The truth is I never liked short hair. My traditional father almost brainwashed me into thinking short hair was only for boys… and unless I wanted to look like a boy, never cut my hair. So, I never did. I lived a whole 2 decades of my life without ever having hair any shorter than my breasts… ever.
And yet cutting it felt… liberating, truly liberating. That wasn’t really the reason why I cut it though. I wanted a change, but the change needed to represent something. And I’m so glad it actually did.
April is Earth Month. We learn about it in school and are reminded about it our workplaces. Although, let’s be honest, we all often tip our hats and pocket change to the cause and never really think about what Earth Month really means. I think global warming and environmental issues are absolutely significant… but we don’t think about it because it almost doesn’t seem like a problem. We just get so caught up in our daily lives.
This month, I wanted to dedicate this huge and fresh change to my hair to raise awareness about something that really does impact the Earth… it impact the people in it. Directly. Because unless us, they don’t get to get caught up in their daily lives. They’re fighting for them.
I was so inspired by the initiatives by Aveda Canada this month to do this. They are raising funds for Water Aid (and have done so now for 10 years), an amazing charity that’s helping third world countries with safe water. 650 million people live without safe water. 2.3 billion billion don’t have access to sanitization. That’s 1/3 people in the world. How lucky are we huh?
Most of all, 315,000 children die every year for diarrhoeal diseases caused by unsafe water. And it wasn’t their fault they were born into a less fortunate situation than us. I get thirsty, I go to the fridge and dispense fresh water… or worse, I grab a water bottle. These children literally travel kilometres to bring back a bucket for their village.
Aveda launched a 3 year Madagascar project in light of this. They’re aiming to provide clean water to 19,000 people, ensure construction of drinking water, and most of all, take as many kids of those dangerous 6 km walks just to get water. I couldn’t think of any better cause to raise awareness for.
And yes, I am working with Aveda… but it’s because of beautiful initiatives like this that inspire me to do so. They’re doing something, they’re making a change, and I can’t think of any better brand to work with than one that does that.
You can get involved too! They’re walking for water in 4 days!
I had the absolute pleasure of getting this badass bob cut by Aveda Canada’s creative director Kristjian Hayden, and as expected of a creative director, he slayed my hair. He also spent time in Madagascar and actually got the know the village Aveda was working to help (pictured below). INCREDIBLE. I was immediately obsessed with the look. I may have even gotten a “you look like a bond girl” comment or two, bashfully.
You’ve all seen the hair in post and on social… but now you know why I did it. It looks amazing, yes, but it’s also for an amazing cause. I’m so excited to be working with Aveda more this year! Their initiatives inspired me to remember that there’s more to everything we do. And when there’s more meaning, life feels that much more amazing.
