what you didn't want to know about my head...

the battle for my scalp just got serious.

i wanted to grow out my hair (it was coming along so nicely!). but for the sake of a healthy head (that actually has some hair left on it), i had to cut it.

ever since late may (about 1 month after i moved to japan), i've had three huge, lingering, and terribly itchy scabs on my scalp. one's front and center, and the other two are on either side slightly above and behind the ears.

this also happened both times i came to japan previously, but then cleared up after i went back to america.

so i thought—maybe it's a problem with japanese shampoo? or something in the environment?

with that hope, i determined to bear my affliction until august, when i'd be in america for a few days and could get my hands on some safe shampoo.

all the while it got bigger and itchier, and more hair found its way to shower drain.

then at last i had the promised shampoo!—$1-suave from walmart.

but nothing changed. i wouldn't say it got worse after switching shampoos, but the leprosy has just run its course a little more, and yet more hair has ended up in my drain.

***grotesque picture interlude***

so i cut my hair, and lo and behold there was irritated, hairless skin underneath!

here is the hair i cut from that region of my head. THIS WAS HANGING OFF MY HEAD. it's as though my scalp melted and re-solidified with all my hair held captive, and then slowly peeled away from my head leaving me with thoroughly uncombable and entirely disgusting hair.

***back to the narrative***

so i bit the bullet and went to see a dermatologist. after the slightest of glances, he prescribed me some sort of topical lotion. i was dubious, but had no other options, finding most google searches on the issue completely useless.

but i had a problem. lots of out-of-control semi-long curly hair, a large area of scalp to cover, and only a 10ml bottle of lotion? i tried. the areas that i could get did feel a little better, but it was just too hard to see/feel where i was putting it.

so i struggled with the decision to cut my hair. now that i have a four day weekend, i decided to do it, hoping that my now naked head can heal up before i have to go back to work.

but given the picture above, i don't think my head will look entirely normal for a little while. (ToT)

if the lotion doesn't work, i just stumbled across something that suggests this might be fungal—in which case using a apple cider vinegar + peroxide combo is supposedly quite effective.

hope my hair comes back.

america's next top (tranny) model???

i gave myself 3 haircuts yesterday. lucky for you, i documented each haircut in a variety of poses and outfits. thanks to my gorilla pod i was able to handle all the camera work myself, but it probably would have been more fun with a dedicated photographer asking me for "fierce" and reminding me to "smize".

here are my fav pics:

actually, i take it back. i don't really like this photo. but of all the shots taken before straightening/styling my hair, this was the best. something weird is going on with my lips and it looks like i have herpes.

i like this photo oodles better. this was a fun hair style to make. first, i straightened my hair. then i put my hair up in a high ponytail. i divided the tail in half, and spiraled the two around the base of the pony tail and each other, all held in place with another hair tie and bobby pins. i then pulled some strands out of the ponytail and loosened the whole thing a bit. here's a detail shot of the bun:

it creates this really cool "donut fountain" look (i'm not sure how else to describe it). this was an adaptation of juicystar07's braided top knot tutorial (my hair wasn't long enough to braid).

alright! back to my glam shots:

first cut: bangs. my hair is in a pony tail, with some token strands in front of my ears (in case you were confused).

second cut: trying to look like ramona flowers. fails in a few ways:
• not an awesome color (like pink. or blue. or aqua.)
• bangs too low, checks too covered • the long strands in front aren't pronounced enough from the layering behind them
for comparison:

oh, and one more: my eyebrows aren't sculpted enough (i've been too scared of messing up to do much beyond plucking unibrow territory).

continuing with that same haircut:

this is my pain face. i really should stretch more often.

third cut: hacked it all off! this was my best attempt at a unisex haircut that will allow me to be presentable for a job interview without feeling so mannish.

now, let's take one last look at my crazy long hair:

i'll miss you :(

well, that's all for the photo shoot. there were plenty more pictures, but i'd rather not burn out your eyes, so we'll leave it with those.

and finally, here are some photos of my christmas tree:

(context)

(detail)

it turned out to be a lot cheaper and cleaner than a traditional tree, yet it still brought that holiday spirit into our bro-house (a pink double-wide with 5/6 guys and 1/0 girls, depending on how you count me)!

oh. and for the record, i clearly don't have boobs, but it's nice to pretend sometimes.