Missionary Haircuts

Where do missionaries go when they need their hair cut? Guys often revert to the buzz cut or some variation. But for us girls, the answer is a bit more complex. If traveling to a major city is a possibility, then a side trip to a real salon is not out of the question. I did this when we were in Dar following language school.

But what if one doesn't have such plans on the horizon? The answer is to find the person in your town who would do the least suckiest job. It must be an expatriate (Mzungu) since I have yet to meet a Tanzanian who knows what to do with my hair besides touch it with an astonished expression on their face! Here in Musoma I have become the resident hair-cutter. Not that my skills are profound or that they wouldn't embarrass the likes of my hair-stylist friend, Sunshine. Still, I pride myself in dabbling in most things artistic or crafty and I can do some of the basics pretty well...

My challenge was what to do for my own hair. I was getting bored with my hair, so I started to hack it off. I layered the mid and bottom levels and cut long bangs, but I still needed someone to cut a nice straight line for me at the bottom-- about 3-4 inches shorter than it was. I found a great helper. Kim was quite nervous, especially when I told her how much I wanted cut off, but she did a good job. Here are a couple of the "result" photos. No negative judgments, folks, unless you've cut your own hair and did a better job than this! It sure beats having "Missionary Hair," which is one of my most profound yet superficial fears in being a missionary.

The front-- just for the record, the sides are NOT uneven. Tim and I had trouble getting a good picture because of the angle I was sitting at and the light and all that. This was the best of the many we took! It is actually quite even on the sides in the front.

The back-- it curves down a bit in the center. I haven't decided if this is a problem yet, since it seems to lay well the way it is. Any thoughts?

-JLR

(photos deleted March 2011)