“Are you sure?” My hair stylist asked again; the razor had been buzzing in her hands for the past five minutes. “Are you positive?” She had been washing, cutting, styling, dyeing my hair my entire life.
“Yes, I’m completely positive. I’m ready for it. Start with the sides.”
Slowly and with a look of anguish on her face, she started removing my hair strip by strip – there was no turning back now. Every woman in the shop could not believe what she was seeing; one even asked me if she could take a picture because no one was going to believe her! I expected some strange looks and possible inquires about my new do, but there was a lot more to a bald head than I originally thought. I had wanted to shave my hair off since high school when I discovered how beautiful model, Amber Rose, looked. With the same name I had to at least try it, and I have never felt freer.
Right in the salon after it happened. My mother (in the back) made sure to take pictures too.
1. You WILL get looks
After being bald for a few months you stop noticing it, but in the beginning it was like being center stage at Madison Square Garden. Side glances and questioning looks, mostly from women seemed to say it all, “Where is her hair?!” Many get a sudden look of sadness when they see me, assuming that I was sick, because apparently the only reason for a woman to shave her head is for medical purposes. The other most popular look was pure shock. What would possess me to remove my hair? And all of it? Why not just a little bit at a time? Just one perfectly healthy and completely sane bald girl here, nothing to see.
2. You become hyper aware of the temperature
Can someone say chilly? Hand me a hat because I lost the ability to keep warm. Your pillow is suddenly colder when you lay down at night, the sun shines on your head like winter skin meeting the spring for the first time (only now it’s all the time), and a hood becomes a saving grace in the air conditioned lobby of your doctor’s office. They say that heat leaves the body through your head, but I didn’t realize I’d lose all of it. Be careful though, that pleasurable sudden sun will result in less than pleasurable sunburns.
I tried headscarves to keep the sun at bay.
3. You become more conscious of other bald people
It’s almost like a buddy system. You see another bald person rocking around town? Give a shout out! Now every person you see rocking no hair is your new best friend! Like you’re in a secret club for awesome bald friends only. Have there always been this many bald middle-aged men? Not to mention the connection of sisterly love with your fellow ladies who don’t have hair either! What is a bad hair day? We wouldn’t know!
4. Just a warning, people will approach you about cancer
And they aren’t subtle about it. The first person to approach me was an elderly woman at a yard sale. She reached out to hold my hands and asked me gently if I had cancer. I told her, “Oh, no. I did this because I wanted to.” She informed me in the same gentle voice that she was about to start her second treatment for breast cancer and liked my flower crown; she’d remember it when the treatment started.
Another woman came up behind me at a Dunkin’ Donuts and placed her hands on my shoulder. “Honey,” she started in a quiet voice, “I just saw your hair and I wanted to ask if you were okay.” I assured her I was fine and she told me, “I was going to pray for you tonight, but I’ll pray for you always.”
People will approach you and ask about, what they believe is, your cancer situation. It’s up to you and your comfort level to explain that, yes, this was in fact a choice. The difficulty is doing it with as much understanding as you can. For me though, every woman that approached me with concern was kind, sweet and genuinely interested in my well-being.
I even got to try wigs!
5. You have complete control of your body and style
At the end of the day, there is nothing better than being able to go into the bathroom, plug in an electric razor, and remove every piece of hair on your head. So many people are obsessed with their hair and their bad hair days that it can be so refreshing to wake up and not have to worry anymore. No more hair products for voluminous sexy hair, no more shampoos and conditioners for sleek and shiny break-free strands, just me and my head in the rawest form possible. My confidence flew through the roof when I made the decision to shave my head because while I couldn’t control what others thought of me, I could control what I wanted to look like and what made me feel fantastic.