Some might consider a haircut exceeding $10,000 to be more than a bit excessive. Others might consider having a shaved head the ultimate in bad hair days. But for one University student, a $10,000 buzz cut has been an extremely rewarding experience.
Before
First-year College student Erin Henshaw is not the type of student who draws inquisitive stares when she walks into a room. She dresses nicely, has a bright smile and holds her petite frame with confidence. Her curly brown hair is cut short because last year she donated it to Locks of Love, a group that makes wigs for cancer patients. She speaks with certainty and compassion. In short, Henshaw is not the type of student who most people would expect to shave her head -- unless, of course, she had a good reason.
This reason came in the form of a charity that raises money for children's cancer research. St. Baldrick's is a national childhood cancer foundation that has raised over $3 million since its founding in 2000, according to its Web site. The foundation urges potential volunteers, "Be brave... Go bald." Participants collect donations before shaving their heads in local Irish Pubs around St. Patrick's Day.
Henshaw decided to accept the challenge over Spring Break, following in the footsteps of her mother and sister.
The charity was brought to Old Brogue in Northern Virginia, the pub where Henshaw participated, by the wife of Henshaw's father's business partner after the couple lost their daughter to cancer.
"They wanted to honor their daughter," Henshaw explained.
Two years ago, Henshaw's mother was the first in her family to participate in the program, followed by Henshaw's sister last year, when she was a high school sophomore.
The support her sister received and the University's emphasis on community service minimized Henshaw's apprehension about her own decision to become a "shavee."
"I actually think that U.Va. is a really accepting atmosphere, and I'm actually less afraid to do it here than I would be in high school," she said. "The people are all really supportive of attempts to help other people."
Her faith in her fellow students is so strong that she said she felt entirely confident in her decision to participate.
"I would be a wimp if I was scared about it," she said. "Most girls can't say they shaved their heads. I think it's fun and for a good cause."
While cosmetic reasons might deter other students -- especially women -- from participating, Henshaw expressed little concern about this aspect of the ordeal.
"My head will be especially white because I'll be in California the week before," she said, laughing. "My face will be tan and my head will be a cueball."
Her nonchalant attitude toward her upcoming appearance also translated to her expectations of daily activities. She quickly brushed aside any concern regarding judgment from potential romantic interests.
"Anyone who doesn't respect I did it for a cancer charity -- I don't know;I think it would be ridiculous not to," she said.
Despite the general support she has received, Henshaw did admit to being offered $20 to not shave her head by one student. In general, however, she said her friends have been extremely supportive.
"It makes me really happy of the friends I have made here," she said.
She added that her entire hall donated to the foundation in addition to writing letters to their family members to raise more money. With about a week until the big day, Henshaw said she had raised approximately $3,915 from about 100 individual donors, almost reaching her initial goal of $5,000.
"I'm hoping to at least double what I have right now," she said.
In addition to helping cancer victims financially, Henshaw said she expected the experience to raise her understanding of how it feels to have cancer.
"It's in support of kids who lose their hair going through chemo," she said. "It increases empathy because that's just one aspect of cancer -- the scrutiny you have to endure from whoever sees what you're going through. It will give me a touch of what it's like to go through chemo, but nothing like the full scope."
After
Mission accomplished. Henshaw more than doubled her pre-Spring Break donations, raising approximately $10,000 so far -- donations can still be made in her name for a full year.
"Surprisingly I wasn't very nervous at all," she said. "I was pretty much prepared for how it would look."
The pub where she was shaved with nine other volunteers raised a total exceeding $33,000. Despite raising almost a third of the total herself, however, Henshaw was humble.
"I just have great friends and a great community supporting me," she said.
After the shaving, she went out with friends and experienced strangers' reactions to her baldness for the first time.
"My friends took me out to eat and then we went bowling," she said. "The bowling alley was really the first time I got to experience the weird stares and the whispering. I didn't really get embarrassed, though -- it was just interesting."
Although people's curiosity doesn't faze her, Henshaw has found certain activities unusual without hair.
"The weirdest feeling was that night when I put my head down on the pillow and it was spiky," she said. "That was a little weird getting used to."
She also noted that readjusting to Charlottesville's weather without hair hasn't been the most pleasant experience. She has to wear hats to stay warm -- and despite this precaution, she still caught a cold.
There are, however, advantages to being bald.
"It's great. I don't have to wash my hair or fix it at all before class," she said. "Most girls probably don't realize how preoccupied they are by how their hair looks on a daily basis."
One of Henshaw's friends walked by, patting her head.
"You're so bald," he said. "I like it. Keep it."
She said that most people she knows have told her it looks better than they expected.
"Most of my friends really like it," she said. "I've been told I look like every bald woman from GI Jane to Sinead O'Conner."
Some people have stared at her questioningly, but she hasn't received any negative responses.
Two of her friends, first-year College students Katie Floersheimer and Liz Tran, said they admired her courage and compassion.
"Out of all my friends, I definitely see Erin as the most likely to do this," Floersheimer said. "She's carefree."
Although Floersheimer said she helped by making a donation and asking her family to donate -- a proposition they agreed to readily, donating in honor of Floersheimer's mother who survived breast cancer -- she was unsure whether she would be willing to shave her own head. Tran expressed the same uncertainty.
"I was pretty much in awe," Tran said. "I don't think I could handle shaving my head, personally. It's pretty extreme."
Tran also pointed to Henshaw's character to explain her extraordinary willingness to participate in the program.
"Erin is one of those people who can get away with anything," she said. "It would have been more shocking with my other friends."
Floersheimer said she felt similarly.
"All of her friends think she looks -- well, not the same because she doesn't have hair -- but it's not that big of a difference," she said. "We're pretty much used to it."
Henshaw, however, is not content to let her efforts fade as her hair grows in. Although she is unsure whether she will participate as a "shavee" in the future, she said she hopes to bring the foundation to Charlottesville by organizing the event at O'Neill's.
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