Today’s military women are lucky that they are able to keep their hair long. When I enlisted in 1970, hair could not touch our collars. We were not allowed to use barrettes and any bobby pins or other items that were allowed had to match the colour of our hair. I had my hair cut very short before I went to boot camp, so I was able to avoid the assembly line that all the other girls in my company went through Their hair was really chopped. I was able to avoid the hair cut until the last week I was in boot. I finally had to go to the salon, but only had to have a half-inch taken off to be legal.

I am leaving or have left (depending on when you read this) for Navy basic training Sept. 10 2002. My hair was fairly long, almost to the middle of my back, and I didn’t really want to cut it. My recruiter advised me to get it cut before I went because they’d just whack it off.

The above comments appear on websites and were partly the inspiration for the story that follows.

A NEW POSTING

He pushed open the door and entered the salon. His heart was pounding and his mouth was dry as he stepped inside. In front of him was a small reception desk and then down one wall a long bench and a couple of chairs. On another wall was a bank of three hood dryers and the other wall had a mirror and two styling chairs. In one a middle-aged woman was having her hair dressed by a very attractive blonde of about 26, her gleaming hair swept up in an immaculate pleat. She wore a white coat with sergeant’s stripes on the sleeve and looked at Colin and gave him a welcoming smile. “Ah you must be Jones. Just wait over there for a few minutes”

Colin sat on the bench and as he did so the door opened again and a young WAAF in uniform came in. The sergeant paused in her combing out and looked enquiringly at her. The girl said nervously, I am Thompson, 381 Sgt. I have been told to report here.” The sgt nodded and said, “Oh yes your drill sgt has phoned to say you were being sent. Sit here please.” She indicated the vacant styling chair alongside her and with hesitant steps the girl sat into the chair.

Colin suddenly felt a lurch of excitement-perhaps the girl had been sent to have her hair cut! He looked closely at her hair but she was wearing her cap and all that he was able to see was that her hair was dark and glossy and was swept sleekly back at the sides under her cap and therefore impossible to see its length. The girl though was looking distinctly nervous and so his excitement increased.

The sergeant was now spraying her customer’s hair with lacquer and after removing the gown was ushering her from the chair. Colin noticed that the woman’s hair had not been particularly well done and was sure that he could have improved on it. The woman paid and left the salon and the sgt glanced at Colin and said, “I will have a word with you shortly.”

She now moved behind the girl in the chair and examined her from several angles and then said, “Remove your cap” The girl raised her hands and then very carefully lifted off her cap and revealed her hair fully. Her gleaming hair was plaited and then tightly pinned against her head. The sgt again moved around the chair studying her and then with a quick flourish she picked up the gown from the adjacent chair and fastened it around the girl. She looked very apprehensive now and swung round to the sgt and said anxiously, “Oh please I am sure I don’t need anything done to my hair. I always make sure it is neat and tidy.” The sgt turned the girl back to face the mirror and swiftly began removing the pins, which held the plait tightly against her head. The plait was freed and was at least 15 inches long and the sgt held it loosely and said,” Your length of hair is not suitable for your training period.” Her hand dipped swiftly into her pocket and scissors appeared. Before the girl fully realized what was happening her plait was pulled taut and the scissors were being forced through it at the nape of her neck as the sgt said calmly, “It needs to be short.”

With several great plunging snips the scissors severed the silken plait of hair and it came away from the girl’s head and was nonchalantly tossed onto the shelf in front of her. She had given a great gasp of horror as she had felt and saw what was being done to her hair but of course there was absolutely nothing she could do about it and now she stared numbly at her reflection in the mirror seeing short ends of hair springing out at the back of her head.

Colin was sitting there throbbing with excitement, hardly able to believe what had happened. It was the most ruthless and dramatic removal of hair he had ever seen and he greatly envied the power the sergeant had. The sergeant ignored the girl’s distress and combed briefly through her short hair and then firmly re-positioned her head so that it was tilted down and then she reached forward and picked up something from the shelf in front of her. Until he heard the distinctive buzzing sound Colin did not realize what it was but then he experienced another great rush of excitement as he saw the clippers being used at the back of the defenseless bowed head. Again there came a gasp of horror from the girl as she felt the clippers being run up her head but once again she was totally powerless to do anything about it.

