This month’s blog isn’t so much hair related, as it is a message in self discovery and the courage to make a style change with your hair,  perhaps one you’ve always wanted to make.  You see for so long, I wanted to cut my hair short and bleach it platinum blonde.  The music artist Pink was, is and has always been my hair goal. You know, a short pixie and badass blonde?!  I even posted pictures on social media of cute blonde, short cuts I loved, but never had the courage or confidence to pull the trigger.  My hair defined me and I hid my insecurities behind it.  One of my industry friends, Mike Karg, kept suggesting for me to cut my hair short.  We even planned for me to be a haircut model for him when he came to Eugene to teach a cutting class last October.  Don’t get me wrong, my hairstyle and color has changed over the years.  I even had clients who couldn’t wait to see if my hair was different between their visits, but I always played it safe.  My hair had generally been medium length to long (except for that unfortunate Dorothy Hamill in middle school!), blondish or brownish for as long as I can remember.  

Last summer everything changed… I was diagnosed with breast cancer and received six rounds of chemotherapy.  It was guaranteed that my hair would fall out.  And it did.  In preparation my friend and coworker, TJ Wright, gave me an adorable short haircut.  To my surprise, I loved it!  Eventually, all my hair fell out and I was left bald.  Shocking as it was, I didn’t mind it.  I for sure missed not having hair and had some serious dark days, but now the lack of hair defined me in a different way.  It defined me as someone who was sick and fighting a potentially deadly disease.  

Fast forward six months… I was done with chemo and my hair started growing back.  It came in about the same color it had been before, but the texture was different.  My hair is now super curly!  As it has grown, I find that I like my hair short but still wanted to see what it would look like blonde.  I was hesitant, because I wasn’t sure how my post chemo hair would react, and I wasn’t  minding my natural color.  I was still daydreaming about short, platinum blonde hair and though.  And it occurred to me, screw it, it’s only hair.  So on a whim I bleached my hair blonde!  Two rounds of bleach later, four different toners, a haircut and a few weeks later, the jury is still out on whether or not I will keep it.  But, at least I can finally say I have short, bleach blonde hair!  #hairgoals

So, what’s the lesson here and where does the courage come in?  The lesson is:  I have learned that hair is just hair, it grows back!  What about courage?  Well, the courage comes from not letting my hair define me any longer.  It doesn’t matter to me anymore what length or color it is.  How I wear it or other people’s opinions don’t affect me.  It’s just f’ing hair.  I may not be the badass that Pink is, but I gained valuable insight on self discovery and gained some major self confidence along the way.  Isn’t time for you to do the same?

Richelle Brigola

Author Richelle Brigola

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