The Helmet Comes Off by burrlypup

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Graduation is upon us and the local college men have been shedding their idealist college beards and having their unkempt locks turned into business appropriate cuts for their interviews and first serious jobs.

Around 3pm, there’s a lull in the shop and it gives me a break to have lunch and zone out until evening customers shuffle in. A young man entered my shop quietly and took a seat. He had definitely been attacked by a can of hairspray and a hair dryer! His unbelievably thick head of hair was a caricature of mature businessmans haircut â€" a good 4-5 inches on top layered and parted on the side, with full back and sides gently trimmed with scissors. As I greeted him, his hair was a dark chestnut with subtle golden highlights from being out in the sun. His low hairline coupled with the sheer volume of his hair created the illusion of a helmet.

"Hello, what brings you in today?" I asked.

"I need this fixed." The young man said, pointing at his hair. He wore a lanyard that had Michael written on it.

"How long has it been since your last cut?" I asked.

"One day." He replied with a slight chuckle.

"I see. Well, how would you like it?" I asked.

"My friend Sean comes here, I like how his hair look."

"I get lots of Seans, do you have a photo?" I asked. Michael pulled out his phone, fiddled around with it and showed me a photo of a young man around his age with a very short flattop with an inch or so on top and whitewalls.

"That same haircut?"

"Maybe ease me into it. I had shoulder length hair yesterday and shouldn’t pull the trigger then. And I ended up with this monstrosity. I’ve always wanted to go super short like Sean, maybe even shorter!" Michael said as he patted his helmet hair.

"Well, now is not the time to be timid son. Job recruiters will sense your lack of confidence and use it against you. Tell me exactly what you want." I instructed him. Michael took a deep breath and looked into his reflection.

"I want it shorter than Sean! Give me the shortest flattop you can!" Michael said confidently.

"You got it!" I said back to him, excited to have incited such vigor in a youth. I asked no further questions and picked up my Oster 76’s. Since his hair was already stiff and upright, I merely combed through it to separate the hairs and began his transformation by landing the #00000 clippers straight down the middle of his scalp, an inch past his hairline, pushing them round the curvature of his skull over his crown and down to his nape. A huge mound of his silken hair fell to the floor behind him.

"Uhhhhhnnnnnnnnnn!" Michael groaned.

"You liked that?" I asked.

"That felt nice. Oh wow!" Michael elated as he tilted his head forward and rubbed the nearly smooth stripe that appeared.

"Just wait ‘til I’m finished!" I smiled as I brought a comb to his head and leveled it so the deck of his flattop would tilt forward. When I was satisfied with the angle, I ran the clippers over the comb and everything above it fell. I continued this until his flattop deck was level. Michael became red in the face as I stroked the top of his velvety and very flat head of hair. The back and sides were the only remnants, and they soon were clipped as bare as his landing strip, high above the crown of his head. The horseshoe shaped flattop that remained on top was the size of my hand.

I lathered up the back and sides of his head and wrapped a steamed towel around his whole head. I could tell this experience was inducing a state of arousal within him - not uncommon. An assertive haircut should make a man feel virile and potent!

The hot towel came off and I applied another thick coating of hot lather to his back and sides, then began etching off the remaining stubble with my straight edge. His newly revealed scalp was white as paper and sensing his enjoyment, I took the liberty of applying hot lather to his landing strip and shaving that smooth as well. As the blade glided smoothly down the center, Michael let out a nearly inaudible moan. I think that did it for him.

I pulled out a hot, wet towel from my steamer and wrapped it around his head that was now mostly shaved. After the hot towel, I massaged his whole head with some tonic. The initial sting cause Michael to wince, and then he relaxed as I buffed the shaved areas to a brilliant shine and massaged his nape upwards until I caressed his smooth landing strip. I whipped off the cape, sending a flurry of his shorn locks to the floor. Michael was still in a trance as he examined his smooth back and sides, tenderly caressing his landing strip with his fingertips. He tilted his head and grinned.

"I love it! Sean is going to love it, too. Thanks Jimmy!" Michael said as he rubbed the top of his head with his flattened palm.

"You’re welcome, Michael." I responded, smiling as I looked at our reflection in the mirror. I took a few photos of his new horseshoe flattop for my shop instant gram account.

"How much do I owe you?" Michael asked.

"No charge, this was a fun cut. Come back next week for a touch up, bring Sean and I’ll do a 2 for 1 deal." I responded.

"Thanks again!" Michael said as he picked up his blazer and left. At the moment my phone vibrated. Michael added me on the instant gram and had posted his new haircut, emphasis on the shaved landing strip. Later that evening he posted a photo of Sean kissing his nape. My mind raced.

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