Why I Shaved my Hair
My natural hair is long and curly. In my teens, in the 90s boys used to tell me I looked like 'Corona' or Spanish or anything exotic. I received so much praise for my long dark locks that I was naturally very attached to them and felt that my hair made me beautiful. Parting with it was unthinkable. I mean, why would a woman in her right mind ever shave her hair off? It's like removing a beautiful frame from around a picture, right?
Many women ask me why I shaved my hair and my immediate reaction is to hold my story preciously inside and not squander it away. I felt very few would understand why I shaved all my hair off and so I would shrug and say something like 'It's easier to manage.' But though this is true, management was never the issue.
What really happened was that about 5 years ago I started evaluating who I was. All the things that were real about me, what made me, me. I started getting rid of what was superfluous in my life, which was not needed or unreal. I started wearing less makeup and only kept clothes that I truly loved and spoke about my truth. Then one day I remember clearly that while tidying my room I stood up and looked in the mirror and suddenly I could see that my hair made me believe I was beautiful. I also saw that who I really was deep inside had nothing to do with my hair. With or without it, it was still just me. I didn't need it or anything else to feel beautiful. It too was not needed. I decided there and then to cut it off and made an appointment to donate it to Puttinu Cares. What is weird is that after it was shaved I felt as if I had already been without it for a very long time and what is also interesting is that I never regretted it. What I didn't expect was that it made me feel strangely more feminine in a vulnerable and authentic way, something I embrace and want to bring to everything I do, especially to Safia. Through Safia, I have seen so much beauty coming in so many different shapes and sizes, I learned that beauty has no face, no formula. It is the light of being human which makes us beautiful and unique. All our peculiarities hold the precious stories of who we are. With Safia, I see these stories written in dresses that whisper the secrets of a woman to anyone who cares to listen.
Many women ask me why I shaved my hair and my immediate reaction is to hold my story preciously inside and not squander it away. I felt very few would understand why I shaved all my hair off and so I would shrug and say something like 'It's easier to manage.' But though this is true, management was never the issue.
What really happened was that about 5 years ago I started evaluating who I was. All the things that were real about me, what made me, me. I started getting rid of what was superfluous in my life, which was not needed or unreal. I started wearing less makeup and only kept clothes that I truly loved and spoke about my truth. Then one day I remember clearly that while tidying my room I stood up and looked in the mirror and suddenly I could see that my hair made me believe I was beautiful. I also saw that who I really was deep inside had nothing to do with my hair. With or without it, it was still just me. I didn't need it or anything else to feel beautiful. It too was not needed. I decided there and then to cut it off and made an appointment to donate it to Puttinu Cares. What is weird is that after it was shaved I felt as if I had already been without it for a very long time and what is also interesting is that I never regretted it. What I didn't expect was that it made me feel strangely more feminine in a vulnerable and authentic way, something I embrace and want to bring to everything I do, especially to Safia. Through Safia, I have seen so much beauty coming in so many different shapes and sizes, I learned that beauty has no face, no formula. It is the light of being human which makes us beautiful and unique. All our peculiarities hold the precious stories of who we are. With Safia, I see these stories written in dresses that whisper the secrets of a woman to anyone who cares to listen.