Graduation Day

I’ve never been good with haircuts that have graduated lengths. In high school, my wedge never feathered the way Dorothy Hammill’s did. Rather, the various-sized layers conspired to form one fat strip that bent mid-strand, then stuck out on the side of my head. I looked like an eagle (Trust me. I have photos). More than 20 years passed before I let anyone layer me again.

In the early 2000s, a Princess-Di style came with copious amounts of layers. Unfortunately, said layers had a reunion and basically did the same thing they did the first time. So, I’ve basically resigned to being blunt-cutted ever since. However, earlier this week I came to discover that my hair can handle layering; it just needs to be cut correctly.

When I sat down at the chair of my long-time hairstylist Valery Joseph, I found that I had no choice in whether I wanted to discover this to be true or not. “We need a change,” he said, when our eyes met in his mirror. “Either we do something different, or we’re breaking up.” Uh…snap? He was right, though. So, next thing I knew, my head was upside down and he was slashing all this under-hair (what would you call it?) away with a razor. “It’s a technique I’ve been working on,” Val explained. “It gives a lightness to the hair, and you can part it anywhere you want.” He was right. I could. And my hair does feel lighter. Now, if only Val’s technique worked on thighs.