As a little girl, hairdresser days were my very special days. My mother knew she could wake me in the best possible way by whispering into my ear, “Time to wake up, it’s your haircut day”.
The simplicity of a routine haircut always held the elusive promise of ‘a new me, an improved me, a more beautiful me’.
This month, at the age of 46, I’ve taken my shoulder length hair to a shaven buzz cut. This is a first for me – would it be for you?
Extreme behavior? I recon, just like with veganism, ‘extreme’ is an adverb commonly used by those who perceive a big change as being incomprehensible.
‘Extreme,’ to me, is simply a place ventured by those who are brave enough to challenge their long-held perceptions.
It’s taken me over 40 years to truly believe that while a great haircut can accentuate one’s outer beauty, it ends there. As now I place a higher value on beauty that comes from within.
My intention behind this bold shave was the intuitive feeling of opportunity.
As with veganism being outside of society’s norms, I’ve found extreme personal growth in standing up for someone or something else.
Owning my power in individuality of choice and lifestyle, I’ve learnt to embrace change and found freedom in questioning society’s ‘normal’ and ‘acceptable’.
As far as I’m concerned one need only look to our earth’s environmental degradation, appalling treatment of animals and our widespread lifestyle disease fatalities, to know that society’s norms are failing us.
Perhaps I might even touch someone else, by showing them that conventional beauty isn’t mandatory, not even at middle age!
Either way nothing is lost as I donated my hair to The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA).
That’s good enough for me, and that’s all the counts!
