So I’ve made the decision to go through the awkward stage in an effort to grow my hair to something slightly longer, and hopefully more flattering, than a 90s flat top. I’ve grown my hair before, obviously, but it’s never been this short – I was born with quite a lot of hair so I’ve literally never started from scratch before. So never having had hair this short means I’ve never had to go through that stage where you basically just have to grit your teeth, and either embrace your inner Yorkshire terrier, with a 1-inch ponytail standing erect in the middle of your head (pink bow optional), or pretend that ‘middle-aged woman with a load of Hello Kitty clips in her hair’ is just the look you were going for. So far I’ve been doing an admirable job of making the most of both options – Yorkshire terrier for home, inappropriately dressed middle-aged woman for work. Object of ridicule in all situations: standard. I’m working on the basis that the more ridiculous I allow myself to look now, the less likely I am to cave in and get it cut short again – sort of like waiting for a bus. If I’ve committed to going through some significant pain already, I might as well stick it out till the end. We’ll see how that goes.

It’s an approach that has stood me in good stead recently though, so I’m sticking to it. Once you’ve started something, once you’re kind of committed, I find it’s much easier to carry on than stop. There’s a bit of momentum built up, plus a sense that something would be wasted if you were to stop part way through. Months of gruelling medical treatment, going for a run, dealing with those difficult conversations in the office: seems to work for most things. So I’m hoping the same is true for hair. Throw myself in at the start, before it gets so hard I wish I hadn’t, and by the time it does get hard I’ll already have committed enough to make carrying on feel like the easiest option. At least that’s the theory.

I’ve also realised that there’s a very good way of detracting attention from a ridiculous hair style, and that’s to attract attention to the opposite end of the body. What better excuse for purchasing a few pairs of very noticeable trainers? As if I needed an excuse.