The period between January and late March may have been the longest time that I did not have a haircut. It is the H-day entry for my Pandemic Journal.
As soon as I returned to Beijing from Manila after the New Year, I had my slick back hair cut short because it was too demanding and troublesome to style. A clean hairstyle seems to suit me well, although I feel more presentable with a Justin-Timberlake-of-2013 dapper look.
On the last working day before the Spring Festival break (January 23), I took this selfie to show my family back home that I had begun donning a face mask because the then-outbreak began to reach other cities in China:
I was on my way to work and I remember many passengers still mask-less. Anyway, it’s not the mask that I am focusing on. It’s my hair — very short and clean.
And then the self-isolation period began. It was a total of 78 days from January 6 to March 28 when my hair met a pair of scissors again.
Why am I telling this?
Because of the self-isolation! Duh.
But it’s not entirely about me — it’s about this necessity to look clean and handsome because you want to look presentable and shore up your self-confidence. Remove that narcissistic thought. Come to think of it: this self-isolation (or quarantine period in some countries) will force you to stay at home. And so your beloved hairdressers. And the businesses have been forced to close shop. And it took me more than two months to enjoy this kind of necessity.
And it is these kinds of basic health services that people yearn for and will surely take once the self-isolation or quarantine periods are over. Massages? Yes, sure! Manicure and pedicure? Of course. Pigging out? Let’s do it.
I recently read one article about how small-time entrepreneurs in Beijing are “all hurting” in this time of crisis. The interviewee, a photographer, said that once the pandemic is over, people will get a “haircut” so businesses need to think of the ways to survive.
Photos: Andy Penafuerte III