A look back at hairstyles cuts deep
I HAVEN’T always made good choices when it comes to hairstyles.
From my primary school bowl cuts to my ill-fated flirtation with David Beckham metrosexuality, they’ve often been cooler in my head than on top of it.
Flicking through the old family photo album last week in a moment of nostalgia, I got to thinking about how hairstyles tend to define eras in our lives and express who we were at the time.
Looking back at my adolescent self was like looking at a different person.
His long Kurt Cobain-inspired locks told you everything you needed to know about him.
More than simply a mask for his pimply forehead, they were a statement: I was cool and I cared about nothing. Except I wasn’t. And I did. That grunge do took me forever to grow and had just the right balance of filth and greasiness that gave it that authentic teen spirit smell.
It was teenage me to a tee. Then as I moved into young adulthood, I knew I needed to smarten up my act. I don’t know if it was the grease that’d seeped into my brain or whether one of the fleas had burrowed in and stimulated some part of my frontal lobe, but my next haircut was pure genius. You know that ruffled hairstyle guys often sport these days? I invented that. Or, at least, I was a pioneer. It was the perfect blending of sensible career go-getter and carefree young man — restrained party at the top, business below. It summed me up perfectly. Apart from a few short-lived styles in the years since, including that fancy Beckham do circa 2009, I kept that ruffled look for much of my adult life.
But as the grey hairs started becoming more prominent I knew it was time for yet another change. A new era had dawned: middle age.
And so I found myself in the barber’s chair yet again faced with another decision. Who am I now? But this one was easy. “Shave it. No. 2 with the clippers, please. All over.”
Because that’s me these days: clean, simple, no fuss, no maintenance.
Just like my other styles, I think this one is cool, too.
But as I’ve learnt, only time will tell.