The Ultimate Haircut
Women and their hair.
I’ve just booked my next haircut and the dilemma of wondering if it’s time for a change always comes up… luckily for me I have done the ultimate with my hair so anything I do these days pales in comparison…
I wrote a story about it… this became the story that kicked off my “writing career”…
Bald
Today I am a forty year old bald woman.
Yesterday I had long black hair down to my shoulders.
Today I notice my ears are too big for my face.
Yesterday I looked like everyone else.
Today the wind on my bare scalp chills me to the bone.
Yesterday I still had all my hair to hide behind.
Today people stare at me.
Yesterday I walked into my hairdressers and had my head shaved.
The first step was to cut the bulk of my long hair with scissors. I was spellbound sitting there watching my reflection as my cherished locks fell away. The next step came as he used the electric razor for a close crop. You could now see the shape of my head. Thank God I had no strange lumps and bumps. That would have been too much! Then finally the razor blade to finish the job. There were no tears, just the reflection of a forty year old bald woman looking back at me.
Today I visited my bald client with breast cancer. She is bald from the chemo and was excited about my gesture to shave my own head to support her journey. Today she quietly tells me she can’t stand to look at me because it reminds her how sick she is. She doesn’t want to look at the face of another bald woman. I am banished. She tells me to leave and not come back.
Yesterday I was a person embarking on a symbolic gift for a friend.
Today I am a forty year old bald woman.
Wow! Now that was a surprise ending, Tricia! I imagine it was a blow, after such a radical gesture, for such caring reasons. I do understand the client’s feelings too, and I bet her reaction even took HER by surprise! I’d love to see the before and after pictures!
Hi Lin… she actually asked me to come back and train her again (when her cancer went to her brain). I went back and was with her until her death. A very interesting woman.