New Year, New Hair

In committing to my new year's resolutions of getting my hair situation in control (and blogging more about it), I decided to welcome 2015 with a fresh haircut - and then follow it up with regular trims. My entire life, I've cut my hair very infrequently and always thought the 6-week rule was a ploy by hairstylists to get customers in their chairs more often. But I realized they're onto something. When ends are split, hair can't reflect light. Infrequent cuts equal split ends which equal overall dullness. 

And on top of my infrequent haircuts, there's the fact that I've been cutting my hair in some form of layers since the 90s (the Rachel, anyone?). Layered haircuts require lots of texturizing and feathering to make the layers look seamless and those feathered ends,  when left alone, can get really ugly, really fast. I've essentially set myself up for dry, dull and brittle-looking hair. And I never want to be that girl again. So I went into my haircut with a list of criteria: 

• No layers, no texturizing. I'm looking forward to not dealing with those brittle, feathery ends again.
• No bangs. I've realized after years of studying photos of myself (you know you've done it, too) that I am just not a bangs person. No short bangs, no side-swept bangs, but because my face is so round, I did want a face-framing layer at about chin-length. 
• Minimal styling required. I once went from waist-length hair to chin-length bob, cold-turkey, but realized I was very wrong in assuming styling would take less work with such a short cut. Words of advice if you're considering a bob: Hair that flips out is not fun. This time, I wanted to get the length right and choose something that works for me. Long hair and very short hair can both be very high maintenance. 

In addition to my criteria, I also went to my new stylist with a number of inspiration photos. They were each slightly different, but she was able to get a good idea of what I was going for after seeing them all and  helped me decide on something I left very happy with. Some of my inspiration photos are below:

Besides the fact that Olivia Palermo is basically perfect, her hair is always so effortless. It's never over-styled and her cuts are never fussy. In this photo, I love her length and love that the cut is slightly angled.  

Again, perfection. In this photo, I love the slight curl she has going on in the front. It's not over-styled but still super feminine and softly frames her face.

  

While I could never wear such a flat style (thank you, big, round face), I love Emily's length and again, that slight angle. I also love that the ends look really piecey and blunt. See what I did there?

I said no bangs, but the length on this cut seemed perfect. And of all my inspiration photos, this was the color that most closely resembled mine, so it helped me visualize the final look a bit more.  

Because I'm always looking for a good deal, I used one of the best Groupons I've ever bought to get this cut. I paid $35 for $75 worth of services at Bradz Aveda Salon and Spa here in Austin. Because I'd heard good things and had a great experience at one other Aveda salon, I was very excited going in. 

My stylist was Olivia Shearfield - young, very sweet and pleasantly chatty. She was really patient, put a lot of thought into my cut and talked me through inspiration photo after inspiration photo, as I indecisively went back and forth through lengths and details. Once we finally decided on a look, she was as excited about my cut as I was. I liked her so much that, for the first time ever, I booked a second appointment with the same stylist -- and per her recommendation, eight weeks from now.

One length!!

Look at those marvelously blunt ends.