Big life-changing question in 3...2...1...

[xSuperMario64x]

...should I cut my hair short?

I don't mean, like, shoulders short. I mean pixie cut short. more specifically like this picture here. my brother had the same haircut a year ago (shaved it now) and i adored it. I'm also prettty tired of my feminine appearance and since I started officially identifying as non-binary I want to give myself a more gender-neutral appearance.

the thing that makes this so tough is:
1. I've had long hair my entire life (usually keep length between my shoulders and waist) and I can't imagine it being short.
2. I feel like I really want to do it but I'm afraid I won't like it.
3. I literally just recently decided I want it so I wonder if I should wait maybe a week or two before I make a final decision.

one nice thing abt my hair is that it grows really quickly (like 7-8 inches per year) so even if I did cut it short and decide I didn't want it anymore I could easily grow it out.


I appreciate reassurance, stories from personal experience, and recommendations! and in advance I would like to thank everyone who gives advice (or any of the above things)! ☺

 

[Mariah]

Well we’re going to need a picture of you so we’ll know if it looks good.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

Well we’re going to need a picture of you so we’ll know if it looks good.

I mean... I know it'll look good cause I look just like my brother and the hairstyle looked good on him. (plus im not comfortable just posting my face on here lol)

im mainly just asking for personal experiences and recommendations

 

[EerieCreatures]

I can't exactly tell you what you should do, because it's ultimately up to what you want to do, but personally I don't see a reason why you shouldn't cut it! I did almost the same thing several years ago, cut my hair from just above waist length to a bit shorter than your example there. And I loved it, and kept cutting it short like that until about... two years ago now I think? But it was really nice, having it short like that, and I never regretted doing it. It felt really good and was real easy to take care of, and since growing my hair back out, I find myself missing the short style from time to time.

And as someone who's hair also grows really fast, if you don't end up liking it, it'll probably grow back out to something you do like more before you know it! One time my sister decided she was going to cut my hair for me and it was a total disaster, but after a while it ended up growing out really nicely and was the first time that I even really liked my hair being semi long. ^^
That said, it doesn't hurt to wait a tiny bit and think it over more? Just to make sure it's what you want to try, you could give yourself a few days to think it over and if you still feel like you want to cut it then I think you should absolutely go for it!
And really, I don't think there's much of a downside to cutting it, worst that happens is you don't like it and have to wait for it to grow out again, which isn't too bad. And at least then you learned that it wasn't quite right for you.

Don't know if that's helpful to you at all, but I hope maybe it is a tiny bit. ^^

 

[Pyoopi]

The only thing with these types of pictures is they hide the amount of maintenance to maintain the style.

So I guess that goes for you, like how much effort do you want for your hair?
The shaved look is cool but I've had friends not being able to continue as you need to upkeep the look. Especially if your hair grows fast.

I've cut my hair to the length of a pixie cut (my hair sits at my collarbones) and it was fun but in the end, didn't care to keep it. I like my ears covered, lol.

You could just start with length first to see how it feels and then try style later.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

The only thing with these types of pictures is they hide the amount of maintenance to maintain the style.

So I guess that goes for you, like how much effort do you want for your hair?
The shaved look is cool but I've had friends not being able to continue as you need to upkeep the look. Especially if your hair grows fast.

I've cut my hair to the length of a pixie cut (my hair sits at my collarbones) and it was fun but in the end, didn't care to keep it. I like my ears covered, lol.

You could just start with length first to see how it feels and then try style later.

my hair is honestly already pretty high maintenance, especially because it's so long atm and I have it styled so my bangs are cut. I've never had a perm before but both my mom and my brother have so i know they could help if I got stuck.
also it is true that having part of it buzzed would be tough cause my hair does grow so quickly. I would have to go in prob every 3 weeks or so to have it touched up.

