstylist for a bob, his response surprised me.’

• The ‘rom-com bob’ is the main character haircut you’re about to see everywhere.

• The jellyfish haircut is everywhere, but would you be brave enough to do it?

Feature: Supplied.