Model Rhonda Charles had her head shaved as a modeling assignment in early 1980, following the commercial success of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. which had been released just as 1979 was about to end. In that film, actress Persis Khambatta had her head shaved for the role of Ilia, and her striking appearance was something of an inspiration for what at the time was probably a very minor fad. The video quality is about as bad as you would expect for a segment recorded on VHS. Apparently Rhonda enjoyed the experience, even if it didn't help her modeling career (which makes sense, given the time and the general reactionary vibe of the fashion and advertising industries).
As the description of the video states:
Charles, a strikingly beautiful 23-year-old, sacrificed her sandy, curling tresses to demonstrate that women must be bold and original in their appearance. "There are too many followers in women's fashion," she insists. "Do you know how many women suffered because of Farrah Fawcett?" During her month-long Isaac Hayes period, Charles found that bald women are walking sociology experiments. She almost never wore a wig during her experiment. "People flocked to me," she remembers. "I saw a storm going on inside of them, then they'd realize that a woman could be attractive without hair. They were amazed that they accepted me." Men, given an exucse to start a conversation with her, approched Charles frequently to comment on her baldness. Otherwise, she felt the experience was humbling and self-revealing. "I was wide open," she remembers. "I couldn't hide anything behind my hair; I had to know I was beautiful." Beautiful maybe, but Charles' modeling career suffered after she was scalped, even though her photo ran in more than 400 newspapers. "Advertisers are conservative," she says. "This look is very apres punk." If negotiations proceed apace, Charles will be featured in a fall episode of TV's "Real People" focusing on the Razor's Edge. She thinks her first close shave was a success because it made other women look deeper into themselves and examine their own notions of beauty.