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"Having watched many a friend and relative wed in recent times, I&amp;#x27;ve observed two beauty behaviors that appear to be fairly ubiquitous among brides-to-be. One: They always get dramatically smaller in size right before &amp;quot;the big day&amp;quot;. Always. Even when they were thin to begin with and were seriously not trying to lose weight (stress really does burn calories, I guess). Two: From the moment they get engaged, they stop cutting their hair. The occasional trim is fine, of course. It would be gross not to trim. But any cut even hinting at half an inch would be out of the question. Don&amp;#x27;t even bring up the subject. From the moment that ring slides on, scissors become the enemy, that hair starts growing, and it doesn&amp;#x27;t stop &amp;#x27;til the honeymoon&amp;#x27;s over. What the heck is going on in this photo, you ask? I don&amp;#x27;t know. I mostly used it just to beat out Little Miss Fortune for the &amp;quot;weirdest blog photo of the day&amp;quot; award. Now I&amp;#x27;m amidst what one could view as my own bridal haircut boycott, but I sort of had a general haircut boycott going on anyway, so I don&amp;#x27;t fully count. Most of the other engaged women I&amp;#x27;ve discussed this topic with attribute their bridal haircut boycotts to the fact that they are likely going to wear some sort of updo, which generally is easier to execute when there&amp;#x27;s more hair to work with (though actually, when I got one of my most recent bad bridesmaid updos, the stylist informed me my hair was so long it actually made her job more difficult). To be sure, long hair does keep your wedding-hair options more open, especially when you&amp;#x27;re completely unsure of what you&amp;#x27;ll want to do. Those practical explanations aside, when we&amp;#x27;re talking the difference between boob-length and below-the-bra hair, I think there are subtler psychological factors at play. I was recently interviewing some cultural anthropologists for an article, and one noted that long hair historically meant you were available, while shorter hair indicated you were married. Perhaps the bridal haircut boycott helps us more fully relish the last days of single-lady status? Or makes us feel extra-feminine when trying on those white gowns? Helps us just feel generally more bridal? To all you married ladies in the house: Did you go on a bridal haircut boycott? How much did your hair grow between the day you got your ring to the day you walked down the aisle? To all the engaged ladies: Have you stopped cutting your hair? To all the single ladies: Have you noticed bridal haircut boycotts going on in your social circle? Why do we think brides go on haircut boycotts? Are the reasons more practical, more psychological, or a bit of each? Related: * Here&amp;#x27;s my dress. Help me decide on my wedding hair! * Here&amp;#x27;s the updo I wore to my engagement party. * Worst. Bridesmaid hair. Ever. * This might inspire you to style your own wedding hair. Photo: iStock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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