CHANGE IS IN THE HAIR

Lauren Strongin started taking ballet lessons when she was three and had long hair ever since. While the length was mostly practical – to accommodate the hairstyles needed for the stage, like French twists or buns – she says she always liked that “ballerina long-hair look.” Then, after 32 years (18 of which were spent dancing professionally), she decided to retire and pursue her other, very different ambition: becoming a doctor.

Another thing she’d retire: the length of her hair. “I was starting a new path as a student, and cutting my hair was part of that,” says Strongin. She booked an appointment with hairstylist Michael Forrey, former creative director of Sassoon NYC, who chopped off more than 30 centimetres, transforming her long mane into a pixie