I asked my husband to shave my head using normal home scissors and a disposable razor.Īpprehensions?I had taken my own decision. The Lockdown had closed parlours, so I could not go for haircut or hair dye. Many years back I had seen Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das shave their heads, and was very impressed by their boldness and looks. What else are you waiting for permission for? If you thought of shaving your head, but were concerned about whether society around you would accept it – well, you’re waiting for permission. Instead: are you not shaving your head because you don’t want to, or because you don’t think you have permission to? If you thought of shaving your head and decided you preferred a different style, that’s great. I’d respond: dear reader, of course you -could- shave your head, it’s as easy as picking up a set of clippers. A reader may think “X looks great with a shaved head! But I couldn’t do that”. Shaving one’s head provokes some questions which strike at the heart of our attitudes in society. It was harder immediately thereafter to accept that every flaw, every wrinkle, every blemish on my face was somehow magnified.īut there’s something deeper going on. It was easy to get my head shaved the first time, not knowing really what to expect.
It’s content over form, almost militantly.ĭid it do something deeper? It started as being about my daughter, then became an object lesson about the influences we live with. Professionally? I’m a mathematician in a university, and as a profession, personal appearance is not a factor. The reactions that mattered most were those of my kids, who thought this was really cool. The only person who absolutely hated it was my dad, but he adores me, so that was OK anyways. Reactions? I can’t honestly say I cared about the reactions I received, apart from my kids and my closest friends/family. Survivors don’t need pity from a distance. So I decided to make this a regular thing, in solidarity with my friends. I realized my friends who are fighting cancer face the pitying looks every day. No more shampoo, conditioner, towels, hair-wash schedule, dryer, combs….travel has never been so easy! Next: back in 2012, in this part of the world (in Canada) shaved heads amongst women were rare, and associated with cancer survival. What changed after that? Well, I was initially taken aback by my own reaction, but found this a great way to learn about myself. My daughter is now a very confident 11-year-old, with an abrasive, fascinating, brilliant personality all her own. Most importantly, they learned that a ‘why-the-fuck-do-you-get-a-say-in-my-life?’ attitude is a lived, and livable, attitude. They loved feeling the shape of their mom’s skull. When I got home with a shaved skull, my kids were astounded. That was the motivation for my first head shave, right there: showing my daughter that who we are, how beautiful we feel, doesn’t depend on the state or style of our hair. When I told her all forms of hairstyles could be beautiful, including being bald, she looked at me with great scepticism. I gave her the usual recommended spiel: it’s about inner beauty, there are different forms of external beauty, don’t let anyone else define you. Now, of course, my daughter is gorgeous (all our daughters are).
So my kid was convinced she wasn’t beautiful. old daughter came home from preschool one day, distraught that her hair wasn’t long, curly and blonde apparently the girls in her preschool had decided that this was an important part of being beautiful. It’s awakening. I wanted to do during this lockdown but instead gave myself an almost buzz cut. Will I do it again.Totally! And all for that first shower of cold water on a freshly shaved bald head, you feel every mm. Probably this old connection to widows being asked to shave their hair as it make them undesirable. A bald head isn’t permanent and yet people are so worried or paranoid about this loss of so called beauty.
My father liked it so much that he was inspired to shave his hair too but at that time, we were traveling remotely, far from a safe barber, so decided against it.
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