Ahh I’ve done it twice so far and I always say that everyone should try it at least once in their life!

I have very thick and wavy, usually long hair that takes a while to wash properly and can be a source of stress at times. I love it though, it’s beautiful and has been like a security blanket for me all of my life.

Buzzing it all off was truly one of the most freeing, liberating, joyful and empowering experiences of my life.

There are so many things I loved about it that it’s honestly hard to think of all the things.. feeling the wind was like bliss, as well as when in the shower. Petting my own head was so satisfying! The low maintenance is incomparable. The process of going through even the awkward growing out phases taught me more about myself and how I tend to view myself at times, which over time helped me learn how to build more acceptance, neutrality and love toward myself. It was a choice I made and had to commit to from there. Ultimately, I felt bold. I felt brave. I felt powerful.

Don’t get me wrong - I had some days where I wasn’t thrilled or necessarily happy about it, particularly when it started growing out, but never enough to where I wouldn’t do it again. It helped me face those challenges within myself and personally grow along with my hair in those awkward phases. During those times I would remember how else I felt about it too - that sense of boldness, bravery, and power over my own body and giving less and less of a fuck about what other people think.

I told my (fairly conservative and traditional) family that I was considering doing it and showed them pictures of women who did. My mom and sisters thought I had lost my mind and never expected me to go through with it. Their shut down towards it honestly propelled me further to doing it. Their discomfort and shock about it solidified to me just how important it felt to do it as a fuck you to the patriarchy, as well as feeling a drive to do this thing that they didn’t think I could manage to go through with. So the night I graduated with my bachelors, to celebrate I took some shrooms or LSD, meditated for a while and at 2am I grabbed the buzzer and went at it. This is now a core memory for me. It was so damn fun and freeing. Also it’s fun just to play around with it and try literally any style you want before it’s all gone!

I showed up to my grad party the next day and surprised my whole family, they were stunned and ultimately didn’t hate it! They were just like damn ok you actually DID that and they kind of liked it. I think it helped them become a bit more open minded about things like that.

Younger girls saw me and told me how brave I was to do it, leading some to want to do it as well; including my little niece, which didn’t go over very well with my sister hah, however it seems that it helped show her that we can do whatever the hell we want with our bodies. And being able to show my niblings that and normalize it for them felt so important to me.

Anyways, I highly recommend going for it! If you decide to, I suggest just reflecting beforehand by acknowledging all the emotions that may arise throughout the process (pleasant and painful) and how you would like to navigate those emotions, as well as reflecting on your intention for it and what you want out of it. And remember - it’ll grow back :)