Shaving a head

So every once in a while, I feel the need to change things up.  And one of the ways to symbolize or even instigate that change is to do it physically.  As I'm not a huge fan of needles, tattoos and piercings aren't really my thing.  Instead I have my hair.  ::grin::  For many years, I've had really long hair, but with it being almost always up, the length is sometimes unknown by those around me.  Case in point: I once cut off about a foot of hair and a lot of people didn't notice right away including my Mom.  I still love you!!  ::chuckle::

Anyway, I've been itching to shake things up over the last few months.  I saw a girl walk past while sitting in a cafe on Koh Tao and she had a great mohawk hairstyle.  I'd seen variations of it around the islands but it hadn't really interested me.  Now...hmmm....Let's do it!  It's edgy and outside my comfort zone.  Perfect for my restless feeling.  Two nights later I was sitting in front of my dive shop with a friend and her husband's electric razor.

Making the first cut!

Can you feel the excitement?!

I'm so pretty!!

 I was grinning the entire time.  The owner of the dive shop would walk by and just shake his head.  I would like to point out I was sober.  I didn't have a beer until after we'd started cutting.  ::wink::  I happen to have a videochat with my Mom right afterwards and was really excited for her reaction.  What a let down; she hardly blinked.  But she did make a good point.  I've already dyed my hair purple and blue, left everything behind to backpack around the world, climbed questionable things at Burning Man, and made it through a hospital visit in Thailand.  Shaving part of my head wasn't even a blip anymore.  ::laugh::

I decided to first only shave a section of my head.  Work my way up to a full mohawk.  I liked the initial section.  I felt a bit punk and playful.  I was ready for my next adventure.  Over the next two months, I got my dive master and then started nannying for a family in KL.  I began feeling stagnant and ready for the next step.  Not just the next step.  I was ready to dive in head first, if you pardon the pun.  I'd been feeling, well, I'm not sure how to describe it.  I want to say unfeminine but it was more being asexual.  I didn't feel comfortable and confident in my own body.  I was stuck in a rut and having an overwhelming need to breakout.  Getting rid of all this hair would get rid of so much weight.  I once had a coworker tell me that my hair calmed my personality down; short hair would put that energy in people's faces.  She wasn't sure everyone could handle all that Kira.  I laughed at the time, but right now with this feeling of my personality being stifled I needed to get rid of anything blocking me.

In KK, just after I arrived.

Right before the big change.

I looked through numerous photos online and eventually fell in love with a look.  I was ready!  Now I just needed to get to someone who could cut it and have the money to pay for it.  Not as easy as that sounds.  Until one afternoon it just all came together.  Well, sort of.  The family and I were walking around a shopping area and saw a salon giving 15RM haircuts but only on the weekdays.  It's Saturday.  But then they remembered there was a barber just down the road who cut hair for the same price.  We'd already discussed that with the haircut I wanted, a barber could do it just as well as a stylist.  And I needed it cheap!



But of course it wouldn't be a Kira-story without adding some obstacles.  First I couldn't access the picture of the haircut because the internet connection was wonky.  Then it wouldn't download the picture so I tried to find it by searching online but remember what I said about going through a lot of photos?  Finally got the bright idea to message my friend back in the States I'd sent to the picture to and hope she was awake at 1am her time and could download the picture and send it through What's app.  Yeah...that happened.  ::laugh::

So armed with my picture and my purse, I headed to the barber.  Should have known this would be an experience as well.  It was in a back hallway of a mall with 3 little stations.  You put money in a machine and was given a card with a number.  When your number was called, a guy with a face protector would sit you down and prep you for your haircut with some toilet paper around the neck (not that unusual, I know) and the cape thing (no, I have no idea what it's called).

Getting in line

I loved every minute of it.  I couldn't stop grinning as he cut, shaved, and trimmed the majority of my hair off my head.  He was meticulous.  It was like watching a clockmaker make sure the gears worked juuuuust right.  I could feel so many of my worries, insecurities, and self-doubts lighten as my hair fell to the floor.  I got goosebumps as I watched the reflection of my transformation.

And then out came the vacuum.  I kid you not.  There was a vacuum hose attached to the wall.  He put it right to my head and sucked up all the little bits of hair on my scalp and around my neck and ears.  To go back to how good this barber was, he checked my haircut as he cleaned and ended up trimming a few spots.  Which meant he had to vacuum one more time.  And then I got a scalp massage as he styled my hair and adjusted strands just so with his fingers.  Talk about getting your money's worth!

A mother and her daughter came in just as he was finishing with me.  I was grinning from ear to ear and playing with my new do.  I saw her reflection in the mirror as she assessed and judged this new ?unfeminine? look and said "did you ask him to do that?"

"Yes ma'am, I did.  And I love it!!"

And it reminded me the importance of doing things for yourself.  As long as you love you, what does it matter of others opinions?  Especially something as malleable and impermanent as hair.  And so I walked away with a new jaunt in my step and swing in my hips.  I can't say I felt more feminine.  I don't think the cut makes me look girly.  I just felt new, fresh.  Like I'd sloughed off all the dead skin and was bright and shiny with a chance to make new choices.  And it floored me that something as simple as cutting my hair could have such an effect on me.  But I rejoiced in the simplicity of being able to get to that point.  And I look forward to making this energy snowball into bigger and better things.  You've gotta start somewhere.  This time for me, it started at the top of my head.

SO

MUCH

LOVE!!!

Side view

Da' back

I love this new do.  All I need is to figure out how to get the full-out mohawk and I'm good to go.  I'll update the post when I get some hair wax.  YEY!!!!

**Please Note: All photos are property of Kira Zebroski**