One month as of today. No soap. No shampoo. No "product" of any kind. Just fresh, clean water straight from the tap. 

No major developments atop the head this week. I think we're really beginning to settle into an equilibrium of sorts. The average Joe on the street wouldn't even be able to tell he was witnessing actual scientific research just by looking at me. Although I imagine a hairstylist or a person who subscribes to "In Style" magazine might. 

One thing I've found interesting about the whole 'speriment is the way people react when I tell them what's going on. There are two basic camps: The Intrigued and The Horrified. Of course there are subdivisions within each camp, but this is pretty much the dividing line. 

The Intrigued are the ones who quickly assess what's going on, and although it exists outside the commonplace of their own personal hair paradigm, they're filled with acceptance, wonder, inquiry and even glee over the whole thing. 

The Horrified are the ones who take several minutes to even begin to comprehend what it is I'm telling them, then once it settles in that I'm not yanking their tightly taut chains, look at me as though I've just shat on their kitchen table. These are the people who won't eat food that drops on the floor-even if it's only been there for a few seconds. They're the people who'll never laugh at a joke with a cripple, a retard, a cancer patient or a pedophile in the punchline-no matter how empirically funny it may be. They're people who wash their hands every time they use the restroom-not just when someone else is there to see them or when they accidentally pee on their hands a little bit. They have lots of mirrors in their homes, think too much about how they walk or how they laugh, and have preposterously quiet orgasms. And these people have never once made pioneering advancements in the scientific community for the sake of mankind as a whole. Selfish pricks. 

Now on to mail from the readers. 

Lonnie from the District of Columbia wonders: "As you're well past the halfway mark, are you thinking about the time beyond the six week trail period? Do you feel a non-washed head will be something you can live the rest of your days with?" 

It's a fair and thoughtful question from one of The Intrigued. Yes, I am beginning to think about the time beyond the six-week trial. It's still a fortnight off, and a lot can happen in that span of time, but as of right now I see no reason why this couldn't continue on into eternity, or at least as much of eternity as I'm allowed to be involved in. You might remember this whole thing got started after talking to my friend who hadn't washed his hair in fifteen years (with the exception of the unrelated, but no less unfortunate, "lice incident"). So I think, barring pestilence or scalp-borne illness, I can keep this up. I think. 

Till next week, I remain unwashed and unwieldy.

Jason Headley is the author of the novel Small Town Odds.

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