I began shaving my head for my grandma when she was diagnosed with cancer. I've had several short hairstyles since I think I was in the sixth grade, and shaving my head was definitely the most daring. I've cut my hair a few times on my own - I've gotten pretty good if I say so myself.
My grandma always had beautiful hair, which she kept short, but when she started to lose her hair, I decided to shave my head in support of her. I didn't go bald, but I went with a buzz-cut more or less.
I loved it. It was faded on the side and a bit longer on the top. It looked cool when I wore a hat, and it was a nice clean slate. My grandma didn't like it so much even after I told her I did it for her. There wasn't anything she could do about it since it was already shaved. She got over it eventually.
There is just something really nice about having a shaved head. It's so easy to take care of. There's no fighting with it to "look right," or money spent on styling products and shampoo, I save time and water when I shower and in the mornings as there is no need to style it.
But honestly, it's more than just about convenience for me. Short hair is the perfect medium - it is both feminine and masculine, so it allows me to play with different looks easily. Having short hair makes me feel beautiful. It's empowering. There's a sense of freedom to not be bound by what society views as beauty. It makes me feel confident.
My hair was long about a month ago, and I felt so ugly. My hair never looked right. I wore a hat every day because I was so insecure about it. So I decided, after talking it over with some friends, that I would pull yet another Britney Spears and shave my head.
My mom gets frustrated every time I shave my head, and I'm 20 years old. She tells me that a boy isn't going to like me if I have short hair, but that isn't the point. Besides, if a boy likes me, he will also like my short hair. I feel ugly when my hair is "long" (long for me, that is).
Having a shaved head doesn't make you lesbian. It doesn't make you butch. Hair is hair. Why does it matter?
I have felt so much more confident since. Sometimes you just need to pull a Britney Spears and shave your head, and then it's one less thing you have to worry about. And many powerful women have short hair right now - Emma González, Eleven from Stranger Things, Okoye from the Black Panther movie. Women have worn their hair shorn since ancient Egypt.
"The future is female and she doesn't have time for hair products."
