Solo Selfie!

Yup, I'm about to post a self portrait.  Sorry, couldn't do the duck face.

I did it because I thought this biological side of things was interesting. Prepare yourself, it's all about hair, so skip this post now if that's boring to you!

Back in 2008:  I started growing my hair in January for our wedding in October.  It was the first time I'd ever had longish hair.  I started by cutting it short and just let it go with trims to shape it and keep it healthy.  Come October, I had "mermaid" hair that was just past my shoulders.

Early 2009: This is when we started to try and get pregnant.  I stopped the pill and had stopped thinking about my hair.  I just pulled it into a pony tail and went to work.  It was easy and it kept getting longer.  Now, when I stopped the pill I also stopped getting a period.  Enter the hormones!  First I was on hormones just to help me get a period.  After a few months, when it was clear it wasn't going to work, I started on the heavier hormones.  This was the summer of the best hair of my life!  It was the perfect smoothness, and thick and healthy.  It was a good length, mid-back, for mermaid curls and I almost always liked what it looked like.  I kept letting it grow.  (I would also like to interject that my nails began to grow crazy fast too.  This is all very similar to what I hear pregnant people say about their hair and nails). 

Summer 2010:  This is nearing the end of my hormones, after it's clear that they aren't working.  I am pissed that it didn't work and have totally forgotten about the good hair.  Again, up into the pony tail and throw myself into work. 

Now:  This is the first time I've had anytime to notice my hair.  I have recently been trying to wear my hair down again but it never felt like it did in 2009/2010.  I kept trying different products, different ways of styling and drying, but it always felt "gross" to me.

It hit me today that it was because the last time it was this long and felt good I was on the hormones!

Solution?  Go shorter!  I would say 7-8 inches came off today.  I still wanted to be able to pull it back so that I look familiar when I visit Dania - I don't want to be a stranger again!  (But, I bet the teeth will be enough of a reminder!)  Either way, this is the first time, since January 2008, I've seen space above my shoulders when my hair was down.  I can still pull it into a pony tail (with some bobby pin help) which was how Dania saw me everyday.  It feels better, still not as nice as it did when I was on the hormones, but it feels a lot healthier. 

I just thought it was neat to look at some of the biological differences of this process, as opposed to the sociological ones!