Despite his excitement Colin felt rather sorry that the girl was receiving such ruthless treatment and after seeing the sergeant’s earlier work he felt certain that the finished haircut would look awful. For 5 entrancing minutes he watched the sergeant work with clippers and scissors sending huge amounts of shiny dark hair tumbling down over the gown to the floor but to his amazement when she finally released the gown from around the girl’s shoulders she had cut the hair into a superb shape which looked magnificent. Although very short at the nape and over the ears the sleek dark hair was perfectly cut and suited the girl’s features so well.

Colin knew that with his limited experience of cutting he never would have been able to achieve such a superb haircut even if he had spent half an hour on the cut-and the sergeant had done it in 5 minutes! To create a good shape from a head of hair which had just been hacked short and had been sticking out angrily was absolutely brilliant. As the sergeant put down her scissors, even the girl in the chair who had undergone such a traumatic experience, looked a lot happier as she realized how well her hair had been shaped.

The sergeant released the gown from around her shoulders and ushered the girl from the chair. Great clouds of dark hair tumbled down to join masses more on the floor around the chair as she stood up and of course the first thing she did was raise a hand to the back of her head to feel how short it had been cropped. She looked a little stunned as her fingers explored her cropped nape and then with a last lingering look at her severed plait, which lay on the dressing table, she left the salon.

The sergeant watched the girl leave with a slight smile on her face and then she turned to Colin and said, “Oh I did enjoy that!” She looked at him, still with a smile on her face and said, “Do you enjoy cutting? You certainly seemed to enjoy watching it!” He felt uncomfortable and could feel his colour rising and then he said hesitantly, “Yes, cutting is my favourite part of hairdressing.” She looked at him and said, “Good. You will get plenty of opportunity here.”

She picked a folder up from the desk and then sat down in the chair recently vacated and indicated the other chair alongside and said, “Right, now you have been pulled off your course to replace my assistant who
has been injured in a car crash. Come and sit here and tell me about yourself and then I will explain what is expected of you.” Still feeling slightly uncomfortable he sat in the chair alongside her and watched silently as she flicked through the folder. He was still stunned at the speed that this had all happened. He had been called up to do his National Service after completing his apprenticeship and was in the middle of a training course as a Wireless Operator and then out of the blue he had been ordered to report to this Sergeant.

She tossed the folder on to the dressing table and picked up the lovely plait she had just severed and began toying with it. “I see you have served your apprenticeship at a good salon but you are obviously a little inexperienced. Now this salon has two functions. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we operate as a normal salon for people like officer’s wives and their families, WAAF officers and civilian personnel on the camp. Monday and Tuesday are the really busy days when we have to deal with all the new intake of WAAFs and that could be up to 160 a week.”

She paused and Colin eyes were drawn to the silken plait, which the sergeant was still fondling. She saw him looking at it and said’ “Lovely hair and beautifully arranged and regulations says that hair should be neat and tidy and should not be over the collar. So I suppose you wonder why I cut it?” She paused and then said, “Well in theory it could have been allowed to stay but the drill sergeants and I decided it is better if all recruits have their hair short.” Colin gulped and tried to hide his excitement at the thought of having all those haircuts to do every week. She continued, “This means of course that the hair must be well cut so that there are no grounds for complaint. The majority of the recruits accept it although quite a few get a bit upset. The cutting you do will have to be fast but short and well shaped. Do you feel you can do that?” Colin nodded excitedly and said,” Yes, although I haven’t had much experience with clippers.” “Don’t worry they are easy enough to use and they are not necessary on all heads. I used them on that girl because she had a particularly good hairline and I like to cut long hair really short. Do you like cutting off long hair?”

Colin felt his stomach lurch at the thought. During his entire career the most hair he had been able to remove had been about 6 inches and that had still meant the girl’s hair had reached her shoulders. It was his greatest desire to really crop a long head of hair and just watching it being done thrilled him enormously. “ Oh yes sergeant,” he replied. She gave a little knowing smile and said, “Yes it can be very exciting.” She tossed the heavy plait onto the dressing table in front of him and then said, “Right, it’s time I saw what you can do.”

