Every Time I Cut My Hair, I Remember ### Living with My Hair in My Own Way at 68 July 12, 2026 (Sunday) Reiwa8

## When Going to the Hair Salon Felt Like a Luxury

I worked as a high school English teacher for 33 years.

Although a teacher's salary was stable, my husband and I were raising two children.

Almost all of my income went toward their education.

Because of that, I had very little money to spend on myself.

I bought only the clothes I truly needed.

To save money, I usually had my hair cut at inexpensive haircut shops.

However, whenever I came home after a haircut, something never felt quite right.

I have very thick hair.

The balance between the left and right sides often felt uneven to me, so I would trim it myself little by little.

## Discovering Self Haircuts

Around that time, I found a tool designed for cutting your own hair.

I was skeptical at first, but to my surprise, it suited me perfectly.

Since then, I have not gone to a hair salon for a haircut in more than ten years.

Now I cut my hair in the bathroom before taking a shower, while the floor is still dry.

After cutting it, I vacuum the hair from the floor, brush the loose hairs off my body, and then wash my hair.

It is much easier than the old days when I spread newspapers across the room to catch the hair.

After many years of trial and error, I finally found a method that works well for me.

## My Small Luxury

Because my hair is naturally curly, there are times when it simply refuses to behave.

Only on those occasions do I use an inexpensive home straightening treatment.

It does not make my hair as straight as a professional salon treatment, but it still makes me feel a little better.

That is my small luxury.

These days, I also have much more gray hair.

Perhaps because I spent so many years as a teacher, I have never wanted to dye my hair brown, even after retirement.

When I use henna, I always choose black.

While taking a bath, I put on a shower cap and let the henna work while I wash the rest of my body.

By doing this little by little, day after day, my hair keeps a naturally dark appearance.

People sometimes say,

"Your hair is still so dark."

## Growing Older in My Own Way

As I grow older, I know that more gray hair will appear.

Perhaps one day my hair will become completely white.

But for now, I would like to keep at least a little of its natural darkness.

It is not because I want to look younger.

I simply want to keep the hair that has been part of me for so many years.

Every time I cut my hair, I remember the years when I was busy raising my children.

I learned to live within my means and to do for myself whatever I could.

Now, at the age of 68, that way of living has not changed very much.

I think that, too, is simply part of who I am.

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