The haircut that changed Lauren Dunne.

Image: Supplied. 

I’m a creature of habit.

My daily brekkie consists of vegemite on toast (with the addition of avocado when I feel like living on the edge), I watch the same news program every night, and I’ve worn winged eyeliner every single day for the better part of the past decade – except for that one time an airline lost my luggage and I was forced to go *gasp* bare-faced…that was a dark day indeed.

So no one was more surprised than me to find myself sitting in a hairstylist’s chair requesting a full fringe à la Zooey Descha-bangs.

Up until that point I’d been in a major hair rut – my locks were long and healthy, but I never actually did anything with them. Instead of using my strands to frame my face and help flesh out my personal style, my hair was thoughtlessly tossed into a topknot or secured in a mousey ponytail that did nothing to flatter my features.

One day I’d simply had enough – I couldn’t stand looking at my ho-hum hair one second longer, so I hightailed it to the hairdresser clutching a picture of Lou Doillon while silently begging the hair gods for mercy. (WATCH: How to do the perfect braid. Post continues after the video.)

A few quick snips of a hairstylist’s scissors was all it took to transform me into a new woman. Not to be melodramatic, but when I stepped out of the salon that day, I swear the sun shone brighter, the air smelled sweeter, and I had a veritable skip in my (eternally uncoordinated) step.

While I was still the same me – i.e. my apartment remained an absolute pigsty and I still wasn’t capable of eating chocolate without getting it all over my clothes and couch – I felt freer and more confident than I had in years, and it was all thanks to a haircut.

Here are just a few of the ways that getting a fringe has changed my life.

It makes me look more stylish.

There’s something inherently chic about a well-cut fringe. I reckon it makes me look way more polished and sophisticated than I actually am, and I love how it can instantly make any outfit I throw on look classy and ‘done’ – regardless of the fact that I’m wearing threadbare Bonds undies beneath said outfit. I’ve also noticed that it has the uncanny ability to trick people into thinking I’m a competent, fully functioning adult who has her s**t together. Thanks, fringe, you gorgeous liar you. (Post continues after gallery.)

I look younger.

Not only does my fringe cover up those pesky little lines that have started appearing on my forehead (damn you, years of suggestive eyebrow wiggling!), but it also frames my face in a playful and youthful way. It magically makes my eyes look bigger and my cheeks look fuller, and this one time a tween thought I was Carly Rae Jepsen and it was, like, totally awesome.

It’s developed an appreciation for styling tools and products.

Fringes are work. MAN are they work. You have to get them trimmed every couple of weeks and they require styling every single day, all of which was quite a shock to the system for lazy ol’ me, but in time I adapted.

If you’re a wash-and-go kind of girl, a fringe might well be hell on earth for you – but if you don’t have curly hair or any major cowlicks and you’re happy to get jiggy with a hairdryer and a little hairspray on a daily basis, you’ll manage just fine.

These days I’m in a deep, loving and committed relationship with my ghd air and the godsend that is dry shampoo. Not to anthropomorphise a hair product, but I would marry dry shampoo and have it’s babies if it asked me nicely.

It lets me stretch out a blow-dry by an extra day or two, plus it stops my fringe from going all stringy and greasy-like on steamy summer days. I personally like Batiste and Klorane, both of which you can find at Priceline for under $15.

If you’re contemplating getting a fringe yourself, then I like the way you think and I also reckon we should hang out. But if the promise of my friendship isn’t reason enough for you to commit to the chop (no offence taken), then I recommend you have a play with a clip-on fringe and chat to your hairdresser to make sure you’re making the right move.

“When you’re ready to take the plunge, have a thorough consultation with your hairdresser and take pictures of examples of what you like and dislike about certain fringes,” advises Sydney hairstylist and all round top bloke Anthony Nader.

“This will ensure both parties are on the same page before the first snip takes place.”

So will I ever ditch the fringe? Time will tell. Perhaps we’ll have the hottest summer on record and I’ll grow weary of having a hairy, sweaty heater on my forehead.

Or maybe when hubby and I have kids, fortnightly trims will become logistically impossible and I’ll be forced to grow that sucker out. But for the time being, I’m fully committed to my dear darling fringe and I do hope we have a long and happy life together.

Has a haircut ever changed your life?