Missing the Clippers

My name is Sandra and I'm a college freshman at Texas A&M. I have green eyes and chestnut colored hair that has long layers and reaches the small of my back. I am home for Thanksgiving break, and decided that I want to have my long hair cut short. I haven't always had long hair. In fact, it used to be very short. I live with my Aunt Reggie, and she's a barber. She has worn her auburn colored hair in a flattop for a long as I can remember. She likes to keep it short and neat; half an inch long on top, and tapered from a quarter inch on the back and sides, down to shaved smooth at her nape. I wore the same flattop for many years, and had short hair until I was 11. I loved getting my hair cut short; feeling the clippers running over my head, getting a hot lather shave on my neck, rubbing my velvety soft hair and smooth shaven nape, it felt so great. Reggie never forced me to have it that way. And even though I was constantly teased and called "butch," I liked my hair short. It actually bothered me when my hair grew out more than a few milimeters. It never felt quite as good a few days after Reggie cut it. Getting clippered and shaved was sort of a high for me, or maybe an addiction. For that reason, Reggie cut it for me quite frequently. I vividly remember one day, when I was 9, of running into Reggie's barber shop, my pink dress muddy after being teased at on the playground at school. I was almost out of breath as I said, "Haircut Aunt Reggie, I really need one." She put down the magazine she was reading at her empty station, and said with a little laugh, "but you just had one a few days ago!" Nevertheless, she got up out of her big red leather barber's chair and put the booster seat in for me to sit on. She would never refuse to cut my hair as long as I wanted it short. As I climbed in, she noticed my tear streaked dirty face and asked, "did you get teased at school again Sandy?" I nodded, so she said, "you know, you don't have to have a flattop just because I have one. If you grow your hair out longer, you probably won't get teased." I replied, "But I like my hair short Aunt Reggie. I don't want long hair." It's funny, after a long day of being teased for my short hair at school, all I wanted was another haircut. I needed to feel the clippers on my head. Reggie shrugged and said, "alright, if that's what you really want dear." She tore a piece of tissue paper from the dispenser and wrapped it tightly around my neck. The she threw a big heavy cape over me and tied it good and snug around the tissue paper. I couldn't move under that cape. It hung a good 6 inches past my feet, and was heavy like those things they put on you at the dentists's office when you get your teeth x-rayed. It was probably a good thing; if I moved, my hair might not turn out the right way (which tends to happen when kids get haircuts). I watched Reggie as she took her big electric clippers off a hook and asked, "Can you maybe cut my hair shorter today Aunt Reggie?" "Don't you think it's short enough honey?" She said as she opened the drawer where she kept the plastic clipper guards and put one on the clippers. I shook my head no. Part of the high for me was feeling the clippers chew through my hair, and watching the little tufts and clippings float down into my lap and onto the floor. I loved it when enough hair was cut off to make my head feel lighter. But I got it cut so often I rarely had much hair to cut. If she cut my hair the same length as always today, maybe a dusting would get buzzed off. It had been a while since my hair was long enough to have much more than a few milimeters buzzed off anyways. I wanted her to cut it short enough so I could actually feel the clippers cutting it, and see the hair fall to the floor, and feel my head get lighter. "Let me get this straight, you were just teased all day for your short hair, and now you want me to cut it shorter?" Reggie asked me. I nodded and said, "Yes." "Why?" She said. I shrugged and said, "It's really hot out and when my head gets sweaty the top doesn't stand up. It would be better if it was shorter." Reggie chuckled and said, "You have a point there. But if it was much shorter it would have to be a buzzcut. I'm not giving you a high-n-tight like your uncle Larry." "That's ok. I think I'll like a buzzcut." I said. She thought for a few moments, then sighed and said, "Alright, since it's almost summer, I'll give you a buzzcut. If you promise me that this is what you really want." I grinned and said, "I promise." She chuckled and switched the plastic clipper guard to a shorter one. I heard a loud POP followed by a low buzzzzz as Reggie turned the clippers on. I looked at myself in the mirror and a big smile spread across my face as Reggie walked behind me with the buzzing clippers in her hand. Instinctively, I bent my head down in anticipation of the clippers running up the back of my head. I had butterflies in my stomach as the roaring of the clippers grew louder, inching closer to me. Reggie put a hand on top of my head, then I felt the vibrating clippers