The Antonio Forehead

For the last four years, my haircut has been an "all around the head" buzz cut with a no. 1 clipper, done every two weeks. I came upon this hair style by accident. When I was in Iraq, I went to the AAFES barber shop in the Green Zone for my first haircut. I explained to the barber, who is Iraqi, the way I wanted my hair cut. I assumed that I had explained it to him adequately with a lot of pointing and hand gestures. So I removed my eyeglasses and proceeded to receive my haircut. When it was finished, the barber asked me if it was okay. The barber did not adequately clean off the cut hair from my head, face, and neck. I felt uncomfortable and wanted to wash off the hair as soon as possible. Also, I am practically blind without my glasses, so I couldn't get a good look of the haircut outcome. Since I was in a hurry, I told the barber that it was fine, grabbed my glasses, and proceeded to walk back to my room to shower.

After I finished showering, I finally saw the result of my haircut. It was definitely not the way I had asked the barber to cut my hair. I immediately walked back to the barbershop and asked the barber to fix my hair. For me, the quick and easy way to fix it was to clip it all over at the same length. And so it was, no. 1 clipper just one clipper size short of "skin" cut. It has been my choice of hair style since then. It requires minimal maintenance - no drying and no additional hair products needed.

The following pictures were taken the day after the haircut, at the office:

I relate this anecdote to tie it in with the Antonio forehead. I and a lot of my brothers, nephews, great-nephews, and cousins have this bigger than average sized distinctive forehead with a hairline that is further out from the face. Some have jokingly commented on the size of the forehead: "Those must be smart kids given the size of the brain inside those noggin'." With shorter hair, it gives an appearance of early onset of balding. Lest you think I am balding, I show you proof that it's otherwise. Below is a picture with me and Jayan. A mere two-month old (when the picture was taken) baby, but bestowed with the Antonio forehead. Jayan is my nephew's son.