The Day I Gave Sophie a New ‘Do

Yesterday I did a very bold thing…something I have always left for others to do even though I had to pay them because I was scared I didn’t know how and my kids would hate me if I made a mistake. But yesterday, I decided to face my fear and just do it.

I cut my youngest’s hair...all by myself! ☺

Did she agree to it? Yes.
Was I scared? Of course!
Did she hate the end result? I cannot lie. Yes, she did. But I’m happy to say that things did turn out ok in the end. Whew!

I’m getting ahead of myself though, so let me tell you what happened.

For several weeks, I’ve been asking Sophie if she could have a haircut. You see, unlike her older sister’s, apart from almost reaching her waist, my youngest’s hair is very thin, uneven, and all over the place. Even when we tie her hair, some strands always manage to get loose and eventually mess up her ‘do. So each time I ask her if we could cut it, she would say "Just a tiny bit"…which, in reality, was hardly worth going to the salon and paying them money for. It was barely half an inch!

Finally yesterday, after asking her again, she agreed to have it cut until her shoulders. Hurray! Even though I told her that I would be the one to cut it, and asked her over and over if she was sure, she kept saying yes. So before she (and I ☺) could back out, I got to work.

Of course I was nervous. It was my first time and I had no time to prepare (no checking with Mr. Google on how to do it); only using a comb, regular pair of scissors and my hands to do what I needed to do. Luckily Sophie had just had a shower so her hair was still wet, making it easier for me to see if the cut was even.

I didn’t cut it until her shoulders, though. I was too scared to make such a drastic move, so I cut it until her hair reached below her armpits. I had to do several strands over again to make them look even, but I did it. Satisfied with that, and seeing that her hair in front kept going to her eyes, I proceeded to give her a fringe.

She was all fine and not at all fidgety from when I actually started up to the time I had finished snipping the bangs; but when I stepped back and told her how different and cute she looked, once she felt her hair, she started crying. Actually, she wailed! Apparently, she didn’t want a fringe! She kept pushing the hair back away from her forehead, and covering her eyes, crying in despair and disappointment.

Naturally, I felt terrible. My first time ever to cut my child’s hair, and she hated it. It didn’t matter if all of us thought it suited her. I even showed her my picture sporting a fringe I had a few years ago, and another picture of her sister with bangs when she was her age, but she wouldn’t listen. She simply hated it. She cried practically non-stop for 30 minutes and no amount of hugs, “I’m sorry,” and “You look cute!” would pacify her.  I felt really bad.

There wasn’t anything else I could do except just let her be, not comment at all, and pretend she didn’t look any different.

Finally, she looked at herself in the mirror. I don’t know if she grew tired of crying, or realized that it wasn’t so bad and we were telling the truth, or understood that it would grow out in time, but she stopped making a fuss. And when she eventually calmed down, she took my comb and starting fixing her fringe.

 And she did this almost every hour the rest of the day!

She even let loose and smiled gamely for my camera when I asked if I could take her picture. Hurray!

I know I’m speaking subjectively, but doesn’t she look much more cuter? At least now her hair looks thicker and the strands are even, right?

So did Sophie finally like the end result? Yes.
Will I do it again? Hmm…most probably…if it’s just a simple cut.

And I need to make sure that my kids will know and like the new 'do I’ll be giving them. No way do I want to have another drama like yesterday ☺

Have you ever tried cutting your child's hair? How was it?