I had chin length hair for almost six months, finally grown out from the last time I had chopped my hair. It was one of those french bobs- because my hair was red at the time, I looked like some warped version of Gillian Anderson, something that produced reactions from absolute delight amongst my geeky friends, to revulsion from those who just couldn't cope with the wonder that is X-files. I was getting very tired of it, to say the least. Actually, it was driving me out of my mind, because it had no body and I couldn't do anything with it. At last, I decided to cut it.
    At this point, I hadn't decided to shave my head yet- I just wanted a short, sleek hair cut. Real short. So, after journeying out to to the hair place across the street, I ended up with a hair cut and a hair style that looked good for exactly as long as it took for the hair spray to wear off. About three inches long, my hair stood on end every morning, and was impossible to really tame. I looked ridiculous, as well, since I have a very strong face that wasn't really helped much by the short hair. That, and for some reason, I looked a lot less feminine than I had before and felt really weird wearing skirts. All in all, about a month after I got the haircut, I decided I hated it.
    Now, I didn't have enough money to go back and get it cut again, and besides, there was nothing I could really do with hair that short, except for shave it. Shave it. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, it stayed in my head for days. For more than a week, I thought about actually shaving it. There were a lot of pros to that, of course. I hadn't seen my natural hair color in two years, it would be easier to take care of, I could wear cool hats, it would look really neat, and it would get rid of my hatred of my hair because I wouldn't have any.
    Eventually, in a weird fit, I decided to go ahead with it.
    I had been watching the X-Files one Sunday night, sitting around with my neighbor Emily. Once she left, something came over me, and I chose to go through with it. First, I grabbed my good pair of sewing scissors, stood over the trash can, and cut off as much hair as I could get to. I looked like a shaved cat, and because there were places that I couldn't reach on my head, my head looked much more oval shaped than it actually was. I looked in the mirror and became immediately doubtful, but of course, it was too late.
    Next, to the bathroom. I borrowed my roommate's Mach 3 razor (those things are DAMNED good for shaving your legs, but don't ever shave your head with them) and went to the showers. Luckily, it was pretty late at night, so there was no one in there to really wonder why the shower was running for almost an hour. I lathered up, and started shaving. During this process, I discovered that my hair grows in all different directions, and it was a pain to shave. It took me almost an hour and a half to get myself completely bald.
    When I first saw myself in the mirror, I nearly screamed.
    That, and I was freezing. Having never had hair that short before, I hadn't realized how much heat you really lose through your head. I had to wear a hat to bed that night, and I kept a bandanna on for a long time afterwards.
    Things would have been fine had I not contracted a really bad chest cold, during the course of which I lost weight and ended up with enormous bags under my eyes. During my recovery, I looked like I was undergoing chemotherapy, and I had a lot of people ask me that exact question. Believe me, you start getting tired of that real fast, and feeling horribly guilty even faster. But it was too late to go back.
    Once recovered, I really started to notice how great it was to have no hair, although it was growing back in little prickles. I didn't have to worry at all about styling my hair- there was nothing that I could do with it, and I was surprised that it actually didn't look too bad on me. It was really freeing, and confusing not to have any hair. For the most part, freeing.
    It's a great experience to do it at least once- at this point my hair is about a half an inch long, doesn't stand straight up anymore, and doesn't look half bad. I'll never do it again- I've always wanted really long hair- but until it grows back in, I'm going to enjoy it. You wouldn't believe how much time you save in the shower and getting dressed by being hairless. If you have piercings, it shows them off to great effect, too, and I was actually motivated to start stretching the lower holes in my ears- something that I've been playing around with a little.
    I think that everyone should do it at least once, if just for the attention and the time saving effect it has. Once you see yourself without hair, you really begin to realize how stupid it is to worry so much about your appearance.
-3/26/99