Jackson Free Press

"I can't wait to meet your new hair!" That's been my favorite response to the newest addition to my life: a new length of tresses—real hair, just not my own. (Although, much as Tori Spelling says of her boobs, if I paid for it, it's mine, right?) That's right, dear readers; I got extensions.

At first they were a little bit like an alien invasion of my scalp. I haven't given them a name or anything, but unlike grabbing a pack of gum while waiting in line at the grocery store, this was not an impulse purchase; I'd incubated the thought for a while.

A couple of years ago, Suzanne Moak, owner of S'moak Salon (Duling School, 622 Duling Ave., Suite 206, 601-982-5313), styled the hair for a BOOM Jackson photo shoot I participated in. Starting in on me, she asked me what I would want if I could have any hair. Without hesitation, I replied that because I hadn't had long hair since childhood, my fantasy hair is long, wavy and fabulous. For that shoot, Moak delivered exactly that via some clip-in extensions. The feeling was amazing.

Since then, I've toyed with the idea of getting the more permanent variety. An addiction to the "Real Housewives" franchise of TV shows has done little to diminish the thought, nor has participating in various shenanigans like the Zippity Doo Dah Parade with Eddie Outlaw and the William Wallace crew—an enterprise that obviously involves wigs.

When I confessed to my stylist at S'moak Salon, Sarah Thomas, that I wanted to grow my hair long but would really like it long right now, we made a quick segue into extensions talk that led to a consultation appointment. I'll admit, having an hour-long conversation discussing matters such as, "What are your hair goals?" Felt a little bit like the most self-indulgent thing I've ever done, but sometimes, you just need to embrace being a girl. And this girl wanted long hair. (You can get different extensions for fullness or for length, but length was my hair goal.)

Happily, we determined that my own hair was long enough to use the extensions for length, so after a couple of weeks, I returned to the chair to do the deed, as it were.

Stylist Paul Prine put in my extensions, and I have to say, "God bless him," because the process requires the patience of Job. I knew it would take a while, but until I was sitting in the chair for three hours, reading through stacks of magazines and wishing for a cocktail, it didn't really hit home. But at the end of those three hours, I had long hair!

I made another appointment to go back and let Sarah cut it. After being in a stylist's chair that long, I had an appointment with some wine and sushi, stat.

Paul advised me to have some ibuprofen on hand the next morning because apparently the morning after your first night sleeping on extensions is not unlike the morning after a hard night out. Maybe it's because I'm used to nights out, or maybe I just have a tough head, but I suffered no headache from the extensions or the wine the next morning.

After I returned to let Sarah layer them up and blend them in, my new hair and I became one. And so we will be—for at least four months.

It's fitting to have a new look as spring approaches, I think. Spring is a time for renewal, so why not freshen up your look? Maybe you won't get new hair (although I highly recommend it), but it's a good time to revamp things and try something new. Better yet, bite the bullet and try something you've been thinking about but have been too nervous to do.

Let me know if you need encouragement. My hair and I are here to cheer you on.

Follow Julie on Twitter @jcskipp.