She brought her hands up to her immaculate pleat and began pulling the pins out, all the while fixing her gaze on him. He swallowed hard to hide his discomfort but could not take his eyes from her as she unpinned her hair. Oh it was magnificent! The gleaming blonde hair fell halfway down her back as she gave her head a little shake, which finally freed it. It really was glorious hair, in perfect condition and the colour and texture was superb. She smiled at him as he stared entranced at her hair and smoothed her hands through her lovely hair, fully aware of the impact it had on him She picked up a brush and handed it to him and said,” Right, let’s see how you handle hair."

For 5 minutes he worked on her beautiful mane of hair, getting more pleasure from brushing her hair than he had ever experienced before and he was very pleased that she too was clearly enjoying the treatment. She had kept her eyes closed for the majority of the time and occasionally gave a little sigh of pleasure as the brush was drawn through her hair. Finally she spoke for the first time saying, “Oh you do handle hair beautifully.” She now indicated the gown that was on the other chair and said, “Put that on me. Let’s see how you cut hair.”

He felt his stomach lurch sickeningly. Cut this hair! She smiled as she handed him the comb and scissors from the dressing table, obviously seeing his expression of surprise and excitement. “Don’t get too excited.” She said,” I only want you just to trim the ends!” He felt a mixture of relief and disappointment as he would have been very nervous at having to cut more than a little of her lovely hair and yet the thought of forcing scissors deep into the silken tresses and removing masses of it was extremely exciting. He placed the gown around her shoulders, flicking free her heavy mane of lovely hair which was gleaming even more after its brushing. He now asked her to stand up and then very carefully sectioned off her hair and began trimming the merest fraction from the ends. She watched very carefully in the mirror at first to see how much hair he was removing but then allowed him to carry on without comment.

He spent almost 10 minutes carefully trimming her hair and all the time he was imagining the thrill it would be to strip masses of this beautiful hair from her head. Finally he put down the comb and scissors and said slightly hesitantly, “Is that alright?” She gave her head a little toss and then ran her fingers through her hair and then said, “ Yes, that feels much better. Would you shampoo and then set it for me. I am going out tonight and it would be nice to wear my hair a bit different.” Colin was only too eager to agree for several reasons. He loved dressing long hair and knew he was quite skilled at it and he also wanted to impress the sergeant so that he would stay at the salon even after her assistant recovered.

He gave her a caressing shampoo and then worked conditioner into her long hair and then they returned to the seat in the salon. During this time the sergeant had chatted to him about his background and general conversation and he found her to be a delightful person. As he began rolling up her hair he asked her the question for which he was longing to know the answer. “How long have you been in the RAF,” he asked. “About 8 years.” she replied. “Was your hair long or short when you joined?” She gave a little smile and said, “Long, very long. I had asked at the recruitment office if my hair would have to be cut and they told me it would be alright if I always wore it up. I was very relieved as I had never had my hair short and was terrified at the thought.”

She paused and then said, “We were only a small intake, about 10 of us, and you know what the first few days are like – very frantic and a bit bewildering. I was pleased to see that a few of the other girls had long hair. On the third day we were issued with our uniforms and then about 5 o’clock just when we thought we were finished for the day we were marched off to the hairdressers. There wasn’t the luxury of a ladies salon on that camp, just the barbers.” He could feel his excitement rising as she continued her story.

“Even when we were all inside I wasn’t all that concerned as I thought our hair was going to be checked and perhaps a few of the intake would need a trim. There was only one barber there and our drill sergeant called me out first and told me to sit in the chair. The barber put a big white cape around me and began taking the pins out of my hair, which I had coiled on the top of my head. I was obviously starting to feel very nervous by then and said to the sergeant that I had been told that my long hair was acceptable and she just said,&r
dquo; Far too long for your training period. It will take too much time to look after, it needs cutting.”

My hair was free now and spread out over the gown and the barber took out a large pair of scissors from his pocket, reached out for a handful of my hair and began cutting it at nape level. I heard a few gasps from the watching girls behind me and could feel and hear the scissors shearing my hair. I was terrified and yet at the same time strangely excited at the feel of the scissors in my hair. I could feel my hair dropping down over the gown and in a matter of seconds all my long hair was gone. Before I had time to get over the shock of that, my head was pushed forward and he began running clippers up the back of my head.”

