Going Bald
So I finally went through the shaving of my head, which I have wanted to do for a long time. It was a really interesting experience: I did it while I was in Bicol because I wanted the staff to see me without any hair, as I had been discussing it with them for the past month. They are so great! No one said that I would look bad without hair or that I would be a disgrace or something, but they had some practical questions I needed to consider. One said: “You shouldn’t shave your head because the mosquitos will get you even worse!” And another said, “Are you sure you want to shave your head? You are going to need a lot of extra sunscreen!” Both of these comments are certainly true. Without hair, one loses her natural protection against the elements, but I was too set on shaving that I simply laughed and had a good time with their comments.
I cut my hair short in stages, which you can see from the pictures. (The first was taken in May 2009 at my college’s research symposium. The second is from my trip to WY to visit my friend Kara and her husband. The third is from my sister’s wedding in October, which is the reason why I waited so long to cut off my hair. Then, the other pictures are in stages of my short hair, ending with my baby smooth bald head.) I wanted to get used to being bald and how I would look, so I chopped a little hair off every day for three days, and on the third day, I took the plunge. Cutting one’s hair is definitely addicting. There is something so satisfying of feeling the clipping of the scissors against the hair. I was sad to have only three days of barber bliss. The staff had a really great time with the whole process. On the final day, two of them helped me to curtail the clipping with the final shave. It kind of tickled because we were using one-blade shavers—Schick from the States that I had been saving to shave my legs…. So, our dear jack-of-all-trades staff member suggested that we go to a barber, and he would treat me to a professional shave where they use sharp blades!
I thought it would be interesting, and it was! We went to this small—understatement—barber shop right off the street. It was open air, and a small crowd of staff and strangers gathered to see. The barber, who was wearing a mask—I have never seen that before, but I suppose it is practical when the hair really does fly when it is short—sat me down on his chair and covered me with a horrendously bright yellow cape. He was so tentative in starting, saying in Tagalog that he had never shaved a woman’s head before—and likely never would again. All he had for shaving the head was a sharp razor blade and water, which he spritzed on whenever the head got a little dry. It was a little irritable, but more fun than anything. I loved having the staff around because it made it feel more like an event than something mundane. I really love fun experiences and this definitely will go to the top of the list. I can now check off “Do something you have never done before” on my list of New Year’s resolutions.
I have been imagining for a long time what I would look like bald and it is one of those things that you really cannot picture until it is completed. Even though I look like a white Buddhist monk, I am really glad that I underwent the total shave. It’s one of those things I wanted to do once in my life, so there is nothing like the present when absolutely nothing is holding me back. There you have it, and to finish this entry here are five reasons why shaving your head should be an once-in-a-lifetime goal :) (The only reason I am writing these is that I had to think and almost justify in my own mind why I wanted so badly to shave my head.)
1. It is good to see yourself without hair because we all take for granted what we look like with hair, and sometimes I think it gives us a reason to put too much effort into something that means so little. So, having a shaved head gives you a new perspective on life.
2. For those of you with short hair, you are only a couple inches from total freedom, so why not take the final dive into a new look that lasts only as long as it takes to grow hair. So, shaving your head is a daring thing that is only temporary as opposed to getting a tattoo, which may or may not be satisfying in a few years.
3. Shaving one’s head has always been more acceptable for men and in some cultures, like in the Philippines and maybe even in the US, is even anathema because so much pride is taken in having beautiful hair. (Nice hair of course makes someone look better, as you can see from my own pictures.) So, for girls, shaving your head will force you to reevaluate what is true beauty and how to regard beauty in others.
4. When traveling in Asian countries, it is no exaggeration to say that one’s skin feels like it is melting off the bone, but with a shaved head, it is a lot cooler in this sweltering heat. Yes, one must wear more sunscreen if the head is left uncovered, but that is the purpose of the all-purpose bandana. So, shaving your head is a good method of creating an all-present method of cooling the body.
5. Sometimes it is just good to do something out of the ordinary, to shake up life a little and do something totally new. So, shaving your head is an easy way to satiate those urges without hurting your body or hurting others.
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