Shaving Head

I don't think that there is any need to label these "Before" and "After" pictures. The above head shaving took place on Friday night, June 23rd at my brother-in-law's house in Murray. Several other people attended the event and had the opportunity to cut off a braid or two.

My hair had been growing pretty much since the summer of 2003 when I last received a pretty short hair cut (though not quite as short as above) minus the trims along the way. It got pretty long over three years and I was pretty sick of it. It had been fun but I was mostly wearing my hair in ponytails and felt like it was time for a change.

I had been mulling over the idea of shaving my head since around February or March and Brandon fully supported me on my idea, even encouraged it. But I felt like I needed a really good reason to shave it. Then came the going away party for Jeniece before she left for Botswana back on May 5th. She had chopped off the majority of her beautiful, curly brown locks and looked gorgeous. Then she revealed that once in Africa, she would shave her head. I expressed my interest in shaving my own head and my excitement grew. However, everyone at the party wanted to see some head shaving entertainment right then but I wasn't quite ready for it. I actually felt really pressured and didn't want to shave my head without really thinking about it just to look cool for everyone else. Jeniece offered that we shave our heads together once she was in Africa and she would e-mail me when she did.

The day after the party, I couldn't believe how close I was to shaving my head and decided that I didn't think I wanted to do it after all. Jeniece left for Africa and the idea was pushed to the back of mind, re-emerging every once in a while. I then received an e-mail from Jeniece with pictures of the shaved head - and she looked beautiful! I decided right then I wanted to shave my head too. But I needed a little moral support - enter SWAB thread. I just had to find a good time to do it.

Good time came this past Friday and of course, was documented for friends and future posterity. It wasn't traumatic at all though I was slightly nervous. And finished results exceeded my expectations - I felt like all my features were accentuated a little bit more and the focus was completely on my face.

I won't kid myself and say I looked better with a shaved head. I actually prefer myself with hair but the experience was worth it. I'll probably never shave my head again but I am glad to have done it at least once.