JESINTA FRANKLIN, SPOKESPERSON AND MODEL

My hair journey started with a really wispy fringe. Over a 12-month period it just developed and I went blonder. Then one day I walked into the salon, and when I sat down, my hairstylist [Diane Gorgievski] looked at me and said: “You want to chop all of your hair off, don’t you?” And I said: “Yes!” So I chopped it into a short bob and went platinum blonde. I didn’t tell my husband. I didn’t tell anyone. I just did it.

It was really interesting how a haircut could feel so transformative. As women, we can become emotionally attached to our hair. I started to recognise a shift in myself and I was starting to feel more confident in my own skin and felt I was no longer defined by how I wore my hair. I can still be sexy and have short hair.

I like doing things that are a little bit different sometimes and breaking out of my own little comfort corner. I also like to test myself and go: “You know what, if I’m so attached to my hair that I can’t chop it, then maybe I need to re-evaluate some things.”

I loved my hair when it was long – I just didn’t want to be attached to something that really didn’t matter that much.

So eventually I went from that blonde platinum bob to more of a pixie cut with my natural colour coming through, which I love.

My inbox is filled with women asking me about my haircut. Women say: “I went to the hairdressers and I chopped it all off and I feel amazing.” That’s the biggest thing … not: “I look amazing”, but: “I feel amazing.”

My haircut has also encouraged me to have fun and experiment with fashion. I feel like it has changed my look; even just putting on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt feels a little more edgy and cool. And it’s definitely changed the way stylists style me on shoots.

I’m quite low-maintenance – if I can’t get ready and be out the door in 10 minutes it doesn’t happen. When I had long hair all I did was wear it in a topknot. The cropped cut has always been easy. The shorter I go, the more undone it is, the better it looks. I just wake up and put a bit of wax in the ends or even just hop out of the shower and put some gel in it – it doesn’t take a lot of effort to make it look good.

For so long women have been told what is beautiful and I feel like for the first time in a long time we’re telling people what makes us feel beautiful. I’m seeing so much change: it’s a really exciting time to be a woman.