“It looks a little bit like this: I’m sitting on my floor, thinking about the world, and you know what? My life sucks, and I need to change, so I think, how can I fix that?” Emily Thornton (‘25) said. “Oh my god, let me cut my bangs.”
Emily is just one of the many people that have made the often middle-of-the-night impulsive decision to give themselves a hair makeover.
Even though we strongly advise against acting upon these impulses, we can offer a simple guide on how to carry on with this process if the urge is simply impossible to ignore.
Not much is required to cut bangs apart from a proper amount of hair on your own head and a pair of scissors. However, even the choice of scissors plays a determining role in the result.
“You get out a pair of hair scissors you have in your dorm,” said Emily. “You’ve learned from the craft scissors era.”
Next, you must carefully separate the front part of your hair that will face the wrath of the scissors, in combination with your motor skills, if you desire for the final look to be somewhat presentable. Unfortunately, this is where most of us tend to slip up. If you’re not careful, your bangs will end up being too short or too choppy.
“You cut your hair in a weird, upside down, lopsided v,” Emily said. “You create these curtain bangs, but they are still face-framing layers. You decide they need to be shorter, until you accidentally cut them way too short…so you end up with weird, wonky bangs.”
If you are one of the unlucky ones, you must face the dilemma of choosing whether to let your hastily cut forehead fringe grow out naturally (which would mean months of braving public scrutiny) or succumbing to the status quo and seeking out your hairstylist for help.
“You go home and tell your hairdresser ‘Look, I made a mistake,’” Emily said. “They fix it for you and give you a lecture, but you still do it again — that’s about how it goes.”
Of course, it is an unreasonable expectation to follow these steps, when what led you here in the first place was irrationality and wanting a quick, visible change.
However, making impulsive decisions is a way to exert energy and get a sense of control in situations where you feel powerless.
“Sometimes making impulsive decisions can actually allow us to do something in a space with that energy that’s not as dangerous or interrupting our lives as another choice,” said Melanie Bauman, Director of Wellness.
Although it is an emotionally dysregulated response to stress, a sudden change in appearance is a safe way to release energy. Your hair will grow back, and even if you don’t like the bangs initially, you can always find a cute hair clip to pin them.
So, if you still find yourself standing in front of the mirror with scissors at 2 a.m., go ahead and cut those bangs, let that energy out of your body, and embrace your new self.
