Tessa James: What no one tells you about having short hair
SHORT hair was forced on former Home and Away star and WAG Tessa James, but she rocked it on the red carpet. This is what the cancer survivor has discovered about her new look.
FOR me, losing my hair was quite a big deal. Not the process of shaving it or knowing that I was losing it and not even being bald. But once it started growing back, having short hair bothered me. After what I’ve been through this may sound superficial, but as a young woman I associated feeling sexy and pretty with having long hair.
Having long hair makes you hold yourself differently — it makes you feel young and sexy. Having this new pixie do I had to make some changes, and not just to my wardrobe but to my frame of mind. I had to find other ways to make my self feel sexy and to really just rock what I’ve got!
I still have my days where I look on Instagram and think ‘God, I wish I had gorgeous long hair like Gisele, or a great bob like Lara Bingle’. But I quickly remind myself how strong and determined I am and how that makes me sexy.
There have been a few bumps in the road though. Here is a list of a few things that others failed to mention to me when growing my hair back.
1.You WILL be referred to as a boy. It’s no ones fault, it just naturally happens. And as I’ve discovered it’s actually quite funny and makes for a great conversation starter.
Example: I was in the lift with my husband at a hotel in Melbourne. As the lift reached the car park a bell boy was waiting to enter, the doors opened and my husband and I went to exit the lift as the bell boy went to enter he apologised for getting in our way and said, “sorry boys”.
My husband and I held in our laughter and I swallowed my shock. We burst out laughing as the lift doors closed. I mean really what are you going to do? My advice is just to go with it.
2. You can no longer where hats. After six months of wearing hats and scarfs the last thing I wanted to do was wear ANOTHER hat, but as the months have progressed, and as a previous hat lover, I have gotten the urge back. However, I quickly discovered that wearing a hat with a pixie cut makes me look like I did six months ago, which I would like to avoid. So I think I have some growing to do before I can pull my hats out of the cupboard again.
3. There is no such thing as sexy bed hair. I’ll admit I loved rolling out of bed, not running a brush through my hair and having it look messy — it was sexy. I’ve found with a pixie do, this is not the case. I constantly wake up every morning with flat hair and alpha sprouts up the back, which don’t scream sexy-bed-hair to me. Lucky short hair is super quick so a bit of water and product and I’m good to go.
4.It gives you a new lease on life. Like any new haircut you feel different, but I have to say with short hair I feel more sophisticated, confident and am more comfortable to experiment with my fashion. Which I LOVE. I now have a no-care attitude, which I will continue to have as my hair grows back.
Cutting or losing your hair is by no means a SMALL deal at all; I don’t care what anyone says. It is part of what makes you feel like you and when that’s taken away, or drastically changed, it is bound to affect you. What I have taken from this experience is the ability to be confident no matter what — even if I’m constantly referred to as a boy.
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