On the 18th of October, Susannah Hunt shaved her hair off in support of cancer victims. She has raised £1,120 online so far and £67 in cash, exceeding her £700 target. The money will be donated to Macmillan Cancer Support. Please visit https://bravetheshave.org.uk/shavers/susannah-hunt/ if you would like to contribute to this great cause!
When did you decide to Brave the Shave?
A friend at work did it for Macmillan and I thought: “What an incredible thing to do.” It had also been at the back of my mind for ages before this and one day I made a drunken handshake with my manager confirming that I would. So this was in September and it all moved so quickly from there as I had to start fundraising and all! It was all quite sudden I would say.
How did you feel as you got progressively closer to the shave date?
It was really weird – I’d realized I’d started looking at people’s hair all the time and thinking “Wow, she has really nice hair.” Then I’d feel like “Oh no, I’m not going to have any soon.” I remember the last time I washed my hair – it felt strange because I wouldn’t be doing it the same way for a while! To be honest, during the build-up, I didn’t really know how I would actually feel until it happened.
How did you feel as it was happening?
Excited, but nervous at the same time. I was sitting there with all of my friends and family around me, but I felt like I was on my own. Everyone was staring at me and I couldn’t see what was going on so I just watched their reactions thinking “Oh my god, what’s happening!?”
How did you react when you saw your shaved head for the first time?
I cried. I was already crying a little bit by that point, but I went to the bathroom with a few friends and properly burst into tears. When I looked in the mirror, I thought “I hate it. Why have I done this?”
Have you had to change the way you put your make up on or the way you dress to suit the new look?
A little bit – I took my nose ring out because it looked like it was just there on it’s own. I’ve tried to dress a bit girlier, like wearing more skirts and stuff, although I’m not a massive girly dresser.
Who were your biggest supporters?
Probably my housemates – they’ve been amazing and handled it really well because they knew I’d be upset. They also helped me fundraise loads by posting all the time etc. My parents were so calm about it as well. I know a lot of people have said to me “My parents would never let me do it – they’d be so angry or sad.” So it’s really good that my parents were so supportive and that they came to watch the shave along with my aunts and uncles.
How did you feel the first time you walked out of the house by yourself?
I felt a bit naked. I felt a lot colder too, which surprised me; I didn’t really consider that as a factor or see it as a big issue, but I’ve bought lots of hats now, so it’s fine. I also had to get used to getting things touching it because when things brush onto it, it feels a bit like velvet. I’ve noticed that people do stare a lot, especially people that don’t know me. A lot of people just think that I’m trying to be edgy too, obviously with the whole Bristol vibe. It’s a bit annoying that people think that rather than considering I’d done it for charity. It’s weird for me because I never used to be self-conscious and now for the first time I have been. I’m definitely out of my comfort zone.
How did people’s reactions affect you?
It made me really upset initially. I felt like people were being really shallow and I didn’t understand how or why they could be that way. I’ve certainly been a bit judgmental in the past, but now I’ve really come to realize that you never really know what’s going on with some people and that their image isn’t necessarily reflective of what you might think it is. On Thursday I went to Pam Pams and loads of my friends were there who hadn’t seen me yet and they were all really supportive and thought it was cool. But then there were obviously people that didn’t know who had completely opposite reactions – there were people who were being really standoffish and looking at me weirdly etc. I could definitely feel a huge contrast between those who knew I had done it for charity and those who didn’t understand or know me. I left not long after, because the bad reactions made me feel like I didn’t want to be there. I never took into account that these things would happen, so I was a bit shocked.
So many girls have also told me that they couldn’t do it because hair plays such a big role in their identity and self-confidence. Now that I think about it, I would say that it did play a big part of it for me too. I want people to realize that being bald isn’t the end of the world. I obviously felt bad about it at the beginning, but I’ve come to see that it really shouldn’t be a big issue. People have also have made ‘joking’ comments like “You’ll look like a lesbian,” but to me that makes no sense at all. If a guy shaved his head, they would never be told “You look gay.” In fact, I’ve noticed quite the opposite because at school when guys shaved their heads they’d be told that they look like ‘a lad’ or ‘really cool’. Anyway, I keep reminding myself that I’ve done a really good thing and there’s no point dwelling on people being negative.