Carrie Bickmore: The Project host shares reason for dramatic haircut

The Project co-host explains how her dramatic new hairdo helped her “cut away the heaviness” of 2020 - and reveals the brutal feedback her late nan gave her when she sported brunette locks.

They say a change is as good as a holiday. Given I’m in Victoria and have zero memory of what a holiday is, I’m finding new and innovative ways of getting my kicks.

My latest cheap thrill? A haircut. Not just a trim, but a proper chop. The sort of chop you instantly regret and vow to start growing again straight away. Only this time I didn’t have any buyer’s remorse.

Just the simple act of cutting it felt liberating. Like a physical and mental weight off my shoulders. Like I had cut away the heaviness of 2020.

I’m not the only one sporting a new ’do. With hairdressers open after nearly three months of being closed, much of the state has had a shear, or is still desperately waiting for one. My hairdresser said she had more than 300 emails in one hour asking for an appointment. Barbers are harder to get into than a nightclub in the ’90s.

“Just the experience of sitting in the hairdresser’s, chatting with the stylist and having my head massaged felt like a win, regardless of the end result.” (Picture: The Project)

I can only imagine the internal gasps from stylists as they worked out how to fix the at-home hair jobs that have been attempted while in lockdown. I opened “Carrie’s Cuts” at my house, learning to shave, shade and colour.

Early on, my son declared with glee that he never needed to see a barber again, until he realised I could only achieve one look.

Meanwhile, my partner’s thick, bouffy locks just couldn’t be tamed. I gave it my best shot, but he looked more and more like a mushroom with every cut and I noticed he went from declaring proudly that I had cut it to throwing me under the bus whenever his friends would bag him out.

Weirdly, though, he’s yet to actually get it cut again by a professional. Perhaps he secretly likes it, or maybe he just doesn’t care anymore.

Carrie’s last bold look was not well received by her nan. (Picture: Supplied)

Some friends really grew out their hair or beards. One mate emerged from lockdown saying he felt very Brad Pitt in Legends Of The Fall. I didn’t have the heart to tell him he looked more like Tom Hanks in Cast Away. I honestly don’t think he would have cared what I thought, he was just happy to be out and about, and he was loving himself sick.

I feel the same about my own cut. The day I chopped my hair I bounced into a local coffee shop feeling lighter and the lady behind the counter said, “About time you cut it, you look 10 years younger,” while one of the direct messages I got on Insta just said “terrible look for you”. I’m always surprised/impressed with the frankness of people.

Unfortunately my nan is no longer around to give me her review of my cut. I remember her honest appraisal of Brunette Carrie a few years ago. It wasn’t pretty.

But this time around, I’m not sure I’d be bothered at all by her thoughts – or anyone’s negative thoughts – about my new ’do.

Carrie Bickmore features in this Sunday’s Stellar.

Just the experience of sitting in the hairdresser’s, chatting with the stylist and having my head massaged felt like a win, regardless of the end result.

So as we emerge out of our trackies and “Zoom shirts”, and back into civilisation, let’s keep some of that zero-f*cks-given attitude we came to know and love in lockdown. It suits us.

Carrie co-hosts The Project, 6.30pm weeknights on Network 10, and Carrie & Tommy, 3pm weekdays on the Hit Network.

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