Elizabeth Mulé, 42, model and actress
Myth she wasn't ready to let go of: "When your hair is shorter and off your face, you have to wear lots of makeup. "A couple of other myths she wasn't ready to let go of: "Only long, flowing hair is sexy. Only long hair is versatile."
Oh, and one more: "I look good only with long hair."
As if that weren't enough, another reason she avoided haircuts: "When I was 19, someone chopped off my hair into very short, uneven layers with a razor. I went out to dinner afterward, and cried and cried. Since then, I've been tempted to cut my hair, but I'm too ambivalent. Also, my dad always thought that women look more beautiful with long hair, so my three sisters and I kept ours long."
What she said right after losing eight inches: "I'm fine. Totally fine."
What she was doing as she said it: Wringing her hands and fighting back tears.
How she felt the day after her haircut: "One hundred percent behind it! I feel like a grown-up. My girlfriends are ecstatic."
What Kevin did: To accentuate her stunning bone structure, Kevin layered Elizabeth's hair to her cheekbones and jawline. Steve Amendola at Eiji salon in New York City added soft, dark blonde highlights to give the cut movement and depth.
Cathleen Medwick, 57, writer
Why she grew it long: "I liked contradicting the general wisdom that women over 50 shouldn't wear their hair long. And though I'm kind of a loner, it was fun to be part of the sisterhood of long-haired older women. Plus, I got very dramatic reactions. Before, I could never count on being recognized the second time someone met me, but with hair to my waist, I could. I think it made me look a little wild—which is good for someone who feels as repressed as I do. I was never great with my hair—I can't even find my part, for heaven's sake—and I hated taking time to have it cut. One day, as I walked past a salon, I thought, I don't ever have to go in there anymore! And I stopped cutting my hair."
How she characterized her relationship with her hair: "It left me alone, and I left it alone."
What she was afraid of: "The domino effect—I'll have to keep my hair in shape, and why shouldn't I wear some makeup, and howzabout a nicer wardrobe, and before you know it...all maintenance, all the time!"
What made her decide to cut it: "I started to feel constrained by the length, as if it were running away with me. It got knotted up more, caught in my backpack. And I was, of course, curious about what a great stylist might do."
How she felt after losing a foot off the length: "As if a weight were lifted off my head. This shorter cut is much more feminine and less severe. Finally, I think my hair and I had simply outgrown each other."
What Kevin did: After slicing off about 12 inches, Kevin gave Cathleen subtle layers in the back to add fullness, and a few layers around her face to soften the look. Then licorice lowlights were added to warm up her fair complexion.
Alanda Spence, 24, actress
How she knew her hair had gotten too long: "I started seeing a lot of split ends. The bottom three inches looked a little fried. And when I put it up: too much hair. I felt like I was drowning in it."
Why she remembers the first time she cut it: "I always had long hair as a kid because my mother loved it. Then, in junior high school, I chopped it off without telling her. She hated it; she cried. It wasn't a good haircut, but I was happy with shorter hair. Cutting my hair has always been something of a statement of liberation."
Why she remembers the second time: "I had moved from my hometown of Seattle across the country to go to college in New York City. My hair had grown long again, down to my butt. One of my cousins had just lost her hair to chemotherapy; as an act of solidarity (and also, that liberation thing), I cut my hair to my shoulders and donated it to Locks of Love." For more information about Locks of Love, call 888-896-1588 or visit www.locksoflove.org.
Her unrealized hairstyle dream: "I wish I could try a short, sassy cut; I love the feeling of running my hands through just-cut hair. But stylists keep telling me not to cut it too short because longer hair suits me. The thing is, a haircut is never a huge thing for me because my hair grows really, really fast, and I'm the kind of person who thinks that something different is a lot of fun."
The deep irony: "I might even have been willing to try a pixie—but stylists love the texture of my long hair."
What Kevin did: Once he cut about five inches off the back, Kevin then cut layers around Alanda's face for volume and shape. Rich honey highlights add dimension to her color.
