Fashion Synopsis

Kojak, Yul Brynner, Mr. Clean…these chrome domes were tough, maybe even sexy in a certain way, but no one dared call a baldy beautiful. That is, at least until Sinead O’Connor wooed the world with her enchanting voice, wide eyes, and smooth scalp.

Shearing the head of unwanted hair had been a summertime custom for young boys, but few practiced the art outside of carefree adolescence, unless they were military men and the buzz cut was required. Then punk rock came about and popularized shaved styles, with the subculture group ‘skinheads’ using their shaved heads as a characteristic of their clique. A few punk chicks took up the razor, but few went all the way. The ‘Chelsea fringe’ was a common quasi-shaved style, leaving face-framing bangs attached to a sheared head.

It was acceptable for boys to shave and avoid the hassle of hair, but girls found their power through their long flowing locks, and even super short hair got you labeled a butch. Not anymore. Singer Sinead O’Connor made baldness beautiful when the doe-eyed songstress crooned with a buzzcut like no other. Sinead’s shaved head made skulls sexy.

When Sinead revealed her smooth scalp to the Top-40 crowd with “Nothing Compares 2 U,” baldness became a lot less shocking, inspiring more girls to embraced the freeform style. And once baldness was okay for girls, nothing compared to the freedom from hairstyle harrows. But beware, bald is not for everybody: make sure your scalp is of a nice even shape and color. Lumps, bumps and pointed noggins don’t make for a sexy head. But if all is clear (pun intended), than go ahead and take the razors to it.

So forget the curling irons, mousse, hairspray, barrettes and scrunchies, combs, gel, hairdye, shampoo, conditioner, hot oil treatments, split ends, monthly trims, bad hair days, dandruff, limp locks, flyaways, and bed head. No hair is good hair.

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