After getting married in August 2022, like so many other brides, I considered making a drastic change to my hair. Would I finally dye my hair blonde? Shave an undercut? Get a bob? It took nearly a full year, but I finally decided that I would get curtain bangs.
Was I ready for such a drastic change? I had never had bangs in my entire adult life. I was purposely low-maintenance about my hair, and hated the idea of needing to curl, trim, and style my hair every day. I joked that my forehead was huge and needed to be covered up, but I could not even fathom what that would look like.
And yet… I sat in my stylist’s chair in November 2023, ready to make the leap.
“I want to try curtain bangs.”
“Okay! You know that means we’ll need to move your part, right?”
“Huh?”
“Your part, you have a side part right now. For curtain bangs, you’ll need a center part.”
“Oh… okay.”
“Are you sure? It’s a big change!”
“… yeah, let’s do it.”
In retrospect, I don’t know if I would ever be ready – but I had been thinking and sitting on and waiting on the idea of changing my hair for so long, even before getting married, that I had to trust my gut and finally make the change as soon as the mood struck.
A little over a year later, I can safely report that my gut was correct – I wasn’t ready!
First, I underestimated the amount of time it would take my hair to adjust to the new part. I had had a side part for years and my hair was simply used to falling a certain way. I was so wrapped up in adjusting mentally that it didn’t occur to me that I’d have to adjust physically as well. It sincerely took my hair a year to be fully used to the center part – who knew!
Second, just like I worried about, I was not prepared for the upkeep necessary for bangs. Having a new haircut actually inspired me to start taking better care of my hair in general, and I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve likely used my hair dryer more in the past year than I had in the past 5 years combined. I’ve experimented with new brushes, clips, rollers, hair masks, and heat protectants, and have slowly built a long overdue hair care routine. I even treated myself to a hair dryer brush as a Christmas gift!
While I’ve learned a lot, I am still not sure how much time and effort I want to invest in my hair, especially on a daily basis. It’s been a gradual learning process, and maybe I’ll be more efficient and confident with time, but I’m honestly still struggling right now!
In 2025, I am still not sure what I want to do with my hair. I’ve grown attached to my new hair, but it still does not feel fully “me.” Every once in a while, I’ll sweep my part over to the left, where it was for the first 20+ years of my life, and I’ll look in the mirror and think, “Ah, I’ve missed you.” I’m grateful for what I’ve learned about hair care, but still find it so much easier to retreat back to my (lack of) routine. But I can’t shake the desire for change and experimentation as I get older. You can’t have growth without some growing pains, right?
Trisha Serquina 