August
Hello All! If you’ve been following this series for a while: welcome back! If you’re new, please don’t be put off by the ‘Part 11’. Now I’ve re-started this series I’m trying to write each instalment in a way that works both as a stand-alone story and as part of a series. Enjoy!
As the title says this is a true account of my hair journey however names have been changed.
A Quick Recap
Several years ago when I was at university I chopped my auburn hair to a pixie cut, decided I didn’t like it, then grew it out again. Only I got bored of always having the same old hairstyles so a few years ago I made the decision to slowly go shorter and shorter with every haircut.
During my experimenting I’ve discovered a love for undercuts and micro bobs. My uncertainty over having short hair has gone and, after years of wondering what I’d look like with one, I’m finally ready for my next haircut milestone – a bowl cut.
Am I Really Going To Do This?
If you’ve read some of the previous instalments in this series, you’ll know that a bowl cut is one of the haircuts I’ve fantasised about getting the most and also the haircut a never dreamed I’d actually have the nerve to get. It’s one of the hardest haircuts to pull off and if it goes wrong there’s nowhere to hide. But my recent exploration into extreme micro bobs made me realise that it was now or never.
But getting a bowl cut would also mean getting a fringe – something I associate with childhood haircuts that were chosen by my mum. The second I was allowed to grow it out I did and I’ve never looked back…until now.
Let The Transformation Begin
So, I’d decided. I was definitely going to do this. Only I was a scaredy cat and didn’t just want to walk into a salon and ask for a bowl cut. I mean, this is not the type of haircut most sensible people ask for. I’d even got as far as researching the edgiest looking salons in town – surely they dealt with the occasional unusual request – before I decided I was massively overthinking everything and simply booked an appointment with Kieron at his unisex barbershop like normal.
I arrived for my appointment, settled into the large barber’s chair, felt the black cape wrap around me, and found I still couldn’t utter the words ‘bowl cut’. But I’d already come up with a plan B.
It hadn’t been too long since my last visit. My micro bob had grown about an inch so my earlobes and undercut were still visible.
What are we doing today? Asked Keiron as normal. Are you just wanting a trim or do you want me to take your hair back up to the same length as before? He placed a finely-toothed comb about a centimetre below the tops of my ears.
Time for stage one: “Actually I was thinking about changing my style up a bit. Would I be able to get a fringe please?” After being assured that this wouldn’t be a problem the consultation moved onto what length I wanted for the rest of my bob.
Now for stage two: “Would it be possible to have my bob cut above my ears? Just so it doesn’t get in my face. When it gets windy I can’t always tuck my hair out of the way.” Again Kieron agreed to my request although whether we picturing the same hair style would soon be revealed.
Finally my undercut. I assume you want your normal length? For me this actually means no length at all. Whatever the technical term for absolute-zero skin-only is.
“Would it be ok if we went slightly longer today? Maybe a number 2 guard?” Like I said, I was nervous and getting a bowl cut was a gamble. I knew from previous haircuts that when my undercut grows out a bit it can start to merge with the top sections of my hair to give the impression of a pixie cut. If I did look absolutely oh-god-what-have-I-done awful with my new cut I at least wanted to get a head start on the growing out phase just in case.
Kieron was surprised but nevertheless transformed the soft hairs on the back and sides of my head into short bristles. The feeling of the clippers on my head will never not feel amazing.
Now for the most nerve-wracking part. Kieron brushed my hair over my face, covering my eyes. He took his time, making sure every strand of hair was lying in its optimum position. Then I felt the cold of scissors just above my right eyebrow. I still couldn’t see but I felt a small flurry of hair fall onto the cape. My hair was combed straight again before the blades removed another tiny section of hair. This careful precision continued for what felt like ages until my right eye was finally unobscured by hair. Kieron was stood in front of me blocking the mirror. It was really hard to patient and not start running my fingers through whatever I had asked to be done to my hair. At last, finally, my fringe was complete and Kieron stepped to one side.
What did I think?
Oh this was definitely a ‘what the hell have I just done’ moment’. My new fringe was thick and heavy and didn’t suit me at all. It looked more like a punishment haircut that someone had inflicted upon me rather than the stylish look I had prayed for.
Surely picking up on my uncertainty Keiron promised my hair would look different once the cut was finished and my thick hair had been thinned out a bit.
Now for the main part of my hair. As usual Keiron divided my hair into sections. Now it was so short, my hair needed twice the amount of clips to keep it in place. Also as usual Keiron started at the back of my head which meant I couldn’t tell the length I was being left with. Unlike my fringe, where I could feel the blades against my head, for the back of my hair the section was lifted away from my head and cut at a slight angle. This also did nothing to help me work out if this haircut was going to be as short as I’d imagined. Maybe I should have just asked for a bowl cut after all.
At last Keiron moved onto the side of my head. The lower section was freed. The comb pulled my hair down. The scissors were raised.
Scrunch, scrunch, scrunch.
The blades chewed noisily through my hair. Above my ear to form a perfect line with my fringe. Oh god I was actually doing this! As the hair on the other side of my head was cut to the same length half of me was excited that I was finally getting the bowl cut I’d fantasised about and the other half of me couldn’t believe I was actually going through with it. And I’d thought my micro bobs looked extreme.
