Amazing Race: Is it hair today, gone tom...

Amazing Race: Is it hair today, gone tom...

CBS

In Detour A, Engaged couple Rachel and Brendon must decorate an elephant for a local festival then clean up after her in order to receive the next clue, on THE AMAZING RACE.

Would you shave your head to improve your odds to win a million bucks?

That's the question that confronted former Big Brother winner Rachel on Sunday's episode of The Amazing Race.

Rachel and Brendon were the second team to depart on the tenth leg of CBS' race around the world in Cochin, India, but the first with the opportunity to take advantage of the Fast Forward. Each team gets just one crack at the skip-all-tasks and head straight for the pit stop option.

The clue only mentioned taking part in a cultural ritual. But when the engaged couple arrived at the Fast Forward they found out the ritual was simple enough ... but the task was not.

"I don't want to shave my head," Rachel blubbered. "I paid $ 500 for extensions. It would be so sad."

Although the head-shaving would have all but guaranteed a first-place finish and a 1-in-4 chance at the million, there was no way Rachel was overcoming her fear - and insecurity - to face the clippers.

"I spent years to get my hair to look so good," she said.

Brendon didn't push her and they abandoned the Fast Forward and rejoined the pack.

"I need hair to be pretty," she later explained as the border patrol agents were both shocked and dismayed by Rachel's decision. "I don't need a big nose and no hair."

Art and J.J., who had already used the Fast Forward earlier in the race, knew that Team Big Brother's decision had just opened the door - even if just a crack - for Bopper and Mark.

Team Kentucky had been hopelessly behind to start the leg after the dancing fiasco and Mark's near heat exhaustion in the previous leg of the race. Mark, who needed an IV treatment just to get to the starting line, and his best pal had avoided elimination last week but now faced the additional hurdle of having to perform a Speed Bump task.

They needed a lucky break, or just a contestant who valued her hair more than a potential huge pay day.

Rachel and Dave, far removed from the Fast Forward drama, continued to control the race. They battled through the Road Block ("Who is at the end of their rope?") - using the husks of coconuts to spin 40-feet of rope - and made the wise choice at the Detour to earn their sixth win of the season. The Army pilot and his wife now stand just one victory shy of the all-time record for wins in a season.

The smart choice was picking "Pachyderm" over "Pack-a-Box".

In the pachyderm option, the contestants had to decorate an elephant and then transport 15 loads of elephant dung using a wheelbarrow to earn their next clue. It ended up being a far less time-consuming option than the box-packing task which only Art and J.J. opted to tackle.