"You're looking really good. Did you lose more weight? Something's different."
This time, it was a colleague at the university, following a compliment after two weeks of similar polite greetings from a number of people including neighbors, students, and coworkers.
I stopped combing my hair forward, where it wants to rest flat against my head, and started forcing the hair backwards. This seemingly minor change, from letting my hair rest as it wants to demanding it be combed back, has resulted in more praise about my appearance than I have ever received.
There was a minor haircut, trimming around my neck and ears, but the stylist left "the top mop" as it was. The rest was up to me.
Had I known that "poofy hair" would impress people, I would have gone back to the style two or three years ago!