With the sectioning finished Keiron swapped his scissors for thinning shears. And boy was my hair in desperate need of thinning.
Even aided by the mini undercut I still had, my thick hair is not suited for a blunt bowl cut. It’s just too…blunt. Although technically it is what I asked for.
Throughout my haircut I’d been growing more and more self-conscious. I’m used to big transformations and loosing several inches of hair in one sitting. However, because my hair was so short, the majority of my chopped hair had landed on me instead of the floor. From the creation of my fringe I had a semi-circle of hair collected in my lap and the thick auburn chunks that had once been my bob were now coating my shoulders and the back of the chair. I was sitting in a tight circle of hair and my transformation was drawing the gaze of the shop’s other patrons. Even more so when the thinning shears added a deluge of hair onto me.
And then Keiron stepped back and my long-awaited haircut was over. My eternal gratitude to whomever invented thinning shears. The look was so much better! The layers created by the shears gave the look a lighter pixie-esque style rather than the harsh style of a few minutes ago. It was still a bowl cut but a softer version.
The Reaction
My new bowl cut was growing on me more and more by the minute. Ok, is it the style that suits my face the best? No. Do I care? No. It’s fun and different and hair grows back. But I was still nervous about what my friends and family would make of my bold new look.
As it turned it I’d worried for nothing since I’d barely got any reaction at all. The strongest reaction was a: it’s nice from my friend and my mum’s reaction was: oh you’ve had it redone the same as last time, it looks good.
Alright so no reaction is better than a bad reaction but…I had stressed and delayed getting a bowl cut for years and it was the first time in nearly a decade that I’d had my hair cut above my ears – and no one even noticed. I’d been worrying for nothing. If I’d known that, I would have had my hair chopped this short ages ago.
The Second Bowl Cut
Now that my undercut was fully visible I knew I couldn’t let it get too long in case it merged with the top of my hair to form a messy half-grown look. Naturally work got in the way yet again and Kieron’s barbershop saw a surge of appointments just when I needed one. Both my undercut and bowl cut were starting to look a bit unruly. It was easy enough to trim my fringe but I didn’t want to risk making a disaster of the back of my head.
I didn’t get an appointment but I did finally managed to make time to visit Nora at her local barbershop during a quiet period.
Now that I was comfortable with my bowl cut I’d decided to go back to my zero clipper cut for my undercut. I settled into the chair and asked for ‘my usual please’. Nora chuckled. She had already gotten the guardless clippers and the foil shaver ready when I walked in.
My undercut was nearly a couple of centimetres long and my bowl cut was covering the tops of my ears but the line between the two was still clear to see.
Nora spritzed the top of my hair and used a comb to keep it out of the way while the clippers made quick work of the back and sides of my head. As first the clippers and then the foil shaver did their job Nora and I chatted and I told her about the trouble I’d been having getting another appointment.
I don’t mind giving you a quick trim, she offered. You might as well now you’re here.
I gratefully agreed to her offer. Once my nape had been shaved completely smooth Nora picked up the spray bottle and damped my hair. The beads of water felt cool against my skin.
Instead of going around the circumference of my head like I’d expected, Nora lifted up a piece of my hair at the front so I could see it. The section was about four and half inches long.
So I’m guessing you’ll want more than a little trim? She trapped a mere centimetre of hair between her fingers
Definitely.
An inch of hair was suggested.
Could I have it shorter please?
Nora recombed the section so half the length was between her fingers – just over two inches of hair which would leave the same amount left on my head. Was I actually going to go through with this?
I nodded and within seconds a clump of wet hair fell onto the cape.
The minutes seemed to fly by. Piece by piece Nora would raise a small section of hair away from my head, chop off half of it and move on to a neighbouring section of hair. My lap was growing heavy with wet hair.
When comparing this haircut to my last one, I was actually loosing less hair and two inches was hardly a dramatic transformation for me. But something I hadn’t considered was how this cut would look with the fresh baldness on the back and sides of my head.
When Kieron had cut my bowl cut the line of my hair had rested just above my ears. The cut I’d requested from Nora now placed the line of my hair at least an inch above my ears. My pale skin was clear for all to see and for a moment I missed the blanket of hair that used to hide my undercut. Even though I’d fantasised about it plenty of times a part of me never believed I’d actually be daring enough to get my hair cut this ruthlessly short.
More than half my head was bald and the top was two inches long. I’d only come in for a quick shave.
Nora put down her scissors and brushed the comb forwards through what little remained of my hair, causing a tidal wave of cut hair to become dislodged from the top of my head and fall heavily onto my lap. It only took a minute for the hairdryer to complete dry my hair.
Wow. Seriously…wow!
My hair only covered half my forehead when it was lain flat. It would take weeks, no months surely before my hair was long enough to touch my ears or get in the way of my eyes again.
Was it still a bowl cut? Technically yes because of my tiny undercut and the rounded shape, albeit a very extreme bowl cut. But the way Nora had cut it had added waves of layers to my hair so that it could also pass for an equally as extreme high shaved pixie cut.
Even though part of me was terrified to leave the shop with the back and sides of my head on full display, I actually preferred the shape of this shorter look to my previous one.
I think I’m going to enjoy having short hair!