at my nape. I could barely sit still as Reggie waited a few moments before pushing the clippers into my hair. It was only a few seconds, but it seemed like a million years. Reggie's hand pushed my head down further so my chin dug into my chest as she slowly moved the clippers up the back of my head. Buzzz Buzzzz Buzzzzzaaaa. My nape was already really short, so the clippers didn't cut any hair until higher up. Finally, hair started falling into my lap. The hair tumbling down got longer as the clippers went higher up my head. Reggie pressed the clippers into my head very firmly as she worked her way up the back. I shivered as the clippers ran over my occipital bone. When the clippers reached the top, she flicked a tuft of hair off the blade and placed them at my nape, next to the first path she'd done. She slowly clippered the next swath of hair shorter. As little hairs started falling into the cape, I closed my eyes. I was put in a trance by the methodic buzzing and soothing vibrations, and forgot about the teasing and name calling. Buzzzzz Buzzzzzzzz Buzzzzzzzzzzaaaa. Aunt Reggie continued making slow passes up the back of my head, and I felt more and more hair trickle down into the cape. I was relaxed and enjoying getting buzzed when suddenly she turned off the clippers. She put them on the counter in front of me and said, "Hi Sally, how are you today?" I looked up and saw a boy from my class named Donny with his mother. Sally replied, "I'm just fine Reggie, thanks. Enjoying this nice warm weather." "What can I do for you?" Reggie asked. Sally patted her son's head and said, "It's time for Donny to get a summer haircut. Can I make an appointment with you for tomorrow?" Reggie walked to the desk and said, "yes, that's fine. How about 4 o'clock?" "That will work out perfectly." Sally said. Then she added, "See you tomorrow Reggie," and nudged Donny, who had a slight smirk on his face, but said, "uh, see you at school Sandra." All I could say was a quiet, "yeah." Then I turned my head so I looked at the mirror again. I couldn't see the back, so I didn't know how much shorter it was, but there was more hair in my lap than I expected. I was very excited. I wanted to touch my hair, but the cape was too heavy for me to lift my hands out from under it. Aunt Reggie came back and picked up the clippers, so I bent my head back down and soon felt the clippers again. Buzzzzzz Buzzzzzzzz Buzzzzzzzzzzaaaa. Reggie's firm hand held my head still as she finished clippering the back, then she tilted my head to the right, and walked to the left side of the chair. She put the clippers behind my ear and slowly buzzed a path up from there. As she flicked the hair off the clippers when she pulled them away at the top, little pieces of hair fell into my ear and tickled. But I sat still while Reggie continued. She clippered the next path starting at my sideburn. Buzzzz Buzzzzzz Buzzzzzzzzaaaa. The clippers roared very loudly in my ear, a sound I loved. She clippered a couple passes up to the top, then bent my ear over and made a path around it. She blew in my ear to make the hairs fly out, then tipped my head to the left and walked to my right side. She clippered behind my right ear, then buzzed off my sideburn, and all the way to my crown. Buzzzz Buzzzzzz Buzzzzzzzaaa. Then she clippered around my ear, just like she did with the left one. Reggie picked my head up and I looked in the mirror. She turned the clippers off and put a different plastic guard on them, then said, "now sit real still for me Sandy." I sat up straight and smiled as Aunt Reggie turned the clippers back on. I stared into the big mirror as she put them on my forehead. I held my breath as she pushed them back. Hair started raining down, into the cape and onto the floor. After Reggie finished the first path, it looked like I had a reverse-mohawk. I grinned at my reflection as she started buzzing another swath. I watched intently as the clippers sheared my hair shorter. I had always had the top of my head clippered, but this time it felt different. She was cutting the top much shorter. As Reggie continued, I started to feel the breeze on top of my head. Buzzzzz Buzzzzzzzz Buzzzzzzzzzaaa. As she ran the clippers over the last path of longer hair, I held my breath. The last bits of longer hair were set free from my head and tumbled to the ground. Reggie quickly ran the clippers over everything on top a second time, to buzz any stray hairs she might have missed the first time, then turned the clippers off. She rubbed the top of my head and said, "What do you think of your buzzcut so far Sandy?" I turned my head both ways to see how short Reggie had buzzed the sides, and I bent forward a little to see if I could see skin through the very short chestnut colored hair on top. I could, which I was kinda excited about. "It looks really soft. I like it this way." I replied. "It IS really soft. I'm glad you are happy with it so short. I'm almost done, I just have to clean it up nice and neat, then you can go back to the playground if you like. She took the plastic guard off the