'It was like a beast': readers' pre- and post-lockdown hair

‘My hair was like a beast’

Fred (pictured above), 47, CEO, London

My hair was like a beast, I think it developed a personality and not a good one. It had grown so thick I even had to wear a hair band – it was shameful. Now I feel a stone lighter and I frighten fewer children and dogs.

‘Dislocating my right elbow didn’t help my lockdown hair care routine’

Teresa Green, 52, media relations partner, Worcester

I last had my hair cut on 15 March. Fortunately, the salon managed to squeeze me in a few hours before they had to close as my scheduled appointment for later that week was cancelled.

I usually have my hair cut every four or five weeks as I like having it short and it gets very thick and unruly. Dislocating my right elbow in mid-May didn’t help my lockdown hair care routine, but thankfully working from home meant fewer people than usual had to see it. My teenage son washed it over the bath for a few weeks when I had a cast on and his styling skills consisted of a quick comb through.

Now it’s been cut it feels a lot lighter and easier to manage and I’m delighted it’s back to its normal length. I felt totally safe during my visit to the salon who supplied PPE. When my elbow has fully healed, the next step will be a home colour but I’m happy to embrace the grey for a bit longer.

‘I started to look like my 15-year-old self during my emo phase’

Mark Horton, 31, chef, Towcester

I had resisted the urge to cut it all off even though it grows so thick so quickly. During lockdown I did cut some of it to keep it off my ears as well as tidying up the back of my neck. It was a challenging time as I normally get a cut every three weeks.

I had a haircut two days before lockdown but my hair grew so fast I started to look like my 15-year-old self during my emo phase, which I’m not sure my wife appreciated! I feel great being back to normal though and looking like myself again.

‘I wore a hat all day’

Ryan Speed, 52, cafe director, London

I gave up on my hair and wore a hat all day. I’m just really thankful to my family for not mentioning the state of my barnet on a daily basis.

‘I’ve gone extra short this time in case there’s another lockdown’

Helen Burridge, 39, works in place management, St Albans

I usually get it cut every five weeks. I also cut my son’s and husband’s hair but don’t trust them with mine. I tried to trim my fringe but gave up and have tried pinning it, using hairbands, wax, mini pony tails and bobbles. I’ve ended up using Kirby grips like my life depended on it. It was driving me mad.

I had a great haircut on 9 July and was really happy with all the safety measures they had in place. My hair now takes four minutes to style and dry instead of 20 minutes of wrestling with grips and bandanas. I’ve gone extra short this time in case there’s another local lockdown. I’m pandemic-ready this time!

‘My hair had its own identity, personality and postcode’

Nicky H, 47, student, Bucks

I didn’t manage my hair very well during lockdown. It ended up having its own identity, personality and postcode. It had also been quite a long time since my eyelashes were in their raw, untinted state that I’d forgotten they’re ginger.

I had my hair cut on 8 July at The Hair Rooms of Olney after begging my hairdresser Kim for an appointment. Now I feel like the weight of a woolly mammoth has been lifted from my shoulders.

‘I ended up looking like a failed Bollywood actor from the 80s’

Anuj, 38, director, London

My father was in the army and I grew up with the same discipline, so my hair until lockdown had never touched my collar and I pretty much had the same cut for more than 30 years.

I used lockdown to break the habit and let my hair grow as much as I could. I thought I was going to look a bit like Hugh Grant in Four Weddings and a Funeral, but I ended up looking like a failed Bollywood actor from the 80s. So I booked a hair cut first thing on 4 July.

I was very happy to get back to normal. I kind of miss having longer hair, but realise that it was never really sustainable nor was it really me. My only worry is that my six-week-old child who has only just started to recognise me, might think I’m a stranger!

‘I could have made a passable Elvis impersonator’

Mike Hawkins, 29, accountant, Chorlton

Beforehand it was at the dangerous stage of obscuring my field of vision, although because it was so thick I could have made a passable Elvis impersonator had I really tried to style it!

Now I’ve had it cut I feel like a new man, and my head feels about 75% lighter. I must have had about three scalps worth of hair on my head before.

‘I chickened out slightly and didn’t get it as short as I was planning’

Tamsin Michael, 44, teacher, Cornwall

My management style had been ‘let it grow, let it grow’. I’ve been dying my hair for years as I had been going grey, but had no hope of colouring it anywhere near blonde. I’ve seen lockdown as a good opportunity for it to go back to being natural.

I haven’t had short hair since I was about 18 so I chickened out slightly and didn’t get it as short as I was planning! I’m feeling a bit prickly, as the plastic PPE apron didn’t keep all the hair out, but apart from that, pretty normal. Looking forward to going again next month to try and get the hair under control.

‘It’s wonderful and I feel like me again’

Linzi Mathews, 61, retired, Stroud

My hair is usually very short, cut every six weeks and coloured every four months or so. I haven’t managed my lockdown hair very well at all though. I have nil styling skills and my hair is naturally floppy but I can’t abide putting anything in it. So I am rocking the Worzel Gummidge’s plainer sister look!

It was a huge relief to have my hair cut. It was getting in my eyes a lot, which was a new and rather unpleasant sensation. Generally speaking, the shorter my hair is, the better I like it. On this occasion I had less taken off the top but more taken off the sides. It’s wonderful and I feel like me again.

‘We both feel lighter, freer and re-energised now’

Chaya Tagore and Simon Capes, works for the NHS and an actor, Bath

We managed our hair by trying to remember it was a first world problem and that looking slightly untidy meant we blended in with everyone else. When you have a three-year-old at home you don’t have the luxury of obsessing about your appearance – it’s her hair that’s the challenge!

Having said that, we both feel lighter, freeer and re-energised now that we’ve had a haircut and more like our old selves again.