She paused as though recalling the moment and then gave a little smile, “It was sensational! The feeling was unbelievable and I didn’t care in the least what was happening to my hair, I just loved the feeling of the clippers on my head.” She smiled at Colin’s stunned expression, “ You will be surprised how many girls get excited as their hair is being cut off even if they are terrified about having it cut short. Anyway I just sat and watched masses of my hair rolling down over the gown and didn’t want him to stop. When he finally decided he had cut enough off I just wished he’d go on although I knew I hated short hair. I couldn’t believe how light my head felt as I walked back to the chair and when I felt how short it was at the back I did feel like crying but I knew I had never experienced such excitement in my life. Then of course it was the turn of the other girls and to my amazement I got almost as much of a thrill watching them having their hair cut as I did having my own done! It was so exciting to see him strip off so much hair so ruthlessly and the girl in the chair not able to do a thing about it.

Whilst I was watching the haircutting I knew that was what I wanted to do. I used all my leave time to go on hairdressing courses, particularly cutting and then thanks to a friend who worked in the office controlling transfers I managed to transfer out of my clerical job and have been in charge of this salon for the last 4 years.”

Colin had listened to her story with fascination was amazed how frank she had been in telling him of her obsession and excitement with cutting hair. It was something he had never confessed to anyone but he was now delighted that the woman he was to work with was as much a fetishist as he was. He finished setting her hair and as he placed her under the dryer she said, “Have a good look around the salon whilst my hair is drying to familiarise yourself, and you don’t need to call me Sergeant when there is no-one here. My name is Eve. ”

He wandered around for several minutes and realised that the salon was well fitted out with modern equipment and then he moved back to the counter and his stomach gave a little lurch as he opened a small cupboard and saw inside the array of haircutting tools. There were four or five pairs of various length scissors, combs and brushes and several sets of electric hair clippers with their cutting heads. He picked up the largest and tried to imagine the thrill of using them on the defenceless heads of the new recruits.

Suddenly he heard the door open and an attractive young girl came in and said, “Oh hello is Sgt Johns here?” Colin assumed she was one of the civilian workers on the camp as she was not in uniform and then Eve brought her head out from the dryer and looked enquiringly at the girl and said, “Do you want to make an appointment?” The girl smiled and said, “Well I am not sure. I have just been discharged from the sickbay and my drill sergeant told me to report to you before I rejoin my group.” Colin felt his stomach lurch with excitement. She was a new recruit! He looked at her hair with great interest now and was disappointed that it was not long but it was a pretty blonde colour and was beautifully shaped in a smooth chin length bob from a side parting.

A smile spread across Eve’s face now and she gave Colin a little glance and then she said, “Right. Sit in the chair here please. Your sergeant obviously feels your hair is not suitable for your training period and it needs to be checked.” The girl was looking a little apprehensive as she sat in the chair and the large enveloping gown was placed around her. Eve picked up a comb and flicked it through the well-shaped hair; she lifted up the hair at the back and checked the hairline and then drew her comb through the heavy sweep of hair in the front. She then turned to Colin and said, “Right, you can carry on here; the back hair needs to be taken close and the front hair is totally impractical for recruit training and will have to be a lot shorter. OK?” Colin nodded a little nervously but also feeling very excited that he had been told to do the cut. Eve returned to the dryer and Colin stepped behind the recruit.

She swung around and said anxiously, “Oh please don’t cut off too much, I have never had my hair short and I know I would hate it too short.” Her anxiety only made him feel even more excited and he said firmly, “Your hair has to conform to the regulations. Could you turn back around and bend your head forward please.” Reluctantly the girl did as she was told and then Colin pushed her head even lower whilst marvelling at the power he now had. He tried to keep calm now as he reached for the clippers and fixed on the No 4 guard, which would take hair down to about half an inch. He ran his fingers up under the nape hair to lift it away from her head and then taking a deep breath he switched the clippers on and then immediately began running them up the back of her bowed head.

