On Hair & Self Care with The Chapel London
Recently I was invited to The Chapel London to have my haircut by the lovely Luke Gilbert.
On what felt like an impulse due to it being my birthday and a mad Pinterest session pinning photos of J-Law’s GREAT hair, I decided we should chop my hair off.
Surrounded by The Chapel’s lovely interiors, and sipping on a complimentary mint tea & fizzy water, distracted by lots of chocolate, snip by snip my long(ish) hair was cut off.
Why am I going on about getting my haircut? I hear you wonder … a haircut is just a haircut right?
You see that’s what I thought too, until it wasn’t.
I hadn’t realised how much I’d fallen back into a habit of rolling out of bed 5 minutes before I left the house & perhaps haphazardly slapping on some BB cream & mascara on the tube (if I could be bothered). I hadn’t realised that somewhere between stopping drinking, and all the inner work I’ve been doing, I’d stopped bothering with my outer appearance.
Convinced somehow that it was vain to care about my looks, about my hair, and my makeup, and my clothes. Yet our (my) appearance is precious, it is how we present ourselves to the world – and more importantly to ourselves.
When we (I) take time to look after my appearance, I am taking the time to care for myself.
From the moment I stepped into The Chapel, I felt special, cared for, looked after. I had nothing to do for that hour and fifteen minutes except be looked after by the people who were cutting my hair.
It was an occasion, not a chore.
And my new shorter hair requires styling, I can’t just scrape it back anymore (trust me I tried, “tuft” is how I would describe that situation) and in the styling and washing I’ve come to appreciate these moments as my time, part of my #boringselfcare routine. An occasion, not a chore.
Daisy Buchanan writes beautifully and carefully in her book How to be a Grown Up about learning to wash her hair & the meditative power of taking the time to wash it:
This simple, often daily act of hair washing transformed from a chore to an occasion. Looking after the outside to help you take care of the inside. Stepping back, taking time to care for yourself.
The haircut at The Chapel London kickstarted this for me, and it is the every day that keeps me going. The joy I’ve found in washing and styling my new (short) hair kick started the self care I began to find in painting my nails, washing my face & even brushing my teeth.
You (I) don’t need permission to enjoy looking good, to enjoy feeling good, to luxuriate in the meditative state of washing your hair, to celebrate bothering to brush your teeth – you brushed your teeth, go you! – to spend money on a great haircut, to spend money on new shoes & a dress that makes you bum look great, to save every penny of your paycheck if you want too.
You (I) don’t need permission to take care of yourself.
Thanks to The Chapel London for cutting my hair & enabling me to spend the money I would have done on a haircut on hosting for this blog, and thanks to Luke for cutting my hair & in the process helping me to take care of my outside again xxx
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TriumphantTales / Brilliant Blog Posts
May 26, 2017 @ 12:10 PM
Nice to think of something as simple as hair washing as self-care and luxuriate in it.
May 26, 2017 @ 12:14 PM
This post came in so timely for me, really! Not just with hair but with makeup for me. See I live believe that I’m just not that into Makeup but the truth is, there’s the fine line between not being a makeup person and simply not caring. Thanks for sharing and the reminder that I sure need to put in the effort because it matters! ?
May 26, 2017 @ 3:03 PM
YESSSSSS!!!!! I am a firm believer in taking care of myself in order to then take care of others. I often see women rushing around trying to accomplish so many things, but their appearance fails to live up to that standard. I understand that it is hard at times, or we don’t want to invest too much in ourselves as to appear vain. But, this small investment in ourselves is needed, and can return so much more. Great article. By the way, your hair cut looks super CUTE!
Thrifting Diva
http://www.thriftingdiva.com
May 26, 2017 @ 6:13 PM
I agree. Amidst all that’s going on in our lives we often forget about taking care of ourselves. I’m glad you were reminded of how important it is. I think it’s awesome that you decided to cut your hair.
May 26, 2017 @ 7:04 PM
Rut’s can be hard to get out of, and a hair change always brightens me up and helps me get back on track. Glad you found that too. I love the cut!
May 27, 2017 @ 3:58 AM
My grandmother told me a log time ago, words I have always heeded, to always put on makeup ad comb my hair. every single day, o matter what happens, how great the day, how awful the day, just always do it. And I always have!
May 27, 2017 @ 6:26 AM
Your hair looks fantastic! I always love going to the salon because I can just be in the moment for awhile and be pampered. This is a good reminder to do more self-care!
May 27, 2017 @ 6:35 AM
Your hair looks really good short, it’s nice that you’ve now managed to change your routine a bit x
May 27, 2017 @ 12:14 PM
I honestly haven’t had a hair cut in probably a year and a half. I really need to go get one! My son is almost 9 months old now and I need a change, and a pamper day lol
May 27, 2017 @ 4:28 PM
I love your short hair! I recently chopped all of mine off for a similar cut. It was the best decision because I love it so much!
May 27, 2017 @ 5:52 PM
That is a very cute haircut! Perfect for summer! I am going to cut mine too, not sure how I want to do it yet! Shorter hair is a bit more work!
May 28, 2017 @ 2:56 AM
I couldn’t agree more. Spending time on yourself doesn’t make you vain. Self-care is so important and can really make you feel confident and beautiful.
May 28, 2017 @ 5:16 AM
I love this post. I had a similar experience in my 30s and it was a life changer. Mine was getting a pedi and realizing that it didn’t have to be a special occasion. I introduced my daughter to it as a teen and now she gets them regularly herself!
May 28, 2017 @ 4:41 PM
It’s not being vain, it’s called taking care of yourself. That’s one thing that we always neglect, we prioritize so many other things, from work to our family that we forget that we are human too, that we need a little attention too. I think it’s important that we dedicate a little more time towards taking care of ourselves.
May 28, 2017 @ 8:36 PM
I definitely invest a lot of energy and self-care into my hair.
May 29, 2017 @ 2:24 AM
Your hair looks great! There’s nothing like the feeling of fresh, clean hair that is just cut and styled. It makes you feel like a whole new person.
May 29, 2017 @ 4:22 AM
Your haircut looks fabulous on you! Love the style and color. It makes your hair look fuller. I have really long hair and sometimes I get the urge to chop it off.
May 29, 2017 @ 7:40 AM
I love the short hair on you, and thanks for sharing details of the experience.
May 29, 2017 @ 1:58 PM
I’m all about caring for myself!!!! No one else is going to do it, so I need to make sure my needs are fully met. 😉 plus there is nothing better than getting your hair done.such a fabulous feeling when you leave the salon looking fresh!
May 29, 2017 @ 8:40 PM
Great!
May 30, 2017 @ 9:01 AM
Wow the cut looks great on you! I love my short style and find it much easier to maintain. I’ve gotten lazy about putting makeup on but the flip side is that I feel so much more special when I do put the effort in #triumphanttales
May 30, 2017 @ 9:32 AM
The Chapel sounds gorgeous. I’ve just chopped my hair into a short bob too – loving it for the summer. Self care is so important – I love nothing more than a trip to the hairdresser where I completely switch off. #triumphanttales
May 30, 2017 @ 7:45 PM
Your new haircut is stunning! I did a similar thing a couple of years ago and chopped the lot off, I went from really long to quite a short graduated bob that needed styling. I loved it. I grew it out eventually but it does us good to have a change every now and again. Great that you found a place you loved too. Now that’s a Triumphant Tale! Thank you for linking up to #TriumphantTales, I hope to see you back again next week 🙂
June 2, 2017 @ 4:36 PM
your hair looks lovely, i’ve been spending more time taking care of myself the past two weeks after a make over, i agree it can often feel like a chore
#TriumphantTales