It's time, once again

The skies are blue, the birds are chirping, little green shoots of life peer up from the earth. It's time. Time to cast off the old, bring on the new, refresh, renew. It's time for change, for fresh air, for new things.

It's time for the Spring Haircut.

My hair fluctuates from long to short. It doesn't happen annually, but there is a pattern. Usually, I cut it short once, then don't want to go back to get another hair cut, so I start growing it out, until it feels heavy and long and untameable, then I go and chop it all off again.

I seldom do more than blow-dry my hair. That's usually sufficient, but lately, it still hasn't looked "fixed," and I feel frumpy. I'm thinking (and this could change, of course) that it's time for a short cut, and this time I might stick to it for awhile. Which means, I have to pick the perfect one. Let's go through a series of images now....

Here is my first extreme haircut. It worked out really well, primarily because my hair was used to having a lot of weight on it, so it bounced up with lots of volume. The cons are that it eventually got used to not as much weight, and it flattened back down. Also, the back doesn't really look fixed to me.

Plus, this is basically what it would look like on a bad day (this wasn't the same haircut, but similar):

On my next short cut, I decided to take it to the extreme--the pixie.

The pros to this are that it's extremely easy to take care of. Sure, it still needs some kind of product in it, but usually just run through with my fingers, and no blow-drying. I could probably do that, even on a bad day. The cons are that I didn't, so there were days that I looked like a boy. Plus, the back was so short, it felt kind of weird. That was the only time I've had someone shave my neck. That was odd. It was at this point that I decided to grow out my hair again, which I did until after our wedding.

Spring came, and I again had the desire to cut my hair, but this time I went for a more fun, casual cut, that flipped out in the back.

I loved this cut, and felt it fit my personality very well. However, the cons are that it won't flip out about three weeks after the cut, and if I don't flip it out, it doesn't look too great. Also, I was putting about four different products in my hair, which seemed kind of ridiculous. To add on top of that, I was cutting it myself to save on salon costs, which worked out okay, but you can tell I can't cut bangs.

Looking at old photos today, it turns out I'd had that cut before, only I didn't work nearly as hard at it....

Back to present times, I kept that for awhile, and then started growing it out again. Here's what it looks like growing out:

It's really not so bad, and I wouldn't mind going back to that, but I think I want something a little more different than what I have now. The pros to that cut are that it didn't take any product, just blow-drying it out well. The cons are that this is the longest cut here, and it takes longer to blow-dry.

So it seems like the best one is the pixie, because it takes the least amount of work and product (discounting the longer cut). But I have to find a way to make it feel more feminine, with longer length in the back. Would that end up looking like a mullet? Ooh...scary....

Here is a picture I found probably a couple of years ago, and saved for that day (today) when I decided to chop all my hair off again.

It does have a little more length in the back, but I'm not sure it's exactly right. For example, I think the longer area around the ears might make my face look longer than it already is. And I have lovely cowlicks at the nape of my neck, so I might need even a little more length on the back than this photo suggests, to keep things laying properly. Then again, I'm wanting it to flip out, so maybe I should just run with it! :)

Anyway, now you know my dilemma. Basically, I want my hair to fix itself, and look fabulous the minute I get out of bed. Is that too much to ask? All I really ask is that I never have hair like this again:

Talk about out-of-bed beauty!!