I prob could just have it cut first and then style it later though it would prob he weird to have such long hair on top without the volume lol (also never considered how it would feel to not have any hair covering my ears lmaoo)

regardless I really appreciate the response!

snip

this helps a lot, thank you! :>

 

[EerieCreatures]

Ahh, I'm glad! ^^ I hope that you enjoy whatever you end up deciding to do with your hair!

 

[mermaidshelf]

I did a big chop and donated my hair to Locks of Love and I'm so happy I did. First of all, I love my hair and how light it is. It was the shortest I had ever cut my hair and I did it myself (woot woot, stay at home orders). Secondly, I felt good giving to a good cause. I say give yourself a week. If you still feel the same after a week, then you should do it! Even if you regret it, your hair will grow back and there's always wigs and weaves haha. It sounds like it would help for your gender expression but of course you can express your gender however you see fit! Learning to buzz your sides isn't too hard either. I learned to cut hair using a razor during this pandemic and it's honestly so much easier than I had thought. You can grow out buzzed sides to a pixie and let that grow out to a bob if you want to go a bit longer between cuts.

 

[Mr.Fox]

I'm really the last person that should be replying here...but I do want to point something out...

I've been shaving my head for years, and I couldn't be happier. Rolling out of bed knowing there's one less thing for me to do before my day starts is great. I used to get terrible bedhead, and I'd have to spend way too long trying to fix it with water or gel. I don't mean straightblading or anything like that, but buzzing it right down with a clipper set.
It's only worrying the very first time...because you're about to find out whether you have a normal shaped head or not lol

My advice...take it down as short as possible. If you say it grows back quickly, you'll get to go through 'phases' of hair length and see which one you like best. If you find you don't like any shorter length, then consider your current length your 'finish line' and just wait for it to grow back to what you had.

 

[CrankyCupcake]

Hair grows back, so I'd say that, if you're curious, try it! Even if you don't like it, at least you'll find out that you don't like it and won't do it again. If you never try, you'll never know. And... hair grows back.

What I'd like to suggest is to get a good hairstylist who understands your hair type. No matter what kind of style you want, there's nothing like a good cut that suits your hair type, and not every hairstylist trained to do the job goes that extra mile to understand how your hair will look in certain styles, and how to cut it so that it looks good on you.

I say this because I've spent years trying to find one who'd cut my hair to look good on my head, and not just cut that one specific style I want without considering if my hair type was suitable. (I like my hair short. Above the ears. My hair is thick and has a mind of its own sort of wavy and looks poorly in longer styles.) I finally found him. For the past 4-5 years, I actually look forward to getting my hair cut. It's very low-maintenance now. I just run my fingers through and that's it. I don't even own a comb. If I wanted to style it, I dry my just-washed hair with a dryer and use hair wax. My hair gets cut every 8 weeks or so. I think a good hairstylist should be able to cut a style that grows out well. This is particularly important for short hair styles.

TLDR: Go for it. Get a good hairstylist.

 

[JellyBeans]

I'd say just go for it!! while I haven't personally experienced things like this two of my friends did what you're wanting to (went from super super long hair to pixie cut short, and one has even shaved her head now) and they LOVE it! they wish they'd done it sooner honestly, I imagine it's such a relief to go from long hair to something much shorter and manageable. obviously to keep it short you'd have to get it recut pretty regularly (I think one of my friends does it every 6 weeks?)
and at the end of the day if you don't like it it's just hair, it grows back! if you don't like it short you might start growing it back and find an in-between style that you love

 

[daringred_]

going to echo everyone else and say go for it. if you're really worried, cut it off gradually first and see how you look in the mirror before cutting off the next bit -- which, really, you should do anyway to avoid going too short. not quite the same but i had waist length hair this time last year and i cut it all the way off to my shoulders in one go despite my nan and parents being apprehensive because my hair was so long and it looked good. (looks good short too though, so.) i could never go shorter though lmao because i don't have the jawline to pull it off. at the end of the day, hair grows back, and there's really no better time to experiment with styles than during lockdown where fewer people are going to see you if you ultimately think it looks bad.

