I can’t take it anymore!’ I grumbled annoyingly to myself. The immense heat this summer has certainly taken its toll on me. Working as a marketing associate, it meant I had to be on my feet and travelling almost all the time, mostly in the open under the sun. What’s worse, I have a head of natural kinky curls, which I only managed to rebond just a few months ago, with a meagre amount of time I chipped off work.
Now, the originally pin-straight rebonded hair is a total mess with the new growth appearing. Without the help of a hair dryer and straightener, I look like a total disaster. ‘This had to stop.’ I thought. I certainly needed a low maintenance hairstyle, something that is wash-and-go, so I can spend more time on my work and other things I have to attend to.
Living in a small town with a population of less than two thousand, there was not much commercial business going on here, except for a small mall at the centre of the town. I grabbed my car keys, and drove towards the mall without a further thought.
In the mall lie probably the only two places where the townsfolk can get their hair done; Sam’s Barbershop for the men, and a Unisex Salon for the ladies, or the metrosexual guys. Usually, I would have gotten my hair done in the city area, where there are more posh salons. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. I knew that this had to be done, here and now.
Obviously, Sam’s Barbershop was out of the story. Thus, I headed towards the Unisex Salon. As I reached the outer corridor of the salon, I peered inside. Seeing that there was nobody getting their hair done at the moment, I gave a sigh of relief as I was assured there would not be any strange remarks for what I am going to do in the next hour.
I pushed open the door, and entered the unisex salon. My entrance did not go unanswered; a young lady, dressed in a double-denim outfit and a pair of Birkenstocks, greeted me and gestured for a nearby chair. I took a seat, and she excused herself briefly to get ready.
She returned quickly, this time with a hairdressing apron on, and a chocolate-brown cape on hand. I sat properly as she draped the cape around me, and fastened it snuggly around my neck. ‘So, how would you like your hair cut today madam?’ she asked as the chair was pumped up several times.
‘Take everything off.’ I said, without a second thought in mind.
‘Oh, getting the big chop I see. You do have some decent length which is natural though. Would you prefer I cut off the length until where the natural ends are?’ she questioned. I deliberated for a moment, and came up with my final decision. ‘No, I want to take it all off.’ I replied.
‘Sounds like a clean start to me. Alright, a #2 coming up!’ she exclaimed, almost as if she struck the lottery, to be able to shave off all my hair.
She walked forward, picked up the clippers hanging on a hook beside a small drawer, and replaced the guard with one from a box on the top of the drawer. The clippers came alive with a loud thud. The lady pulled up a section of hair close to my occipital bone, so that she could get a clearer look at the length on my nape. The buzzing noise of the clippers came closer to my ears, and transmuted into a continuous tearing sound as I felt the vibration of the clippers push upwards from my nape. With all the curly kinks grown out, I was actually more worried about the clippers getting jammed than losing all the length.
She repeated the motion several times, each time with less tension than the previous. With the last stroke having little to no tension from the touch, I knew that all the length at the back was gone. The lady then repositioned herself, and proceeded to shave off everything on my left, up to the temple. The sheared curls tumbled down my shoulder, and rested in my lap above the cape. Where the clippers mowed through, laid super-short stubble now.
She repeated the process with the other side, leaving a huge heap of hair on my lap, and all over the salon floor. The clippers went silent for a moment, as she brushed off the scraggly mess that had stuck onto the clipper blades from all the shaving.
Without further delay, the clippers came back on. Mentally, I said goodbye to my locks as she positioned the clippers at my forehead, and pushed them back, all the way to where the stubble at my back lies, connecting the length. With a few more similar pushes, all the remaining locks tumbled to the floor, and lied there restless. I stared in the mirror, emotionless as I observed my newly cropped head. I reached out of the cape and caressed the stubble. It pricked me gently. I loved it! It was exactly what I have been looking for.
Giving my nape a gentle brush, the lady unfastened the cape off me, sending the heap of my locks to the floor. I stood up, paid her for the haircut, and left for the door.
As I stepped outside, the heat was no longer as intense to me. With my newly shaved head, I greeted the summer weather. I think I’m going to keep it this short for a long time to come.
