While I was planning my round-the-world trip, I had thought seriously about shaving my head before going on the trip. I reasoned that it would cost me less shampoo (but more sun block) and would repulse any potential harasser (along with suitors, I suppose but that is alright).
I googled a few questions to figure out how women can take care of a shaved head. Nothing much appeared as most posts were dedicated to male head shaving and praising the bravery of women who shear their hair for charity.
Alas, I did not shave my head. My mother advised that a bald head will be terribly cold in winter. I also thought that it might attract bad sort of attention, seeing a female person with no hair.
I did not shave my head but went for a really short hair cut. This was for many reasons:
- Less drying time
- Less grooming time (I don’t even use a comb that much)
- Less shampoo
- According to a hoax that is repeatedly circulated on my Facebook wall by others, rapists rarely not target women with short hair. (Pretty bullshit but what the heck.)
Even though I thought the hair style would keep for 4 months, by the end of the second month, my hair was growing past acceptable lengths for short hair.
I looked like I was wearing a ball of iron wool with my tough black hair.
CIY: Cut-it-yourself
Instead of heading to a hairdresser’s, I decided to do it myself.
As you can see, I was using a regular ole scissors which did its job of sniping away the ends. My bangs are still thick now but at least they do not cover my eyes.
Trim it with a razor
One day, I realized that the hair at the back of my neck had crept out and turned into a mini mullet.
The hair was too short to tie up so I decided to snip it off. However, when I was in the hostel bathroom, I realized that I did not bring my scissors. The only sharp thing I had was a razor so I used that instead.
It’s rather difficult using a razor on the back of my head. Many times, I had to look back into the mirror to double check my hair length. But the best way to determine if my hair was cut in a straight line was to feel it.
After felling my neck, I chopped off more hair and now I have a bob again.
Color it yourself
If you want to change your hair color while travelling, here’s a step-by-step post on dying your hair in a hostel.
Further reading:
Go Girl’s Guide post on doing hair for long term travel.
YQtravelling 
One thought on “How I do my hair for long-term travel”