 

[Bowie]

I say do it. I used to have waist length hair, cut it spontaneously to shoulder length, then a little below my jaw, and right now I’m planning to grow it out again!

It’s worth it just to see how you look. I look completely different with long hair than with short hair.

 

[MikkiC306]

I've always had super long hair. At one point I had it long enough that I kept having issues of when I bent over to grab something of the floor like a toy or something I would accidentally step on it and try to come up not realize and ouch! Lol. About two years ago I cut it short. Back was shorter to the bottom of my hair line and it go slightly longer towards the front. I loved the appearance and the way it looked with my face. Ultimately I haven't even trimmed it since (except myself a few times) and its nearly back down to my waist. I am super lazy about my appearance. There have literally been days I've been running so late to work that I didn't brush my hair. Up in a high messy bun it went tangles and all and done. I couldn't do that with the short hair. I had to straighten or curl the front, give the back some dimensions. I just got real tired of actually having to do something that I didn't want it anymore LOL.

That said, I do not regret doing it at all. One day, when my kids are grown and I don't have to rush like a mad person around my house before work because everyone is going to be late, maybe I will cut it again. Of course I have always invisoned myself as the electric grandma with super long gray hair bundled in a bun everyday so maybe not.

Do it. You got one life and it grows back.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

I really love all these responses! I think I will give myself at least a week and see if I still want to do it.

honestly the more I think abt it the more it kinda scares me lol, I've only ever known long hair. but part of the reason why I want to do it is because I've found that I constantly just put my hair into a ponytail or braids and leave them there anyways, so what's even the point of having them long if they can't flow?

 

[MikkiC306]

I really love all these responses! I think I will give myself at least a week and see if I still want to do it.

honestly the more I think abt it the more it kinda scares me lol, I've only ever known long hair. but part of the reason why I want to do it is because I've found that I constantly just put my hair into a ponytail or braids and leave them there anyways, so what's even the point of having them long if they can't flow?

Thats why I went short! My hair is never down. Its always up. I ended up really disliking the fact I couldn't put it up. Its lazy and I'm lazy so I need to be able to do it lol. I still liked having short hair though. I've never had short hair besides that time. Its always been past my shoulder blades. Its worth a try. My hair grew out long enough for a ponytail super quickly so right now is the time to try it for sure!

 

[Corrie]

This isn't the same thing but I recently got my hair cut to my chin. I had hair length down midback. I love it now! It's so much easier to manage! It takes me ten minutes to straighten, five to blowdry and I use far less shampoo! My hair grows back fast so it's almost touching my shoulders now after two months but it's definitely a length I want to go back to. I find that short hair grows faster because it's more noticeable so you will need to go get it cut more often, kinda like with straight across bangs. But since your hair grows back fast, I'd say go for it! Worse thing is that you don't like it but it'll grow back so no big deal!

If you're uncertain, give yourself a time frame and after that, if you still wanna do it, then do it!

 

[Kaiaa]

Unless you’re styling your hair everyday, short hair is so easy to deal with and isn’t very high maintenance! You’ll save money on hair products and time by not having to take as long to deal with it. I used to have short hair (and my hair is extremely curly) and loved it, now my hair is super long and I want to get it cut again. You should definitely cut your hair short! My boss had that same haircut you linked and it was super cute on them. And if you don’t like it, you said it grows fast. It’s just hair <3

 

[princess.looking.for.frog]

I think it looks rather good though maintaining a perfect curly look if you dont have curly hair naturally is hard-

 

[MikkiC306]

I am so shocked by how many people felt that short hair was less maintenance. I must be more lazy with my long hair than I gave myself credit for. You guys got me feeling a wreck! I rarely blow dry it or straighten it. Never curl it because I suck at it. I literally spend less than a minute on my hair every morning. Jump out of the shower, messy bun. Wake up, messy bun. Yall I've got so much style!