The girl gave a gasp of horror as she felt the clippers ploughing up the back of her head and Colin felt a tremendous thrill of excitement as he saw the chunks of heavy hair begin rolling down over the cape leaving behind just a very short covering. A little whimper came from her as she felt the clippers being run up the back of her bowed head and realised what was happening to her hair

Again and again Colin ruthlessly ran the clippers up her head cutting the last two inches or so of her hair away and almost panting with excitement as he watched the hair tumble down to his feet. The very short hair left behind looked like a pelt and it was the shortest he had ever cut anyone’s hair and he could not resist gently stroking the cropped hair and as his fingers thrilled to the touch he felt her body give a little tremor as her hair was smoothed. Despite her distress she was getting some pleasure from having her hair cut.

Now having cropped the nape hair he now wanted to use his scissors to shape the top and side hair so he switched off the clippers and placed them back in front of the girl. He straightened the girl’s head and she looked pleadingly at him through the mirror as he now picked up his scissors but Colin knew that he had the power to almost do as he wanted he was going to take full advantage. He began by combing down over her face the splendid swoop of hair in the front and then rested the blades of his scissors on her forehead and began cutting straight across just above her eyebrows. The heavy 6-inch long locks of hair began dropping down into her lap, revealing her shocked and tearful expression as she saw so much of her hair being removed. Having created a short fringe Colin now shortened the side hair so it was about level with her earlobe and then reduced the length of the top hair so that it blended in. He combed through the hair a few times and was reasonably satisfied with the shape although where he had used the clippers, did not really blend in very well.

As he began to wonder how he could improve the shape of the back he
suddenly realised that Eve was standing behind him. She smiled at him and said, “Shall I just check it for you?” Colin stepped aside and Eve flicked a comb through the hair and then said, “The front is fine, the sides could be a little shorter but the back needs a lot more off.” The girl in the chair looked close to tears as Eve reached forward for the clippers but as Eve changed the attachment she submissively bowed her head. As Eve began expertly running them again and again up the girl’s head she said. “It’s most important that the hair is nowhere near the collar and the recruits are here for at least 8 weeks and we are too busy to give them a second haircut.” Colin watched the hair tumbling with fascination as swiftly the hair at the back of the girl’s head was transformed into a superb very short shape. Eve moved to the side and murmured. “Just a little more off here.” The clippers buzzed briefly and soft clumps of hair tumbled down over the gown and then Eve switched off the clippers and stepped away from the chair and said,” Check it through and see what you think.” Colin knew immediately that the cut had a much better shape and as he stepped behind the girl he could not resist gently stroking down the pelt-like cropped hair at the nape of her neck. His fingers thrilled to the feel of the short hair and as he glanced at Eve and said,” Yes that’s much better, I see what you mean,” he felt the girl’s body give a little shudder of pleasure as he stroked her neck. He had never realised before today that it wasn’t only the person cutting or watching hair being cut that could be turned on but also even an unwilling victim!

He released the gown from around the girl and as she stood up immediately her hand went to the back of her head and she tenderly stroked her cropped hair, obviously aghast at its severe shortness but also enjoying the new and exciting experience. She gave a tiny smile to Colin as though she realised the pleasure he had experienced from cutting her hair and then with a sad look at the piles of her hair all around the chair, she turned and left the salon. Eve also gave Colin a little smile and said, “I think you enjoyed that!” “Yes I did but I wish I could cut as well as you do.” Eve looked pleased at his compliment and said, “Don’t worry you will be having plenty of practice and I will help you as you go along. One of the things to remember is that you are in charge and you decide how their hair is to be cut and I have told you already the essential points but there are lots of variations you can do depending on the type of hair and head shape etc.”

She paused and said, “What I will do before the main intake start coming next week is to get half a dozen girls in early in the morning and I will supervise your cuts so you get the idea before we get really busy.” Colin gulped and said, “Oh that would be great.” She smiled and said, “Ok, right I think my hair is dry, you can dress it out for me now.” Twenty minutes later Eve sat beaming at her reflection in the mirror and Colin was feeling really pleased with the style he had created with her beautiful long blonde hair. He had dressed it mainly on top of her head in a profusion of folds and curls with just a few strands left loose about her neck and shoulders which he had curled into soft ringlets, using curling tongs.

