Vol II: #11 Growing Old
Today is August 4th, 2021. It’s been 677 days since my last haircut, and I am pondering whether or not I need a new look. The hair on top of my head is thinning faster than the hair on the sides or the back. I thought about cutting it short and using Rogaine to regrow my lost hair. But it’s a fool’s gambit. The trick to Rogaine is daily use. It must be used every day to see results. Any stop in usage will result in hair loss. Not only that, but I’d lose whatever hair I was going to lose in the first place.
No. I will not use Rogaine— regardless of what I decide. The real quandary is in relationship to the unstoppable condition on top of my head. Long, thin hair looks like bits of yarn attached to a bald head. I promised myself I wouldn’t be one of those guys. I want to embrace all of what comes with growing old. (My declining eyesight is also on the horizon of issues to face. I’m still 20/20, but I can tell my eyes aren’t what they were.)
The reason I’m writing about this is that I don’t think we embrace the aging process. For example, I watched the Friends Reunion Special on HBO+ last week. It was boring and gruesome. The entire cast is over 50 years old, yet every one of them tried to replicate to look they had at 30. They looked awful. And, Why? Oh, that’s right. They work in an industry obsessed with appearances, which is why I stopped watching the Special after twenty minutes.
I want to look good and feel good about how I look. But, I don’t want to chase youth or the appearance of it. I fought too hard to love the skin I’m in. I won’t belittle myself for the sake of vanity. My self-esteem is intact; therefore, I need an answer to the original question. What do I do about my hair? Long hair is fun and versatile. I especially like my hair after a shower, fully dry. It’s big and glorious. Multiple people told me a look like a lion when my hair is that way. Washing and drying my hair is a pain, as are all the other drawbacks to long hair. (Ladies…I feel you.)
For now, I’m going to keep my long hair. This is the most hair I will have moving forward. If I cut it now, I likely won’t have another opportunity to grow it back. What I have is what I got. Whenever I do decide to get a cut, you’ll know. I moved on into the next phase of growing old.
