00:00I feel 21, I am 21, but I feel like something about my hair is not allowing people to perceive
00:06me as that.
00:07I think a sleek, short haircut will convey that to people.
00:12Hey everyone, I'm Malene, I work at Refinery29, and today I'm chopping off all of my hair.
00:17Part of why I've decided to cut my hair is because people keep confusing me as like someone
00:22who's in high school.
00:23When my aunt most recently visited me, she took me to a bar to celebrate my graduation
00:27and the bartender told me, I'm sorry, no one under the age of 18 is allowed in this area.
00:32I'm 21 years old, so I'm really tired of that kind of confusion happening.
00:36I think it's time to shed this security blanket that my hair provides for me and just like
00:40go out into the world and show my face in a short haircut, we'll make that happen.
00:44I just want something to visually signify that I am now an adult.
00:53Hi, my name is Aaron Greenia, co-founder IGK Hair and IGK Salons.
00:57I'm a hairstylist specializing in cutting and styling based out of New York City.
01:01This is a big cut.
01:02It's a very dramatic cut.
01:04We're going to go short.
01:05Yeah.
01:06I think it's going to be really cute.
01:08I hope so.
01:09The reason I grow my hair to be this length is because I know that I'm going to donate
01:14it and it takes at least eight inches to be donatable.
01:16I did have donation length hair about two years ago, but I really wanted the drama of
01:21wow, she's graduated and went for this dramatic cut.
01:24Oh!
01:27Countdown.
01:27Oh no, it's happening.
01:32Ready?
01:33Yeah.
01:34That's it?
01:35Yeah.
01:36Wait.
01:36Oh, it was so heavy.
01:38Oh!
01:41Oh!
01:41Oh!
01:43Oh!
01:44Oh!
01:44It's like having a dead fox around me.
01:46This is my neck.
01:47This is the last I'm seeing of this hair.
01:49It's weird to feel something on my shoulders.
01:53Now the real deal.
01:58I honestly think I look best with short hair.
02:01I think it looks super cute and flirty and all those things.
02:03My hair has looked like crap for the last two years, but I don't really care because
02:07when I mail off this hair and someone's going to receive it, that's going to make me
02:10really happy inside.
02:12If people touch your hair a lot when it's really long, they also touch your hair a lot
02:16when you make a dramatic change.
02:18If it goes from like two feet swinging behind my back to like barely touching my chin, people
02:23are going to notice.
02:24And I'm ready for that drama.
02:29I hope I look cute after because that's the goal.
02:32And if I look pretty much the same, it's going to be a little disappointing for all of us.
02:38Oh my gosh.
02:40I thought, okay, when you were cutting, I was like, it's not that short, but it's like
02:43so short.
02:44Oh my gosh.
02:45I love it.
02:49I'm feeling light and free with my short hair.
02:52It's like so bouncy and I love the feel of running my fingers through my hair and making
02:57it through the end.
02:59This dramatic cut is going to get a lot of shocked expressions and things from people
03:03and I'm really excited to see them react to it and touch it and tell me it's beautiful.
03:13I am so excited to start this new chapter of my post-grad life and I'm really happy that
03:18I've signified that by shedding off the hair that I've kept with me for the last four years
03:23and starting off with this new look.
