“A woman’s hair is her crowning glory”, says
the Bible. That is, perhaps, the reason a woman’s shorn head will draw a
second, and sometimes third, glance. Historically, there has been a lot of negativity
when it comes to the shaving of a woman’s hair.
In 1944, French women suspected of
collaborating with Nazis had their hair shorn in public as punishment. Slaves,
including women, were often shaved as a sign of servitude. Later when the
feminist movement came about, women spotted shorn heads as a statement against
what they considered to be the traditional man-pleasing femininity.
To date, a woman’s shorn head is
viewed as an outward sign of stress, illness, rebellion, and sometimes madness.
International female celebrities who have shaved their hair for reasons other
than a role in a movie have been branded as having lost their minds or drug
abusers.
In 1997, Britney Spears’ decision to
shave her hair created a furore in Hollywood, with fans and foes convinced that
she was either abusing drugs or had completely lost her mind. In some
societies, cutting your hair you will elicit suspicion that you are bisexual or
a lesbian.
Needed a change
Long shiny locks have been the symbol
of feminine beauty all over the world, a standard that has cost women globally
a lot of time and money to adhere to. True to form, women in Kenya spend hours
and thousands of shillings every month polishing their manes.
“A woman can never be too broke to
primp her hair,” says one woman who runs a salon in Nairobi. That is perhaps
one of the reasons salons are some of the leading businesses in Kenya today.
African hair is beautiful. However, it
takes a long time to grow and needs extra care to thrive. That is one of the
reasons the salon business is vibrant. Often an African woman has to grow her
hair for several months or even a few years for it to get to shoulder length.
The expression no pain no gain applies
to our hair care. From using hot combs to having our hair pulled in different
directions and styles in the name of beauty, a Kenyan woman will have endured a
lot to grow her hair to a length considered attractive.
It would, therefore, boggle the mind
if the same woman just up and shaves her glorious mane after years of
meticulous care, gruelling hours sitting in the salon, sometimes in not so
comfortable locations, and thousands of shillings spent.
Asked that question, most women will
tell you that they needed a change, a few will plead an active lifestyle that does
not augur well with a perm or weave, some will say they shaved it when constant
braiding ate away at their hair lines, and others will blithely reply that hair
grows, it is no big deal. Talking to men, they claim that it is a big deal.
Changes
Amos says that he does not understand
why a woman would willingly shave her hair. “It is a complete turn-off for me.
Shaving makes a woman look plain, if not uglier.” He claims that it is much
better for a woman to spot the dreaded weave than to shave her hair and
actually cringes as he spits out that little gem.
A few of the women I talked to were
candid enough to admit that downing their manes had a psychological
connotation. Some shaved their hair when undergoing major changes in their
lifestyle, careers, and relationships. They claimed that it helped them turn
over a new leaf, so to speak.
Quite a number made the decision when
a relationship was on the rocks and felt that once they shaved their hair, they
were finally able to let it go as well as the baggage that came with it. Others
were able to finally gather courage to leave unfulfilling jobs or even change
careers once they shaved the hair.
Others were finally able to take
control of their eating habits and exercise consistently to lose weight after
shaving their precious locks. Conversely, a few woman admitted to shaving their
hair as an admission of hopelessness. They claim that at the time, they felt
stuck in a rut from which they saw no escape.
Most interestingly, most of those
scenarios involved a man. As mentioned above, most men do not appreciate short
hair, leave alone a clean-shaven head on their woman. It could, therefore be
construed as an act of defiance for a woman to chop off her locks.
A silent war, if you wish. It could be
that the man forgot his responsibilities of providing for his family or did not
spend enough time with his wife or even cheated on his woman.
Any of these reasons could make the
woman feel either unattractive or that the effort she puts into her appearance
is not worth it and in a show of defiance downs her locks. So did it work to
reform the man? I will let you be the judge of that.
Shave it all
Gladys Achieng, 26, a paralegal
officer at a local NGO, shaved her hair recently. Asked why she did it, she
replies that she felt as if she was stuck in a rut and had no control over her
life.
“I was stuck in a job that did not pay
me enough to support myself, my daughter, and the big dreams I had for us. I
honestly believed that if I quit, I would not be able to find gainful employment
anywhere else.
