The 180

A person's hair says so much about them. Our whole personalities can be read from our hairstyles, much like how a palm-reader decodes the mysteries of our palm-lines. I should know; I've read like, an entire palmistry book cover to cover so I'm pretty much a certified palm-reader now. The trick is in deciding which lines you want, then forcefully insisting that you have those lines.

But back to hair. Here I have compiled a few simple ways to judge a person's character by their looks:

For men:

- Crew cut: This is a no-nonsense guy who doesn't like spending unnecessary time primping up his hair. He probably cut his hair short to avoid having it being pulled out by his rape-victim and hence leaving clues to his DNA at the crime scene. A buzz cut also suggests a military or prison background, so it's a fair bet to say that he's probably had some man on man action at some point in his life.

- Afro: This man has no self-respect and hides everything from used needles to medical-grade marijuana to Bob Marley records in his big hair of secrets.

- Faux-hawk: This guy really wants to be edgy but is afraid of what his mom'll say. Almost certainly would give out handsies for a bit of low-grade blow.

For women:

- Pixie cut: This girl think she's being fashion forward when all she's really doing is appealing to the sexually confused men who would do her because she looks less of a woman than her long-haired counterparts.

- The french twist: This woman is uptight at day but surprisingly open to role-playing at night. Is also the type who manipulates men into doing her then accusing them of rape when she's retelling the story to her friends.

Now my own hair has, for the past two years, been a constantly evolving entity. Every since my liberation from the draconian Singaporean school system that seeks to oppress self-expression through follicle manipulation, I have been on a mad rampage to reclaim the time wasted. Six months ago I went completely platinum blond. The upkeep was time consuming and expensive but I loved it, until my stylist switched studios. I wouldn't let anyone else touch my hair, my hair being the only safeguard keeping me from turning into a wide-foreheaded alien-looking thing. I simply don't have the trust in my bosom to offer it to someone who isn't intimately familiar with my Goldilocks locks.

Tuesday night I had a flash of inspiration. I wanted to go in a completely new direction, and the closest to what I had in mind was a look they're calling the 'brit rock hairstyle'. Cropped short all around, leaving a long top and fringe to style with as I like. I had a frantic back and forth text-plotting with Stylist Amber, and it was settled: I was to forge my way into Middleton, an hour away by bus, and we'd work on my new look together.

I enjoy bus rides, I truly do. Having the time to pensively sit for a while and think of nothing but the passing scenery; it's a luxury these days. We pass by a cemetery, and I contemplated about how fantastic a place it would be to picnic there. Cemeteries are such peaceful and sacred grounds, and no matter how awful things seem outside, within that zone it feels as if nothing's an issue. I think I'd enjoy lying there and thinking about how many hundreds of stories all of these dead people around me have, and how many of them are still being retold to loved ones. Or if any of them have loved ones left. Morbid, yes. But titillatingly so.

I arrive at Studio 262 in Middleton after a refreshingly thoughtful bus ride. This studio is so much more stylish than Hair Forum, with all the stylists clad in black and sleek dark colors around the salon. Amber and I decided on a look we would go for, and I decided to dye my hair a lot darker to suit the edgier, punkier tone. My previous almost completely pale hair provided a blank slate for any color to latch onto. This was the result:

As you can tell, I've gotten diamond ear studs too. My ears were feeling extremely naked after the haircut, and as I was thinking this, I passed by a jewellery stand that was advertising free piercings. The Lord Oprah herself couldn't have given me a clearer sign. I had been putting off getting my ear pierced for a while cause I was afraid it would hurt, but then remembered that 13 year old girls get them all the time. If I could withstand Annie's facials of a hundred needle pricks every week for 7 months, I can handle two little piercings. And legitimately, it didn't hurt the slightest. There was some pressure as she punched the ear-stud directly into my ear lobe, and it felt a teensy bit warm for a minute, but that was pretty much the extent of it. I do enjoy them, they make up for the barrenness that my lack of sideburns caused.

As Ralph Lauren said, everyday is an occasion to reinvent yourself. We can live different lives through the personal styles we create and project, and it's exciting just to embody a drastically altered ego for a while.