clippers and said, "head down dear." I bent my head forward and a few moments later, heard the roaring clippers behind me. I felt the cold steel blades of the guard-less clippers on my neck. Reggie pushed my head down so my chin dug into my chest again. She started to push the clippers up the back of my head. She pressed them hard into my skin at my nape, clippering the hair as short as possible, and pulled them away from my head as she moved them higher. She only clippered about three-quarters up my head this time. She continued clippering me very deliberately and slowly, until she had tapered everything in back of my head. She did the same thing to the sides of my head, tapering the hair to almost shaved at the bottom. I sat very still, and stared into the mirror as Aunt Reggie finished the sides. She ran her hand over my whole head, and ran the clippers over a few spots, then turned them off and hung them up. She dusted my head and neck to get rid of any loose hairs, then undid the cape, shook it out, and hung it up next to the shelves. I reached my arms and stretched, then rubbed my head. As I rubbed my newly shorter hair, I felt almost a bolt of electricity through my body. But I had to put my hands back down as Reggie draped a big thick white towel over my shoulders. She took a washcloth and ran it under steaming hot water, then wiped my nape and hairline. It burned a little bit, but I didn't mind. I heard a whining sound and saw Reggie pumping some hot shaving cream from the dispenser into her hand. She spread a thick coat on my hairline, from my left sideburn, around to my nape and all the way to my right sideburn. Then she wiped her hands and took a straight razor out of her pocket. She flicked it open, and stropped it on the leather belt attached to the chair. Aunt Reggie pushed my head down, and started to shave the back. She carefully shaved about two inches up my nape. I loved the scraping feeling, and she had never shaved that high before, so it was kind of exciting. I felt all the warm lather gone from my nape, then Reggie tipped my head to the right and started shaving the left side. She shaved about an inch up on my sideburn, then bent my ear down and shaved around it. My stomach was in knots as she slowly continued to shave the rest of the left side until there was no more hot lather. She tipped my head to the left and began shaving the right side. Up my sideburn, around my ear, up the sides. Reggie shaved the right side just as she had the left. I enjoyed the feeling of getting shaved very much. It was over all too soon. Reggie put down her razor and I lifted my head up. She took another hot washcloth and wiped the excess shaving cream from my head. Then she dusted the freshly shaven skin with some sweet smelling powder, and took the towel off my shoulders. She patted my shoulder and said, "There you go honey. A nice short buzzcut for summer. I hope it's what you wanted." My hands flew up to my head, and I rubbed the soft, freshly buzzed velvety hair that covered my head. I turned from side to side, then Reggie spun the chair backwards and gave me a hand mirror so I could see the back. I rubbed the back as I looked in the mirror. My new buzzcut was an eighth of an inch by my crown, but quickly tapered shorter and was shaved clean for a couple inches at the bottom. It was a quarter of an inch long on top. My head felt a little lighter for sure. I stared at it for several minutes, then Reggie turned the chair back around and said, "alright, you go play while I clean up the shop, ok honey?" I stood up on the footrest and looked at my new haircut one more time, grinning at my reflection. I barely recognized myself. She patted me on the behind and I jumped down from the chair. Then I gave her a hug and went to the playground, rubbing my head the whole time.
I got teased mercilessly for my buzzcut. But I loved how it felt. I kept my hair like that for the summer, getting it cut every week, sometimes even twice a week. I grew it back into the half inch flattop for the school year, because Aunt Reggie wanted me to. For the next two summers Reggie gave me the same short buzzcut. After the third summer of having the buzzcut, I decided to grow my hair out. I was going into middle school and wanted to get noticed by boys. By the time I got to high school a few years later, my hair was well past my shoulders. I liked the attention I got from boys, and had fun doing things with my hair at slumber parties. But missed the feeling of short hair, getting it buzzed and shaved, and how easy it was to take care of. And long hair felt so heavy on my head. After high school, all I could think about was feeling the clippers on my head again, and having my head feel nice and light. I went off to college and couldn't stop thinking about the day I first got a buzzcut. I replayed it over and over in my mind. By the time Thanksgiving break rolled around, I knew I had to get my hair cut short again. I didn't care that people would stare at me. Besides, I am in college, it's not that wierd for a girl to have short hair.