Hairstyle

Clean shaven look: Convenient, fashionable hairstyle for all ages

Published: Monday, 20 August 2007 19:07:34
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By Ruth Butaumocho

THROUGHOUT history, hair for both women and men has symbolised strength and beauty in art and literature.

In the fashion arena, hair is a fashion statement, its style and adornment can express a person's mood, preferences in dressing and psychologists say it speaks volumes about a person's character.

Notwithstanding the above, there is, however, a majority of men who now prefer a head that is as smooth as a gun barrel.

They say it is smart, convenient and suits all occasions. It has, indeed, become a fashion statement to have a clean shaven look, with some barbers saying a shiny bald head has in recent years not only become a fashion declaration but also an embodiment of masculinity for the man of today.

"Men are beginning to see the advantages that come along with maintaining a bald head, regardless of age group.

"It is convenient and gives out a polished and refined look everyday," said James, a barber operating at a salon situated in the Central Business District.

Unlike in the past where a clean shaven head was normally associated with the member of the Apostolic sect, the trend has changed as men in different age groups now have a new take on a bald head.

James added that maintaining a clean shaven look has become the order of the day for men with busy schedules who have no time to comb their hair everyday.

It then becomes necessary for them to visit the barbershop once every two weeks for a hair cut.

"Half the time, I am always jumping from one meeting to the other because of the nature of my job and the only way I can pitch up at a meeting looking smart would be to maintain a bald look," said Mr Terence Mbasera, a buyer with a local company.

Remigio Duri, a barber, said he attends to more than 15 clients everyday who would ask for nothing else, but to have their hair "shaven to the scalp".

"There are clients whom I have objected to have their heads shaven because of the shape of their heads, but they insist on going bald," he said.

A bald head gives one a nice clean appearance. It even looks better when one is formally dressed as it gives one a commanding and organised look.

Notable individuals who regularly spot a clean shave and have made it their style include the urban groove singer Ex Q, Victor Kunonga, Oliver Mtukudzi, former radio personality Kudzi Marudza and television personalities such as Chunky Phiri and Tich Mataz among others.

Internationally, sporting a clean shavehas been accepted for a long time, and became even more pronounced and fashionable since the days when basketball legend Michael Jordan took to the bald look in the 80's.

Others that have followed suit in recent years include rap singer and actor LL Cool J, Bruce Willis.

Although there are several men who have taken up to a clean shaven head as both a fashion statement and for convenience purposes there are, however, those who now sport the look to shy away from bald pate or hair loss.

Studies have shown that the majority of men will at some point in their lives lose some hair with heredity, stress and gene-chain being the most common causes.

Because of a general stigma, embarrassment, or dissatisfaction that goes with losing one's hair, many men go to great pains to cover up the course of nature.

Common "treatments" for hair loss include hair transplants by those guys loaded with cash, while the majority go for a much cheaper alternative - going to the barber for a clean shave.

"Hair (in men) symbolises virility, youthfulness, vigour, power and sexual potency.

"Men usually get worried when they go bald when they are still in their prime and they always try to cover it by sporting a clean shaven look," said a doctor who could not be named for professional reasons.

The causes of premature baldness, which can cause some men to go bald sometimes as young as the late teens or early 20s, have perplexed researchers for years.

Some experts believe that the cause of hair loss could constitute one of life's bitter ironies: while testosterone initiates hair growth in men, it can also contribute to baldness.

However, whether it is the urge to cover a bald pate, or just for convenience sake, for most men maintaining a clean shaven head has become the order of the day - and for a long time to come.

Source: The Herald