D.I.Y. barbering !

I will ask you a very simple question-is it possible to cut your own hair. Apparently it is aesthetically impossible, as a certain Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi discovered to his dismay. Miffed by the refusal of a white barber in SA, he took a pair of scissors to his hair and tried to give them a trimming. As he writes, though he had fairly succeeded in the front, the rear looked as though they were chewed through by rats. Of course he soon went bald and matters rested there.

Now you might be wondering what relation does these events which occurred over a century ago have with me.Plenty.Let me give you a background. Like Gandhi I was losing my hair. And feeling a bit insecure when all my friends make it a fashion statement to keep shoulder length hair. Among the many myths related to hair one is that shaving your head stimulates growth. Even though I am a skeptic I gave it a shot .Went and shaved off my head and on top of that also acquired a French cut. Reaching my digs I was surprised when many of my long locked companions complimented my new looks. One of them even said that the bear would be okay but it was a shame I could not keep my bald look without frequent visits to a barber. Of course the idea is financially unsustainable. He ended with a wisecrack that it would have been nice if I could shave my head myself and save expenses.

Now that set me thinking. Why can’t I do it just because others don’t? After 4 days when the fuzz appeared on the head I figured that now was the time to test my hypothesis. I lathered up my fuzzy head just like hoe you do before shaving and applied the razor. A sweep through the foam and my scalp was glistening. A few careful strokes and the front part was nice and tidy. Now came the back. Feeling by touch I managed to scrape away much but was sure that I had left out patches and could feel myself like how the father of the nation felt when he was squinting before his own shaving mirror. Finally with the help of a chap I completed the finishing touches. Of course I nicked myself number of places, but as they say, the experience was worth it. Shaving, in the ordinary sense of the term was a breeze. When I sprayed after shave the head seemed to be on fire. This was about one and a half month ago. With practice nowadays I can almost shave my head, front, back and the sides almost eyes closed. And thankfully no more nicks.

Seeing me perpetually bald made me face the same question –how many times do I go for a shave? And when I reply with a straight face that it was my own handiwork and it had been months people refuse to believe until somebody who has seen me doing it has corroborated the story. And I have been getting a lot of comments on the look-ranging from looking like a baddie in the movies to an x -rated star. Some even ventured to say it looked sexy, though I don’t believe much of it. But the only reason I have kept a bald head is that it feels damn comfortable. Try it for yourself. It feels like you have a weather vane on top of your head. And the wind is cool. I don’t think I will ever go back to being normal. Being bald sits just fine with me. Oops! Haven’t shaved for 5 days.Okay, first thing in the morning I am gonna lather myself up.

P.S Just as I promised yesterday I lathered up and got a nice head and cheek shave and am as good as new.Another 20 bucks out of the hands of the trimmers.