Garbutt adds: “The question you must ask yourself beforehand is this: are you ready to make this step? Often it feels as though there is no choice, almost as if the identity that we have been living in up until this point has grown too small and too tight.

“Cutting the hair is like shedding skin. It is most likely a birth into a new self.”

Appio, meanwhile, says that it’s worth considering what has prompted your decision to go for the chop before doing so, but notes: “People who tend to be perfectionistic or indecisive due to overthinking can benefit from trying out more spontaneous behaviour. It can be illuminating to see that you can survive and even enjoy the outcome of making a quick or imperfect decision.

“At best, it is a way to be creative, take pleasure in your appearance and try something new with minimal risk.”

And Spelman has the following practical advice for anyone who’s on the fence about a short haircut: “If you’re not sure how a drastic cut will affect you on an emotional level, you could either try wearing a short wig for a while before taking the plunge or trying out a hairstyle app, so you can see how you’d look with a shorter style.”

“But it’s just hair”

Essentially, it seems our hair is deeply symbolic, but it is still just that – a symbol. It does not sum up who we are, what we stand for or where we’re going. It simply allows us to get there with a ’do we absolutely love from the bottom of our hearts.

So, if you want to go short, ignore the naysayers and embrace your mini-mane dreams with all your might. If you want to keep your hair long, that’s great too. Because, to quote the inimitable Leslie Knope of Parks And Recreation, it really doesn’t matter. Well, it doesn’t matter to anyone else but you, anyway.

Short hair psychology: why the simple act of cutting our hair means so much more than we think