No, today’s not about budgets. It’s about a HAIRCUT! I know people get their hair cut all the time, but I average… like, two cuts a year. Having long hair, that was about as frequently as I needed to get to get the ends cleaned up! But this time, I decided to go for something a little more drastic. Here’s the before!

You can tell the ends are in need of some serious TLC. And to be blunt, I wanted change. It takes me a long, LONG time to blow dry my hair, and letting it air dry typically takes a couple of hours. And it’s not like it looks amazing when I do let it air dry (see above), so I usually ended up throwing it into a side braid or messy bun. And while I do love my side braid, I wanted something that looks good on its own without any heavy styling. I have this lovely natural wave in my hair, but it’s almost never seen because I either put it up or end up styling the waves out of it!

So I chopped it off!

And boy was I nervous! I’d been growing my hair out for FIVE YEARS. You don’t just cut it all off without thinking about it! I spent last weekend with Katherine Bignon, who just cut her long locks into an adorable angled bob, and I loved how carefree it felt.

I’ve never been someone who likes spending a ton of time prepping before going out- the less I can do to my hair, the happier I am. And I really did miss my natural wave! Now, with the weight of my long hair gone, it can wave as much as it wants! It’s taking a bit of getting used to, and I’ve worried a bit that losing my long hair somehow makes me less “Abby Grace” than before. Which is totally stupid, because it’s not like chopping my locks all of a sudden means I’m any less old-school chic, any less of a French lover, any less talented as a photographer.

We took a total of 14″ off!

I’m still getting accustomed to it, which means I’ll do things put on a coat and then go to pull all my hair out from under the collar, only to realize it’s no there anymore. And brushing my hair the first time was weird- I put way too much force into it, expecting to have to drag my brush through waist-length hair, so I accidentally ended up throwing my brush on the ground. Oops!

All in all, I’m a happy camper. I’m excited that I’ll no longer have to budget a full hour to do my hair before leaving for a wedding day anymore, and that I can now play with styled that I previously couldn’t because my tresses were too long!