Lifestyle Style 'RHOC' Star Peggy Sulahian Chops 12 Inches Off Her Hair: 'I Feel Free and Liberated!' Two weeks after Real Housewives of Orange County star Tamra Judge chopped off her hair, her costar Peggy Sulahian has follwed in her footsteps By Dave Quinn Dave Quinn Instagram Twitter Dave Quinn is an Editor for PEOPLE, working across a number of verticals including the Entertainment, Lifestyle and News teams. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 2, 2017 11:00 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Two weeks after Real Housewives of Orange County star Tamra Judge chopped off her trademark long blonde locks, her costar Peggy Sulahian has followed in her short-hair footsteps. The 44-year-old Orange County Housewife debuted an edgy new bob on Monday’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, telling the host she had gotten her long brown hair cut “an hour ago.” Priscilla Distasio Her chop came from Julius Michael, who cut 12 inches from the Armenian beauty’s brown hair. He has experience with major haircuts, as he did Judge’s drastic cut back in September. (Michael has also previously styled Housewives like Kyle Richards, Lisa Vanderpump, Melissa Gorga and Lisa Rinna). Julius Michael “Tonight’s inspiration was from Peggy’s daughters,” he told PEOPLE of the new ‘do. “She said she doesn’t want her teenage girls thinking that beauty is long hair. Once I heard that I said, ‘Let’s chop it off — you have rocked long hair for awhile now! Time to rock short edgy hair.’ ” “Vanessa Hudgens was my inspiration for this look,” Michael, who owns Julius Michael Salon in Scarsdale, New York, added. “I did a razor cut so Peggy would have those jagged edges. I didn’t want a blunt bob look at all.” After the cut, Sulahian, Bravo’s 100th Housewife, immediately told Michael, “I feel free and liberated!” Julius Michael Julius Michael As for the styling, Michael used a Babyliss Rapido blowdryer and Olivia garden ceramic brush size 55 mm to blow out the look. He then added Marula Pure Beauty 5-in-1 Volumizing Spray for a lift on her roots, Pura Wet Look Gel from Want Look for that intense wet look, and L’Oréal Wet Look Spray for added shine. Makeup came from celebrity makeup artist Priscilla DiStasio. Sulahian has been open about her health battle on RHOC. Weeks before this season began, she got a double mastectomy after her doctors found abnormal cancerous cells during a biopsy even though a BRCA gene testing — which helps women know their chance of getting breast and ovarian cancer — produced negative results. “Over a span of ten years, I scheduled mammograms and MRI’s every six months, my doctor found a mass in my right breast in the MRI,” she wrote on her BravoTV blog back in August. “The immediate response to this news, was to schedule a biopsy. Despite being negative on the BRCA gene testing, the biopsy revealed pre cancerous cells [DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma in situ)] within my right breast. Few weeks later, we scheduled a surgery to remove the 25 mm of mass, and sent the mass to the pathologist. In a matter of weeks, I was told that of the 25 mm removed, 3mm of it was already cancer.” Tamra Judge The reality star, whose mother died of breast cancer when Sulahian was just 21 years old, then made the tough decision to take precautionary measures of undergoing a bilateral mastectomy to avoid any future scares. “My options were limited to 3 choices: chemo, radiation, or removal of my right breast,” she added. “To be the safest, I took the measure of removing both breasts instead of limiting myself to just one. I wanted to be as safe as possible, knowing that breast cancer runs in my family. Testing negative for the BRCA gene doesn’t guarantee the chance of not getting cancer. It’s a blessing that I caught the cancer before being aggressive.” Priscilla Distasio As of now, Sulahian — who will document the process of getting reconstructive surgery on the show — is “100% cancer free.” “Please stay on top of your appointments in order to dodge this terrible disease,” she wrote. “I want to emphasize that testing negative on the BRCA gene does NOT guarantee being free of cancer. Putting your life in the hands of a reconstructive surgeon isn’t easy. It’s a long healing process mentally and physically, but completely worth not living the rest of your life in fear. I’m currently considering becoming active in the cancer communities, in order to offer my advice, hear more stories, and provide emotional support for women encountering the road block in their life.” The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Mondays (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.