The Midlife Liberation Microfringe

There’s a moment in midlife where something tiny - a haircut, a choice, a split-second impulse - becomes the catalyst for a much bigger liberation. This is mine.

At the 2025 Met Gala, the iconic Pamela Anderson stepped out to showcase a new, shorter hairstyle, avec a bold and highly controversial microfringe. (If you’re wondering what this is, imagine a fringe so short it basically has a different postcode to your eyebrows.) Pamela totally rocked this brave look, and the whole world let out an audible gasp. I remember seeing this look whilst taking a bedtime scroll, and I thought, “wow, she’s so brave, but I could never pull that off.”

Fast forward to last week, and I found myself standing in front of the bathroom mirror, scissors in hand, chopping my fringe with the kind of confidence one usually finds at the bottom of a bottle of wine - only I was stone cold sober.

And, just like that, I cut a microfringe.

Panic set in almost instantly. Nervous laughter and shock took over as the lag time between healthy rationale and manic slicing closed up. I spent the rest of the evening willing my forehead to get shorter or my hair to grow longer, and as I lay my head on my pillow that night I thought, “well Rach, you’re officially in your unhinged era.”

But maybe unhinged is the wrong word. Maybe I’m just… unbothered?

Pamela’s 180 shift from glamorous sex symbol to bare-faced fashion icon is more than just a middle finger to beauty standards. I think she’s found a wild and brave connection to her authentic self, and she’s using her platform to show the rest of us that it’s never too late to reinvent yourself. She’s midlife liberation, personified.

And here’s what hit me: so many of us reach a point in this chapter of life where we suddenly realise the rules no longer apply. We’ve spent years caring, tending, organising, contorting, and proving. Then one day something in us snaps open - and we want to live differently, more honestly, more boldly.

My microfringe moment has totally changed how I feel about this chapter of life. No, it's not “just a haircut”. It’s a symbol of power, of embodiment. It’s breaking free from expectations. It’s creativity and play. And it’s the first of many bold moves to come…

If there's one thing I’ve learned from the iconic Ms Anderson: this next chapter of life is one that we get to write. We get to create a story that feels in alignment with who we are now - free from fear, guilt, or the need to please. We’ve spent a long time ensuring others succeeded; I think it’s about time we stepped up to play the main character.

So here’s my question to you: What’s your microfringe moment -the tiny act that signals a much bigger liberation?