“Oh that is great Colin. If I can’t cut off long hair I love dressing it but I am not all that good at it. We will be a good combination, I will help you with your cutting and you can help me with long hairstyles. There are a couple of girls who work on the camp that come in and I haven’t been able to persuade them to have their long hair cut so we can work on those together.” Colin was delighted that Eve was pleased with her hair and that she obviously meant to help him with his cutting. Oh how marvellous it would be if he learnt to cut hair as well as she did.

He began tidying the salon now and as he swept up the piles of blonde and dark hair, which lay around the chair, he savoured the thought of how much more there would be on Monday and Tuesday. Before he left Eve produced a couple of white coats and said, “These should fit you, get a couple of stripes sewn on them as acting corporal. It will give you more authority with the recruits. We normally start at 8.30 on Monday but I will arrange for half a dozen recruits to be here about 7.30 so that should be plenty of time for you to do some cuts before it gets really busy.”

Colin went back to his quarters with his mind full of exciting thoughts and still hardly able to believe what had happened and that on Monday morning he would be in a situation beyond his wildest dreams. All these young recruits having to submit to a cropping and he would be being guided by one of the most skilled and ruthless stylists he had ever met. The weekend dragged interminably and Colin slept fitfully and all he could think of was Monday morning at 7.30 and he prayed that at least one of the first 6 selected girls would have really long hair and he would be able to satisfy his great obsession – really crop a long head of hair.

At last Monday morning dawned and he arrived at the small salon with his heart pounding and his mouth dry with nervous excitement at what might be in store. Eve was already there, looking very professional in her crisp white coat and her beautiful blonde hair arranged in a sleek pleat, close to her head. Colin just had time to greet her and put on his own coat when the door opened and a sergeant ushered in 6 girls and directed them to the waiting bench. She smiled at Eve and said,” Send them back when you are finished and I will then send the next batch up”

Colin, of course had closely studied the girls as they sat down and his stomach lurched as he immediately saw that one girl had a silky smooth pony tail of gleaming dark blonde hair which streamed down over back to reach her waist. His dream fantasy! All the girls were wearing their caps that made it more difficult to see their hair length but at least one had a mass of softly curling hair down to her shoulders. Eve walked over in front of them and said loudly, “Caps off.” When all the caps were removed Colin could see that two of the girls had their hair gathered tightly back so it was difficult to see the exact length. One of the remaining girls had thick hair just over her collar, whilst the other had a nicely shaped chin length bob, similar to the last girl on Friday evening. She was the first that she beckoned forward and Eve indicated that Colin should put the gown around her. She looked very apprehensive as she sat in the chair and the large enveloping white cape covered her. Eve gave a little nod and said to Colin, “Carry on, take it quite short like I showed you on Friday.”

The girl in the chair paled as she saw Colin pick up the clippers and said anxiously,”Oh please, I don’t want my hair too short. Must I have it cut?” Eve looked balefully at her and said, “You have been sent here to have your hair cut to conform to regulations and be suitable during your training period.” The girl looked close to tears as Colin with a great feeling of power and exultation switched on the clippers, bent her head right forward and began running them up the back of her head. Five minutes later he removed the cape and the girl was ushered from the chair with an approving smile from Eve and Colin knew that he had done a very good cut, taking the hair quite short but keeping a good shape.

After her initial distress the girl had taken her haircut quite stoically and managed a little rueful smile at her companions as she walked bac
k to her seat stroking the back of her cropped hair. Colin had been able to occasionally look at the watching girls and especially the one with the waist-length ponytail that he so much wanted to cut. She had toyed nervously with her air the whole time he had been cutting and when she once caught Colin’s eye as he stared at her she flushed and looked away. What thoughts were going through her head he wondered as she now realised that her long hair would obviously have to be cut short.

However, it was not her that Eve indicated should sit in the chair but one of the girls whose hair was pinned up. Eve loosened the hair and Colin was a little disappointed that it only just reached the shoulders when it was loose and then Eve herself picked up scissors and said, “Ideal hair for a short layered cut and if necessary the nape can be clippered.” The girl sat quite calmly as in a matter of a few minutes her hair was reduced to about two inches all over and Colin again marvelled at the speed and skill with which Eve used the scissors. The girl smiled happily as she was released from the chair and the next girl motioned forward was the girl with the shortish thick dark hair.

