I was in the waiting area of a Money Town salon last Friday. I had an appointment for a very needed, and long overdue, pedicure. (Will you still be my friend if I confess my toenails were beginning to look like talons?)
It became clear, pretty quickly, I would have a long wait. I walked over to Starbucks and purchased a Venti Green Iced Tea - extra ice and half the normal amount of sweetener, please.
I returned to the waiting area of the salon. A man was seated across from me.
I am nothing, if not a trained observer of Money Town residents.
Something seemed very, very, different about the man.
"What is it?" I asked myself as I surreptitiously stared at him.
He was, in my estimation, in his late forties. He had reddish hair and it did not look natural in color.
"He must be here to get his hair dyed," was my first thought. I don't run into that many men with dyed red hair.
"But no," my inner voice nagged ... "There is something more."
I took in his clothing. There was nothing unusual there. The man wore shorts, flip flops and a v-neck t-shirt over his fairly large midlife paunch. The man wasn't in good shape. His clothing was pretty standard for a day when temperatures reached 100F. He had on a wedding ring with a very large (3 carat?) prominent square shaped diamond.
Money.
Imagine that! Another man with money in Money Town.
And then ... a light bulb went on in my mentally confused blonde head.
The man had a good amount of dyed red hair on his head, but he was a Hairless Man.
I quickly confirmed my initial observation.
Arms - hairless.
Legs - hairless.
Chest - hairless (he was wearing a v-neck shirt)
I immediately appraised him again because the first thought that went through my head after I realized he was hairless was "swimmer." I glanced at the man's big paunch.
** Photo credit Ron Mueck courtesy Google Images **
"Maybe not?" I pondered.
Certainly, he was not in good enough shape to be a competitive swimmer.
Right then the waxing technician appeared to escort Hairless Man back to the waxing room.
This is where I turn to you, my readers for help.
Educate me.
Why?
Why is this Money Town man having his entire body waxed on a regular basis? Hairless Man is very fair skinned. He is not a dark, hairy, gorilla type of man. I understand some men have their chests and backs waxed frequently. Why would a man wax his arms and legs? (And yes, if I had to guess I'd say he waxes everywhere else too.)
Maybe it's just me, but it didn't look right. Or maybe it just didn't look right on him because of the contrast it presented with his full head of dyed red hair?
Enlighten me.
© Twenty Four At Heart
That picture - scary!
Maybe he cycles, but that would only be legs and maybe arms.
I have no idea, and am now thinking happy thoughts...rainbows, puppies, flowers, sunshine, ocean
Posted by: Michelle | October 19, 2009 at 01:09 AM
Hmmmm... maybe he has really sensitive skin and the hair gets itchy under his clothes? Like that episode of Malcolm in the Middle where his dad has to shave everywhere regularly.
Except waxing would definitely be more detrimental to sensitive skin than a little hair.
I don't know, but I have to say that sounds kind of... ick.
Posted by: Elisa | October 19, 2009 at 01:16 AM
Maybe his wife (or boyfriend) demanded it?!
"Will you still be my friend...?" Um...
Posted by: stoneskin | October 19, 2009 at 04:31 AM
if ,indeed he is a natural (but enhanced) redhead I would venture this observation. A LOT of red haired men have very coarse curly hair. Was his curly or "big"? If so, the chances are that he may have had the same coarse fuzz all over him, and baby walking around looking like an orangutan has got to be worse than whatever you saw, doncha think?? I had a client (male) with that type of hair, and it would not even get wet when water hit it!! That is the observation of a hairstylist with 35 years in the biz.
Then again some folks are just weird, aren't they talon toes??
hahaha
Posted by: Joanne | October 19, 2009 at 04:47 AM
I'm still trying to figure out why we are all (women and men) trying to appear to be hairless beings. My brother-in-law has his body waxed every month because he likes smooth skin (and he is blond). I really don't understand it at all.
Who knew alopecia would be so desirable?
Posted by: Beth | October 19, 2009 at 05:01 AM
Maybe all his body hair was so coarse that he made that corduroy "swoosh" sound when he walked which would have been distracting to everyone around him? Um, actually... dunno *shrugs*
(and why on earth did you post the naked photo of your governor?) LOL Just kidding!!!!
Posted by: di | October 19, 2009 at 05:05 AM
Eww. Maybe like some Money Town ppl he just doesn't know whne/where to stop.
Posted by: Linda | October 19, 2009 at 06:09 AM
Wow, why would anybody put themselves thru that if they didn't have to? No Idea!
Posted by: Maureen@IslandRoar | October 19, 2009 at 06:13 AM
No clue ... but that picture ... eek!
Posted by: The Queen of Chaos | October 19, 2009 at 08:23 AM
I have no idea why men would want to be hairless. Just wanted to say thanks for the picture. Screaming nightmares to follow, I'm sure.
Posted by: kathygee1 | October 19, 2009 at 08:51 AM
That picture is a visual I have to get out of my head ASAP! My five year old thinks body hair is gross and thinks everyone should be without it (she's even asked when she can start shaving!), maybe he feels the same. Or maybe his wife doesn't like it?! Truthfully I am at a loss as to why you would want to put yourself through waxing every inch, all I can say is that he'd better be a good tipper!
Posted by: Michelle Pixie | October 19, 2009 at 09:27 AM
I used to swim competitively. When we reached league championships we would have shaving parties. I always shaved my legs. At the time I had a Flat Top so shaving my head didn't really make much of a difference.
Never bothered with my arms or chest.
Anyhoo, the reason we shaved was mostly because of the sensation we got when we hit the water. Those nerve endings made your body tingle and you felt like you were swimming faster. That mental advantage helped.
On a side note my girl friend used to go wild over how smooth my legs were. Don't know why, but it always turned her on and at 17 that was big.
Posted by: Jack | October 19, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Hairless Money Town Man may be gay, hon (the huge diamond ring doesn't necessarily have to be a wedding ring, or if it is doesn't mean he's committed to a member of the opposite sex). There are lots of gay men who don't like a lot of body hair on their partners. Or maybe his wife dislikes hairy guys.
My feet look hideous. I need a pedicure something fierce.
Posted by: Jan | October 19, 2009 at 04:34 PM
In my profession...I have been surprised (naive) at how many people shave various places (both sexes). I am pretty bold and I'm thinking I'm going to start asking "why"? I think hair has become associated with "unattractive" when it's anywhere but on the head. I've seen many teen boys (non-swimmers) shave their arms, chest, etc. So foreign to me. I like hair :)
Posted by: dogmother | October 19, 2009 at 06:21 PM
I was thinking along the lines of Joanne... even if men who are natural redheads lose their hair or dye it after it fades away, their body hair can be out of control. My dad is a terrifying case in point. Orangutan allusions do NOT overstate the issue.
They seem to be equally screwed though... massive amounts of thick red body hair OR the creepily hairless look. Nice options.
Posted by: Sarah | October 20, 2009 at 10:07 AM
or maybe you all don't know about a skin problem that a lot of people can get i have whats called TYP-4 PSORIASIS its rare but now it's showing up more and more i was exposed to pesticides wear i worked and my skin started to get sores on it and all my body hair started to fall out and my head hair turned gray im 37yrs old and my body is totally hair less, so i would not go judging this guy ,, and yeah it can and will happen to some of you one day tho i hope not cuzz it is very painful too,,:/ just some thing to think about.....
Posted by: roi | March 17, 2010 at 01:54 PM