After 3 months of going all nature boy on the world, I gave in to the razor.
And to be honest, I very much regret it.
On my 22nd birthday, I decided to give up on shaving for reasons unknown to many. I embarked on a journey down a road of perseverance, discovery and clarity.
Ignore the date. This was taken in Aug 2010.
In late 2010, I started working full-time. 8 and a half hour shifts that started at 8:30am. It was a very significant point in my life, and so in year 2011, I chose to mark it with a change of some sort.
Ever since I was younger I have been intrigued by facial hair. Being of asian heritage, maybe it was the thought that I would not be able to grow much if any, was what intrigued me the most.
Dad never grew any form of facial hair. One uncle periodically had a moustache. Every other uncle was clean shaven. Not even a trace of stubble.
Queensland Trip, 6th March 2011.
This may have sparked a case of curiosity in my head, as for as long as I can remember, I’ve always fancied the thought of growing one of my own. Silently I’ve observe different facial hair styles and think abouthow I’d look if I could grow it out.
But genetics are against me and I don’t have the ability to grow a thick full beard like the ang mos do.
Very patchy but its there. 5 April 2011.
So on my 22nd birthday, I decided to quit the razor. Never having grown my stubble for more than a week, I had absolutely no clue what the end result would be.
The growth surprised me more than it surprised the friends who I hadn’t seen in those 2 to 3 months. Letting it grow out, I noticed hairs filling up parts of my cheek and under chin that was never observable before. I was excited, but most of all I was intrigued.
Even though it wasn’t as full as I would’ve like, it was more than I actually hoped to achieve. Having done some light reading, I came to understand that facial hair growth doesn’t stop after puberty but continues up until the your 50. 22 years young is still a very very tender age.
Before I carved. 13 April 2011.
I liked the growth I had and the its potential. What bugged me the most was my moustache. Like my dad, I was blessed with a hairless patch right smack in the middle of my upper lip, in a place called the philtrum. I thought so much of it then, but looking back at it now, it wasn’t as bad as I thought.
Oh well, I’m still learning what my body is capable of.
Everyday I would spend a minute or two looking at myself in the mirror, admiring a sight I’ve never seen before. Like how some girls are addicted to checking themselves out to see if they’ve lost weight, I did the same but instead look to see if the hairs have grown just a little more. Obviously, to me everything never seemed to change.
22nd April 2011. Carved the cheaks. Totally regretted it.
And on the 25th of April 2011, the day Izzybell arrived back in Melbourne, I decided to shave off all of it, leaving only the goatee.
This was quite hard to do, but after I had carved the cheeks earlier on the week, which I wished I hadn’t, it wasn’t as painful as one would expect after waiting around for 3 months.
Now all I have is a patch under my chin. Blergh.
Shaved. 1st May 2011.
Looks like I’m gonna have to start all over again.