The Group Effect
Hi, my name is Jack. I’m 21 and I’m a barber in a medium size town. Lately I’ve been experiencing something weird in my shop.
Here’s when it started:
A few weeks ago, a couple of girls (high-school seniors I guess) came into my shop. They had beautiful long hair. One was a blonde, the other was a brunette, and the third had black hair. I thought they wanted to talk to me about giving their boyfriends haircuts, but I was wrong. They told me their story: A few days before their friend Lisa had been diagnosed with cancer. The three of them asked me – to shave their heads to show their support for Lisa.
I have three chairs in my shop (my colleagues Mike and Bill had the weekend off). I asked if they were sure about shaving their head. They were! So I said: “OK. But now crying or whining. It was your decision! Who wants to go first?” I asked. But then I had a better idea. I’ll do their hair at the same time – in steps. “Never mind. All of you get in the chairs!” I told the girls. They complied. “Last change to back out!” The blond, who seemed very concerned about her hair looked like she was going to get up for a moment but she didn’t after the others looked at her. I turned the chairs away from the mirrors.
First, I took my scissors, went to the blond and put her beautiful blond hair into a ponytail. Then with one loud “schnipp” I cut her ponytail very close. Next I cut the brunettes long hair and then the black hair. The stage looked choppy and messy. So – I didn’t wait long. I got my power-clippers took off the attachment and clipper-shaved the black haired girl. The others were terrified by seeing the result. The blond was next. Her hair was reduced to sandpaper stubble in less than 5 minutes. The brunette looked at the door, but she didn’t run. She didn’t want to leave her friends behind. So she got the same treatment and got her head shaved.
“So girls – you want to go the whole way: Shave it with a razor?” I didn’t wait for a reply. I lathered up the brunette and shaved her. She was surprised by the feeling of the razor on her head. Next up the black haired girl – she seemed turned on by me shaving her head and the razor scraping on her scalp. The blond girl was afraid. She started crying during shaving.
But then I turn them all towards the mirror – and the other two started crying as well.
“Why did we do this?” “It looks terrible!” They said.
They paid me and left the shop.
During the day I didn’t have many customers. My regulars: Flattop Jim, the Police-Officer and the Shaved-Head Joe, the high-school football team’s coach and I 13 year old boy with shaggy hair (about 10 in.) who was “pulled in” by his father – No. 1 allover. In the evening shortly before I wanted to leave two other girls came in. It was strange. Guess what they asked me to do for them: Shave their heads! They said they also wanted to support the girl Lisa. So I gave them the same treatment as the girls in the morning. Again two beautiful girls got their ponytail chopped of, clipper shaved and razor shaved.
The next day in the morning I came to work – opened up the shop. A mother came in with her sons 10 and 12. The younger one got a No. 3 buzz cut the older one No. 1. After that a young man came into my shop with longish streaked hair. He said he joined the Army and he wanted to get his hair cut before he left. So I gave him a standard regulations cut.
Then four girls (who looked a bit younger than those yesterday) came into my shop. I asked them: “Let me guess? You want you’re heads shaved to support Lisa?” The girls replied: “No. We want to get our heads shaved because Marissa (the blond from yesterday) got her head shaved.” “It’s cool now! To have short hair: Britney does it!”
I didn’t bother to do them all at the same time this time. I shaved one girl after another. And I enjoyed seeing how the waiting ones looked more and more worried before their turn came.
That day another 2 girls got their heads shaved.
Every day since then more and more girls have come to my shop. Personally I think it’s great for business, but I like the girls better with longer hair.
More and more got their heads shaved. Some only wanted me to clipper shave them with a No. 1 attachment, others lost their nerves when the sat in the chair (often that was too late because the ponytail was gone!).
It is weird to see how support for a sick friend became fashion for the entire town’s teen-girl population. The Lisa must sure feel very supported when she sees all those shaved head when she comes back from therapy!