The buzz on shaved heads
The year’s new trendy style a signature look for stars such as Lovato, Saweetie
Clara Perlmutter, who on TikTok goes by @Tinyjewishgirl, decided recently to shave her head and document it on the platform after seeing the Dyson Airwrap go viral, with people curling and coifing their long shocks of hair.
“I made a deal with myself that I was going to either learn how to do hair really well so I could make it a final touch to all my outfits, or buzz my head,” she said. In late January, when Perlmutter, 23, was on set at a photo shoot, she watched as a hairdresser intricately styled a model’s hair.
“At that moment, I realized I didn’t have the emotional energy to go all-out with my hair,” she said. “I went home and told my boyfriend, ‘I want you to shave my head.’ We went ham with the clippers and filmed the journey for my TikTok.”
Perlmutter instantly embraced the look for its ease and the fact that her hair is now “one less thing to worry about.” It also suits her style.
“I’m into that 1990s and 2000s dystopian-future aesthetic, and I’m really into the way the bald head makes every outfit fit that vibe,” she said. Lately she has been wearing puffy headbands over her buzzed head.
There’s plenty of evidence that the shaved head is the first trendy cut of 2022. Iris Law, Demi Lovato and Saweetie have lopped off their manes. Actor Jordan Alexander, of the “Gossip Girl” reboot, and model Slick Woods have made it their style signatures.
Camille Rogers, who works in marketing and uses the pronouns they and them, proudly wears a shaved head, too. “Every time I shave my head, I feel like a weight has been lifted,” they said. “A new wave of confidence washes over me.” There is something about that “freshly buzzed feeling,” they said, that “just hits.”
Rita Melssen, an art director and stylist, shaved her head on a whim and now changes the color from icy white to light pink as it grows out. She also experiments with vintage caps and scarves to change up the look.
“I walk through the world very differently with a shaved head as opposed to a head of long curly hair like I had before,” Melssen, 29, said. “I feel more powerful and graceful. There is a purity and a fierceness to it. It’s like I am peeling back a layer so that you can see a deeper part of me.
“Also, I can get ready so fast now, it’s a game changer.”
For some people who have been contemplating the look for a while, 2022 felt right.
“I still feel butterflies when I look into the mirror,” said Emma Fridsell, 23, a fashion influencer who traded a pixie for a buzz cut. “I feel stronger with my head shaved. I walk a little bit taller. I hope that I can also inspire others to not feel the need to fit into a box. I have struggled with that, and this haircut finally allowed me to break free once and for all.”
Joseph Charles Viola, 26, who works in fashion, also took to the clippers. “Life
was weighing me down, and I thought my hair could take some of that weight off for a bit,” he said.
Tumultuous times often lead to extreme self-expression through beauty. “It’s about taking ownership of your identity and allowing you to control at least one aspect of what’s going on around you,” said Rachael Gibson, who charts the history of hair on her Instagram account Thehairhistorian.
“I think there’s probably also a sense of why the hell not,” she added. “If you
can’t shave your hair off while we’re living through what we’ve lived through, when are you going to do it?”
The shaved head has history, with roots in mourning, religion, rebellion and even ostracism. That history is also what makes the cut empowering and provoking all at once.
“Hair shaving can also be a type of discipline and uniformity for soldiers, or purity for Hindu priests, because hair is associated with sexuality,” said Valerie Steele, director of
the museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
“Now,” Steele said, “a shaved head is increasingly perceived as strength and gender equality.”
For others, the look lets them experience empowerment in a new way.
“We tend to be so attached to our hair, as if that’s the only thing that makes us a woman or feminine, and that’s far from the truth,” said actor and author Samantina Zenon, who swapped her natural Afro for a smoothed head. “Being a woman is more
than just looking like one. We have so many layers to us, and while some may wear their crown proudly, we also carry a lot of burdens. As I grow older, it becomes vital for me to always walk in my power regardless of my appearance.”
Rogers feels similarly: “I feel like I’ve reclaimed my relationship with my hair and sense of self — not only in a gender-euphoric way, but also in relation to how significant hair has been to me my whole life, growing up as a Black person.”