My relationship with my then boyfriend
was also rocky but I felt stuck because I did not want to deprive my girl of a
relationship with her father. I cannot remember the exact moment the decision
to cut my hair took root but one Sunday afternoon, instead of sitting in the
usual chair where I have had June, my favourite hairdresser, treat my hair for
eight years, I sat in the barber’s chair and asked him to shave it all.
He refused and asked if I wanted a
trim. I insisted that I wanted it all shorn. Suddenly everyone at the salon
became involved in the conversation, all pleading with me to let the hair be.
I remember they even insisted that I
take photographs of my long hair so I can remember the day I made the worst
decision of my life. I took the photos but when I look at them I remember the
day I finally took control of my life.
A week later I started sending out my
CV to other employers and two months later I was sitting in a new office and
enjoying a higher pay. As for the boyfriend, I finally sat him down and
explained to him that he was not fulfilling my expectations and what those
expectations are. We are getting married in August. Did I regrow my hair? Not
yet”
Stella Wamai, 24, an assistant
administrative officer at a local company, cut her hair two years ago. “I was
overweight and unhappy. I was always on one diet or the other and would quit
barely a week in.
As for exercise, I always had an
excuse, the most frivolous one being that sweat messed up my hair. In May 2011,
I finally shaved it and paid for gym membership. At the same time I began to
clean up my diet. I fell off the wagon many times but I never gave up. In a
year-and-a-half, I attained my goal weight. I am now growing back my hair, but
there is always that fear at the back of my mind that I could regain the
weight.”
Angela Morara, 30, project manager at
a tier one bank, faced the barber’s shears a few weeks ago. “I was just tired
of sitting for hours at the salon, contorted in weird positions in the name of
getting braided. I envied my fiancé and how fast his visits to the barber were
and I just decided to emulate him.
I have shaved my hair twice before in
my adult life and several times as a child. I have what my mother calls steel-wool
hair. I remember growing up, my brothers would not pass up the opportunity to
remind me how ugly I looked whenever I dared to shave my hair.
Later in life I would get complemented
by the man in my life after a visit from the salon but whenever I got my hair
trimmed he would remain mum; his version of diplomacy. When I shaved my hair a
few weeks ago, my brothers jumped in, like clockwork, to inform me, in not so
subtle words, what a terrible decision it was.
My man was not too happy, but as usual
he did not say a word. The only indication of his feelings on the matter was
his abandonment of his barber, who is now my new barber. The only compliments I
have received so far were from women and I have been informed by my meddling
brothers that the women who have complimented me are only happy that I am now
more unattractive than them. Personally, I think men notice me more now but I’m
afraid to tell my brothers because I know they will endeavour to take me down a
peg or two”
Mercy, who would only reveal one name,
says she shaved her hair to guilt her husband.
“He had stopped providing for us. I
basically did everything and felt that I was wasting money on salon visits when
I was virtually living on a shoe string budget. I knew that he was a proud man who
is fastidious about his appearance and mine and true to form, the moment
someone asked him if he was unable to cater for my beauty regime, he
immediately gave me money to go to the salon. That was three weeks after the
shaving.”
As we spoke her hair was already in
braids. Asked whether she would ever shave again, she said “Yes! If it drives
the point home.”
Disappearing hair line
Sheila Okumu, 32, a businesswoman,
says she shaved her hair to cover up her disappearing hair line.
“I have always struggled to grow long
hair for as long as I can remember. In spite of that it has never gone past
shoulder length. Even worse, the braiding seemed to have devoured my hair line
and I looked terrible. I was advised that the only way to bring back my hair
line was to shave my hair and give it a long break from braids. To be honest, I
feel naked without my hair and I feel as if everyone thinks of me as less
attractive. I had self-esteem issues before I shaved my hair and now those
issues have tripled. I can’t wait for my hair to grow back.”
It is unfortunate that everyone has
something to say about a woman’s decision to shave her hair and that hair or
lack thereof is used as a standard of a woman’s attractiveness. However in
Kenya, society is more forgiving of women who have shaved their hair. Perhaps
this has cultural roots — in some communities like the Maasai, the men were
allowed long hair while the women were required to shave. If a queen takes off
her crown for a moment, does she cease to be one? Should hair be that big a
deal?
After all, it does grow back — most of
the time.
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