making the cut!

So, as you may have noticed, my girls have very, very long hair.  Sure, I trim it on a pretty regular basis, but it just grew and grew.  As you can imagine, it took a long time to brush and because of the length they often needed help.  That often resulted in complaining because my gentle touch wasn't always so gentle when it came to tangles.

I'm no hair stylist, so I have always told them that if they wanted it cut for real, instead of just a trim, I would take them to a salon.  I also told them that I would not make them get it cut. That decision was theirs to make...the when, and how much to cut...completely up to them.  Some people, who shall remain nameless, thought I was crazy for leaving that decision up to the girls...or for letting their hair grow so long.  Homeschool stereotypes and all.  But when you have that much hair, with the potential of being naturally wavy or curly, it's a personal decision.  A decision made my the one with the hair.  Of course, when talking about haircuts, I always give the sound advice not to layer it because of the nature of their hair.  The liklihood of it turning curly is great and layers don't do well with naturally curly hair.  Yes, speaking from experience.   So the discussion of a hair cut increased over the past month or so.  Then I shared a story about a student at work that donated her hair to Locks of Love, then a friend of theirs at church did the same.  That was it.

The decision made.

Get a cut, donate it, have a cute new style.  On Good Friday they were ready.  In fact, they discussed it half the day and kept asking to go.  So off to the salon we went. Both girls got a hair cut.  The minimum amount to cut for a donation was 10 inches.  One obviously went with about 12 inches, then after evening out the ends this is what they got. 

The picture above is fresh from the salon.  They enjoyed the experience and are very happy with their new looks.  Ponytails are easier, brushing is easier.  In the humidity it's all a little wavy but it's so much lighter and cooler.  And when it's time to go to the pool it'll be so much better.  The best part about this whole experience is the final decision was made because they knew their donated hair would be helpful to a child that needed a wig.