The Bald Truth: How One Redditor Served Cold, Petty Revenge—With a Hair Clipper
Sometimes, karma doesn’t just come knocking—it brings its own set of clippers. That’s exactly what happened when one Redditor, u/Past_Discipline_6473, found themselves with an electric trimmer in hand and a golden opportunity for a little poetic justice. After a childhood marred by humiliation and far worse at the hands of their mother, OP (original poster) finally got to serve a slice of petty revenge, one buzz at a time.
So, what happens when the tables turn and the abuser becomes the bald and bewildered? Settle in for a tale that’s as cathartic as it is hair-raising, peppered with insights, reactions, and more than a few well-earned laughs from the r/PettyRevenge crowd.
The Roots of a Hair-Raising Revenge
Let’s start at the beginning (or, perhaps, the scalp). For years, OP’s mother insisted on shaving her child’s head not once, but twice a year—always under the flimsy pretext of “preventing lice.” But as OP reveals, the real motive was humiliation. “She would send me to school on the first day in a dress with a bald head,” OP recalls, a memory that’s as vivid as it is painful. The nightmare ended only when her mother tried the same trick on OP’s younger sister (the “golden child” with golden hair), who promptly became the target of ridicule at school. The head-shaving then stopped—proving, as OP puts it, that the goal was never really about lice at all.
The post doesn’t shy away from the darkness: OP shares that head-shaving was only one piece of a toxic, abusive upbringing that included physical, emotional, and even sexual abuse, much of which the mother allowed or even enabled. “Needless to say, my mother is not amazing,” OP writes with the kind of understatement that makes you want to both laugh and cry.
When Karma Hands You Clippers
Fast-forward to adulthood. OP has escaped the toxic household but gets an unexpected call from their mother, who’s in desperate need of a hair rescue. She’s butchered her own locks with dog shears, and now she’s begging her child—the very one she used to humiliate—for help.
Cue the most satisfying act of petty revenge this side of the internet. OP arrives, tools in hand, and—remembering all those childhood traumas—gives her mother the full buzzcut treatment. “She cried and acted surprised when she saw it,” OP recounts, serving up the same dish she’d been force-fed for years. When the mother complained, OP’s comeback was cold and delicious: “I went to school like that and I’m still breathing.”
The r/PettyRevenge community erupted in applause. As u/Big-Cry-6379 put it, “Well done to you—revenge served cold. And it was handed to you easily by her very own fuck up.” The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on anyone: here was a woman who’d relished making her child miserable, now on the receiving end of her own cruelty.
The Community Reacts: Laughter, Solidarity, and Searing Truths
Reddit is rarely short on opinions, and this saga brought out the best (and, occasionally, the worst) of the sub. Some users pointed out the poetic justice. u/RJack151 offered the delightfully snarky advice, “Just do what I did as a kid—own it.” u/scoobydoosleftfoot called it “absolutely the most beautiful revenge story. I’m happy for you and proud of you.”
But the comment section wasn’t just a celebration of comeuppance; it was also a space for empathy and deeper discussion. Many shared their own experiences with toxic parents or highlighted the long-lasting scars abuse can leave. As u/MarryMeDuffman noted, “Drugs and poor education result in horrible dynamics like this. I’m glad you got her back a little. I’m also sorry you had to grow up that way.”
Not everyone was convinced, and the post sparked an important conversation about abuse, trauma, and why reporting isn’t always an option for survivors. u/0imemi0’s comment, which OP endorsed, pointed out that dismissive questions like “Why didn’t you report it?” often silence victims: “It stopped me for 20 years from reporting it.” OP responded by explaining how early experiences of being punished for “lying” to teachers destroyed any trust in the system: “By the time I was old enough to realize the things that were happening to me weren’t normal, I felt like it was too late to do anything. The damage was done.”
The thread became a patchwork of dark humor and raw honesty, with users like u/lovebeinganasshole noting, “Some people can’t fathom a shitty parent. Which you know, good for them.” It’s a testament to the power of online communities that so many found both laughter and solidarity in a single story.
When Petty Is Powerful
Stories like this can feel like a guilty pleasure—a little schadenfreude mixed with a dash of righteous anger. But as many commenters pointed out, sometimes petty revenge is more than just a punchline. For OP, wielding those clippers was a small act of reclamation, a way to flip the script and find closure (or at least a little satisfaction) after years of powerlessness.
And as the community’s reactions show, this kind of story resonates for a reason. It’s not just about the hair. It’s about taking back agency, about knowing you survived, and—sometimes—about watching karma finally catch up, one buzzcut at a time.
Conclusion: Your Turn—Have You Ever Served Petty Revenge?
What do you think—was OP justified? Have you ever had a moment where you got to serve a little poetic justice of your own? Share your stories in the comments below! And remember: sometimes, the best revenge is served cold… and bald.
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Original Reddit Post: I shaved my mom's head