Have you ever had this feeling?
I get it from time to time. It’s not because my trich is so bad that I have bald patches I want to cover up – I only have thin patches that I don’t think others would notice.
It’s more because of the freedom it would bring.
To shave your head would mean liberation from a world where our identity is, somehow, connected to the dead cells growing out of our scalp.
It would also mean making a choice to be you and not worrying what other people think.
On an everyday level, it would mean not taking care of hair, not worrying about bad hair days, and not having to think about your next haircut.
Sometimes I mention my idea to my friends, and they think it’s odd. They don’t know about my trich, really, but I try to get them to understand how liberating it could be. I just wish I had the guts to really shave my head one day!
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My name's Penny, and I started OnTrich (a trichotillomania blog) to try and raise awareness about hair pulling, and also as a way to help me deal with my own pulling. I'm a 22 year old girl from the UK and I've been pulling for 12 years. Get in touch if you want to chat or need any help - I love meeting people here.
I have totally had this feeling before, you are NOT alone in it. I think probably we all feel like this from time to time, feel like shaving your head would be a new start, and maybe you could control yourself and not be tempted to pull the new hair that grew in. I feel like this too, sometimes.
Libbt – It would be a new start in so many ways, I don’t think I would ever do it. Maybe one day to raise money for charity or something??
That would certainly be a good spin to put on it, shaving your head to raise money for charity. But I don’t think I could ever really do it, either, though. :/
my sister and friend were pressuring me saying that i should shave my head in order to stop pulling. They said that because my hair would be too short to pull it would in turn make me stop. I think this is wrong because when it grows back to a length that can be pulled ill probably start pulling again except i wont be able to hide it anymore. what do you think? Also i was very upset at this suggestion because i thnk i would look bad with a shaved head and i also think that there would be many questions that will arise from everyone i know
Mila – Remember, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. I do believe that many people who pull their hair have shaved their head to help themselves get over it, but it is a very brave thing to do and you’re right – it would make you look very different.
I think it would be liberating to do, and nice to have short hair and not to have to worry about it much, but you’re right when it grows back the temptation could still be there to pull, we don’t know for sure. Plus I am also worried about what others think – but really, your friends should appreciate you no matter whether you have a shaved head or not.
In some ways I want to shave my head, but I don’t think I can just because I’m not brave enough. It sounds like you don’t want to do it either, so just remember you don’t have to!