So here's something nobody really talks about: bad haircuts have this strange ability to completely unravel your sense of self. I'm not being dramatic here—okay, maybe a little—but hear me out. A few years ago, I walked into a salon with a picture of Ryan Gosling. I walked out looking like a medieval monk who'd given himself a trim with garden shears. And honestly? Those seven days I spent mostly indoors weren't my proudest moment, but they taught me something fascinating about how weirdly connected we are to our hair.
The thing is, hair is simultaneously the most meaningless and most meaningful part of our appearance. It's literally dead protein strands jutting out of our heads. You could shave it all off and you'd be completely fine, physically speaking. But psychologically? That's where it gets interesting. Our hair becomes this weird security blanket we don't realize we're clutching until someone takes scissors to it with way too much confidence and not nearly enough skill.
I remember day three of my self-imposed isolation. I was standing in front of the mirror, trying to convince myself it wasn't that bad, when my roommate knocked on the bathroom door and asked if I was okay. "I'm fine!" I yelled, definitely not fine, contemplating whether beanies were socially acceptable in 80-degree weather. The rational part of my brain knew it would grow back. The irrational part—which was running the show—was convinced I'd need to move to a new city and start over.
But here's what's actually wild: we've been obsessing over hair for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians wore elaborate wigs. Samson's strength came from his locks. Marie Antoinette supposedly went gray overnight from stress (probably not true, but the fact that we believed it says something). We spend billions on products, treatments, and styles, all for something that's technically already dead. It's like we're a species of extremely vain zombies, meticulously arranging our corpse accessories.
The worst part about my haircut crisis wasn't even the haircut itself—it was how much emotional real estate it occupied in my brain. I had deadlines, bills, actual problems, but there I was, spiraling over a trim that would be completely grown out in six weeks. It's embarrassing in retrospect, but also kind of human, you know? We attach meaning to the strangest things.
Eventually, I did leave the apartment. Someone needed to sign for a package, and my roommate threatened to describe my haircut to the delivery person if I didn't answer the door myself. Harsh, but effective. And guess what? The world didn't end. Most people didn't even notice. The ones who did were too polite to say anything, which is its own kind of mercy.
Hair grows back. That's the beautiful, frustrating truth. Whether you're recovering from an experimental phase, a scissor-happy stylist, or just the passage of time doing its thing, it comes back. Eventually, so did my confidence—though I now thoroughly vet any hairstylist before sitting in their chair. Some lessons you learn the hard way.