Eve combed briefly through her hair and then said to Colin, “I will show you a Chilli Bowl style here, She has good hair and a nice neckline.” As Eve picked up the clippers Colin again marvelled at being in the situation where no discussion with the recipient was necessary, they just had to submit to whatever was decided to be done to their hair. The style decided by Eve was quite a severe but dramatic style that involved almost shaving the hair at the nape and over the ears. After using the clippers with a guard first she used a smaller set that took the hair skin close. The girl in the chair watched intently her hair being shaped and when she was released from the chair she looked delighted with her appearance.

Again Colin felt his pulses race as another girl was motioned forward but it was the girl with her hair pinned up. Eve stepped back and said, “OK see what you can do now.” The girl looked very nervous as she sat down and as Colin placed the cape around her and began unpinning her hair. He was disappointed that it was barely shoulder length and knew he did not want to spend too much time on her hair when the two remaining girls had such exciting hair. Eve watched approvingly as he swiftly clippered the back hair and then began shortening the top and side hair with his scissors. The girl in the chair screwed her face up in mental anguish as lock after lock of her hair tumbled down on to the cape and then rolled down to the floor but for Colin it only increased his pleasure to know that there was nothing she could do about it.

As he had almost completed his cut Eve motioned forward, to sit in the adjacent chair, one of the remaining two girls, but it was still not his dream fantasy but the girl with the very pretty softly curling shoulder length hair. She sat down and said excitedly, “Oh could you cut my hair in that bowl style please. I think it looks great.” Eve obviously could not resist such an invitation and the girl was rapidly swathed in an enveloping cape, her pretty hair flicked free and her head pushed forward ready for the clippers.

Eve stood poised with them buzzing as Colin released the girl from his chair and she said, “Ok. The last one is all yours! I suggest you plait her hair first and then cut it off, you will find it easier to handle.” His stomach lurched with excitement as he nodded but paused to watch for a few moments as Eve began running the clippers up the back of the bowed head and the hair began tumbling down over the gown and the nape of the neck was exposed. This sight excited Colin even more and now he was about to fulfil his dreamt of ambition – crop a waist length head of beautiful hair. He turned towards the girl and indicated she should come to his chair. She was looking pale and terrified as she stood up and hesitantly approached him, her waist length dark blonde silken ponytail swaying gently as she moved. She sank into the chair and stared with tear filled eyes at her reflection in the mirror as he placed the large cape around her and then lifted out her ponytail and allowed the long hair to flow over the cape

Colin began freeing her hair from the band that held it in its ponytail and his fingers thrilled to the first touch of the cool silken tresses that he would soon be removing. He freed the beautiful hair from the band and allowed it to spread out over the cape like a silken blanket. He picked up a brush and began brushing her gorgeous hair and revelled in the quality and texture and knowing that scissors would soon be forcing their ruthless way through the silken tresses. She closed her eyes as the brush swished through her long hair for what she knew would be the last time and Colin realised unfortunately that he could not savour this moment for too long, although he was getting so much pleasure from it. He revelled in the knowledge of the power he had to cut off this hair irrespective of what the girl wanted. He put the brush down and sectioned her hair into three and began plaiting it and was aware that Eve was now releasing the girl from her chair who now looked totally different with a very short bowl cut replacing her bouncy shoulder length curls.

The girl in his chair glanced across and said pleadingly.” I know my hair has to be short but I would hate cut it like that.” She hesitated and then said, “ My boyfriend has always wanted me to have my hair cut short and said I should have it cut before I joined but I was too nervous and hoped I could keep it long. He wanted me to have something called a ‘high and tight’ and said if I was made to have my hair cut I should ask for it that. Could you do it for me?” Colin had no real idea what a high and tight was but Eve clearly did. She swung around and said, “Yes, of course, it is an acceptable style whilst you are training. Your boyfriend is quite right; I think it will look good on you. You are sure that is what you want?” The girl nodded and said, “Yes, if I cant keep my hair long I may as well have it cut to please him. Is it a very short?” Eve nodded and said, “Yes, it is the American version of a crew cut.”

