Ah Bukhara at dusk…all the architectural domes glistening in the sunlight, the mixture of blues and reds bouncing off a perfectly smooth, round surface. So much history, so much beauty…
Oh wait! No that’s actually my friend Hannah’s freshly shaved head, courtesy yours truly.
Hannah used to be a (sort of) regular girl, with locks of golden hair chopped short for bicycle traveling. But the deserts of Uzbekistan are hot, and one’s head is where most of one’s body heat is released, so Hannah did what any crazy woman on a bicycle who doesn’t give a shit what anyone thinks about her would do, she asked me to SHAVE HER HEAD WITH A STRAIGHT RAZOR.
All soaped up and ready to go. What is the emotion on Hannah’s face in this photo? Is she about to laugh? Cry? Somewhere between apprehension and disbelief? Like she’s thinking “WTF have I gotten myself into?” but too brave to back out?
A little back story. Back in India, like more than a year ago, I used up my last Gilette Mach 3 razor cartridge. Those things aren’t terribly cheap back in good ole’ USA either, but in India, not only are they hard to find, but they are close to $10 a pop. So I started going to the barber, who in India, will give you the best shave of your life, put moisturizer on your face, and give you a little head and neck massage, all for about $2. I noticed that all the barbers in India use straight razors to shave their patrons, so I became interested, partly because it seemed to give a closer shave, partly because it looked cool, and partly because you can also use one to kill people, a la “Dressed to Kill”
or “Drive” (ff to 3:10 for straight razor goodness)
So anyway I picked up a straight razor in India, and without the intention of using it to murder anyone, I started using it to shave my own face. It’s cheaper than a Mach 3, and brings skill (and a little bit of danger) back into what is otherwise a mundane chore. For the past few months I’ve been using it on myself, so I jumped at the chance to shave another human’s entire head!
If you’re interested in straight razor shaving, check out this how-to from Art of Manliness.
After the first few strokes. I think I see a twinkle of regret in those eyes.
But I’m having a blast!
I don’t know what Hannah was thinking about, but for me it was a solid hour of zen concentration, almost meditative. No thoughts or worries, just me, the blade, and a crazy lady’s scalp.
Almost done! Sorry Hannah, I nicked you just a bit back there. Hannah’s new nickname is “Captain Lumpy.”
So much trust…Too much maybe?
And voila! There you have it. One beautiful, bald woman. It took a lot of guts for Hannah to do this. Afterwards, she got quite a lot of stares from local passersby, and some of the Uzbek men seemed to actually have trouble discerning her sex. But according to Hannah, “It’ll grow back, and when am I ever going to have a chance to do this again without risking getting fired from a job or something?” True dat. It’s fun to pet too.
Oh wait! No that’s actually my friend Hannah’s freshly shaved head, courtesy yours truly.
Hannah used to be a (sort of) regular girl, with locks of golden hair chopped short for bicycle traveling. But the deserts of Uzbekistan are hot, and one’s head is where most of one’s body heat is released, so Hannah did what any crazy woman on a bicycle who doesn’t give a shit what anyone thinks about her would do, she asked me to SHAVE HER HEAD WITH A STRAIGHT RAZOR.
All soaped up and ready to go. What is the emotion on Hannah’s face in this photo? Is she about to laugh? Cry? Somewhere between apprehension and disbelief? Like she’s thinking “WTF have I gotten myself into?” but too brave to back out?
A little back story. Back in India, like more than a year ago, I used up my last Gilette Mach 3 razor cartridge. Those things aren’t terribly cheap back in good ole’ USA either, but in India, not only are they hard to find, but they are close to $10 a pop. So I started going to the barber, who in India, will give you the best shave of your life, put moisturizer on your face, and give you a little head and neck massage, all for about $2. I noticed that all the barbers in India use straight razors to shave their patrons, so I became interested, partly because it seemed to give a closer shave, partly because it looked cool, and partly because you can also use one to kill people, a la “Dressed to Kill”
or “Drive” (ff to 3:10 for straight razor goodness)
So anyway I picked up a straight razor in India, and without the intention of using it to murder anyone, I started using it to shave my own face. It’s cheaper than a Mach 3, and brings skill (and a little bit of danger) back into what is otherwise a mundane chore. For the past few months I’ve been using it on myself, so I jumped at the chance to shave another human’s entire head!
If you’re interested in straight razor shaving, check out this how-to from Art of Manliness.
After the first few strokes. I think I see a twinkle of regret in those eyes.
But I’m having a blast!
I don’t know what Hannah was thinking about, but for me it was a solid hour of zen concentration, almost meditative. No thoughts or worries, just me, the blade, and a crazy lady’s scalp.
Almost done! Sorry Hannah, I nicked you just a bit back there. Hannah’s new nickname is “Captain Lumpy.”
So much trust…Too much maybe?
And voila! There you have it. One beautiful, bald woman. It took a lot of guts for Hannah to do this. Afterwards, she got quite a lot of stares from local passersby, and some of the Uzbek men seemed to actually have trouble discerning her sex. But according to Hannah, “It’ll grow back, and when am I ever going to have a chance to do this again without risking getting fired from a job or something?” True dat. It’s fun to pet too.
