After years of fans suggesting she cut her hair, Jill Dillard (née Duggar) finally took the plunge. On Friday, December 20, the former Counting On star revealed she’d “chopped off” more than a foot of her long locks — and she looks like a whole new woman. In a video shared to the Dillard family’s YouTube channel, she took fans behind the scenes as she opened up about making the decision and then, later, making the change. Though she admitted she was “nervous” and had never gone through such a big hair transformation before, she was “excited” for a change.

“I’m going to go get my hair trimmed today, and I’ve never had more than like four to six inches cut off, but it’s pretty long. … I’m, like, sitting on it now, getting it caught all the time,” Jill, 28, told fans in a vlog she filmed herself. “It’s still gonna be long, but I’m thinking [I’ll cut off] maybe enough to donate, so we’ll see.” Revealing that she was going to a new salon, she confessed, “I’m kind of nervous, but also excited, and excited to be done, hopefully, with these headaches from my hair.”

Once she was done at the salon, the mom of two proudly showed off just how much hair they’d cut off to donate, and it was more than a foot long. “It’s about 14 inches of hair, I think,” she told the camera. Now, family, friends and fans alike are raving about her new look. “Lookin’ good baby! 😍😘❤️😎” husband Derick Dillard commented. “Your new hair is gorgeous!!! Don’t you feel like a fresh new woman? Somehow a new hairstyle just can do that! You look way younger too if that’s even possible! 💕💕” added a pal. “You look so much younger and lighter!!” agreed a fan.

Jill Duggar Chopped Her Hair Off See Her Transformation
YouTube

In the past, the Duggar daughters revealed that they keep their hair long “based on our understanding of 1 Corinthians 11:14-15.” In their book, Growing Up Duggar, they explained, “While it is a shame for a man to have long hair, a woman’s hair is her glory.” Parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar also seem to prefer long hair on their girls. After the mom of 19 underwent a hair makeover on camera for 19 Kids and Counting, both seemed pretty upset by the results.

“I do like it longer,” Jim Bob, 54, commented at the time. And Michelle, 53, later told Today that she was planning to grow it back out. “I want to please my hubby; it’s all about what he likes,” she said. “He says he likes my long, flowing hair!” On the TLC show, she also warned her daughters not to get a haircut. “Girls I just gotta say to you, don’t get any ideas,” she told them. “Don’t rush to a hair salon and chop off half your hair.”

We think it was time for Jill, though. Not only does she look amazing, hopefully now she won’t have to deal with disasters like her kids losing gum in her locks — and then eating it afterward.