The girl looked stunned and then gave a little shrug and said, “Ah well, I suppose it will grow again.” Colin felt his stomach lurch. My God, she was going to go from waist length hair to a crew cut, which meant at least 30 inches of her hair would be removed. Eve glanced at him and said, “I doubt if you have done a high and tight before, finish plaiting her hair and then I will cut it.” Colin felt as though he had been kicked in the stomach, so great was his disappointment. The opportunity for him to fulfil his fantasy had just been taken away from him and he could hardly believe it.

Meanwhile Eve had moved over to the other recruits who had all received their haircuts, and said, “Right, you can return to your quarters now and tell your sergeant to send the next batch for haircutting up here in about 15 minutes.” The 5 girls stood up and filed out with several of them giving sympathetic looks to the girl in the chair, knowing what a traumatic experience she faced. And now Eve turned back to Colin and the girl. He had finished plaiting her hair and fastened the ends securely with an elastic band and he let go of the very heavy immaculate plait so that it hung down across the white cape and then reluctantly stepped back and allowed Eve to move behind the girl.

She was staring at her reflection in the mirror and was looking ashen faced and terrified and she looked even more frightened as Eve opened the drawer and took out a very large set of electric clippers. Eve plugged them in and then switched them on, the low-pitch
ed buzzing sounding very loud in the small salon. Eve grasped the magnificent plait firmly near the base and the girl in the chair gave a little moan. Colin felt very aroused as Eve flashed him a little smile and then carefully inserted the blades of the clippers into the plait right at the roots. The note of the clippers deepened as they began to bite into the hair and the girl’s body gave an involuntary jerk and she gasped loudly as she felt the pull of the clippers and knew her long hair was being severed. Even though it was a very thick plait, the clipper sliced through it in about 10 seconds and Eve casually handed the 30inch plait to Colin and said, “Just secure the ends of it for me.”

The girl began raising her head but it was firmly pushed forward and without hesitation Eve began running the clippers up the back of her bowed head. There came a sharp intake of breath as she felt the clippers ploughing through the remaining hair at the back of her head and she could see and feel great chunks of her hair coming away from her head. Eve pushed the clippers right up the back of her head to the crown, leaving just the merest covering of hair behind, and with half a dozen swift passes the back section was complete and now she moved to the side. Again with devastating speed the clippers were run up to the temple and masses of the soft hair dropped past the girl’s shocked face and rolled down over the gown into her lap.

Colin watched fascinated and excited as Eve manipulated the clippers with such devastating effect, reducing a waist length head of hair almost to nothing in such a short time. The other side was swiftly given the same treatment and now Eve picked up one of the heads and fitted it to the clippers and said to Colin, “The front hair is just left a little longer and squared off.” She proceeded to do that, sending great clumps of hair tumbling down past the girl’s face and rolling down over the gown to the floor. She had a totally resigned expression and stared listlessly into the mirror waiting for her ordeal to be over.

The front and top hair was cropped down to less than half an inch in a superb square shape, tapering shorter to the crown and then almost to nothing at the sides and back. Eve took the small clippers now and shaved the hair almost to the scalp, right up to the temples in the front and up the back to the crown. Eve put the clippers down and gave a little smile to Colin and said, “You can see now why it is called a high and tight. The hair is cropped really high up the head and very tight to the head. It’s a very dramatic style and actually it is my favourite extreme style.” She removed the gown from around the girl’s shoulders and said, “You look good with it and I am sure you will like it when you get used to it.”

The girl stood up and her hands tenderly explored her cropped head and Colin could barely resist the urge to run his hands all over her cropped head. Although she had lost a magnificent head of waist length hair the girl was attractive enough to look equally dramatic and striking with her very short-cropped hair. Her boyfriend had been right! She gave a tiny smile and said, “Yes, now I am over the shock of having so much hair cut off I think I actually like it and it will be much easier to manage.” She glanced at the great long heavy silken plait that Colin was still holding and said, “Can I take that to send to my boyfriend?” Colin saw Eve give a little assenting nod and reluctantly handed over the hair that had excited him so much and watched her leave the salon.

He began sweeping up the great mass of hair which lay all around the two chairs, feeling excited already at knowing that there would soon be masses more lying there after the next group of recruits arrived and he hoped desperately that this time he would be able to fulfil his dream and be able to crop a beautiful head of waist length hair.

(TO BE CONTINUED)