Curly girls: Do you think I should bother with a pricey haircut, or should I shave my head and start over?

My hair is SO DAMAGED, I honestly don't know what to do at this point. I want to have my hair natural from now on, but it will look like crap for the next 6 months even with a haircut. I'm booked for a haircut with a curly hair specialist, but I know no one can make my hair look presentable right now. There is too much breakage at the crown from tying my hair in a tight bun every day and slathering gel on top to fight the wire-y frizz. Even with a nice short cut and bringing out my curls, this halo of frizz will not go away until its grown out and cut off. Should I bother wasting my money when my hair won't look good yet, or just shave it off and have a whole head of perfect short curls 6 months from now? The only thing that worries me is that I don't think the look would suit me at all and I'd have to wear head turbans or something until my scalp is covered. But... I just don't know what to do and I'm sick of looking in the mirror and seeing all this damage. What do you think?