Shaving my head

[coldarchon]

you are 23? omg I'm ten years older and look way younger. get a real beard maybe ..

 

[life_interrupts]

Go with the bristle cut like Statham. Your pattern baldness isn't spotty, just seems to be in the wing formation, which is not bad. Just keep it low. I shave my head, but brothers frequently have few issues with it.

 

[Glorfindel]

oh wow. After the initial reactions I definately did not expect this thread to get much more attention. Looks like its serving its intended purpose! Thankyou sf community!

So I have kept it shaved. And I haven't had any negative comments. Plenty of good ones, from both males and females. All along the lines of what NYRanger was saying - 'edgier' 'mature' 'manly' - There were a few neutral reactions at first but they've all turned into positives. People who know me know I call a shovel a shovel and expect others to treat me in kind so I think their comments have been honest.

It is definately easier to manage. The comment about not having to bother with it in the shower or in the morning is right on the mark. At first I kept going to fix and just getting a handful of "nothing" (I hope not ever!) but its really grown on me.... Its good for surfing too, dont have to worry about it getting in my face. Although once summer comes around again and my upcoming surftrip to Sri Lanka I think sun damage will become an issue. It already was to a certain extent on the crown prior to cutting.


Once I get a hold of some photos of me out and about I will make sure to post them.


On the neckhair front, I was using a Nair type product but have done some reading on nasty chemicals in most bodycare products and so just got it waxed the last time I got my upperback waxed. I was told that it was going to hurt like a mutha but it turned out far less (and I use that loosely) than the back waxing. If youre wondering why I get my back waxed, its just because I really dislike it and it is also a problem on the back of my neck, so when my head hair is short, IMO it looks pretty terrible.

 

[JSC437]

Originally Posted by robinsongreen68

So thus far we have had recommendations for the combover and hair transplant. FFS...
i could understand if either of these guys looked bad with shaved heads (and let's be honest, some people just do). but they both look better than when they had hair, IMO


I dont know.... the thing about the transplants is that you see the men walking around with that big scar on the back of the head. Maybe that is just certain people who get the hair transplant and maybe not. either way... i think i will hold off until they develop some different technology.

All the hair is coming off of my crown and it took me a few years to be more accepting of it.... I think the key (as others have said) is to keep the hair short... razor shave (baldy) is good for some people or maybe the #1 attachement. I actually use clippers to cut my hair, but do not use any attachement. So i have almost no hair on my head, without having a smooth razor blade cut.

Now i need to think about the facial hair. I kind of have scruffy beard like NY Ranger's photos. But i have this **** dude at work who always tells me to shave my face.... just now he was like "why do all bald men have beards?". I guess that was a good question. Maybe we (those with beards) all copy Jason Statham?

 

[robinsongreen68]

i'm surprised a gay guy would say that because over here in london the shaved head/stubble look is very much in fashion with gays. in fact im sure it was some gay stylist who would've told david beckham to go that route ie was responsible for it crossing over into the mainstream, that and i guess hip hop, tupac etc.

a friend of mine is dating quite a well known actor. he has his hair shaved now, but also has that ugly scar on the back of his head (she doesnt seem to know what it is and does not ask!)
ie he paid for a transplant and clearly it wasnt successful enough- he still has to shave and is now stuck with the scar too. and this is a wealthy, successful and highly narcissistic actor who wouldve gone to the best surgeon..

 

[JSC437]

Originally Posted by robinsongreen68

i'm surprised a gay guy would say that because over here in london the shaved head/stubble look is very much in fashion with gays. in fact im sure it was some gay stylist who would've told david beckham to go that route ie was responsible for it crossing over into the mainstream, that and i guess hip hop, tupac etc.

a friend of mine is dating quite a well known actor. he has his hair shaved now, but also has that ugly scar on the back of his head (she doesnt seem to know what it is and does not ask!)
ie he paid for a transplant and clearly it wasnt successful enough- he still has to shave and is now stuck with the scar too. and this is a wealthy, successful and highly narcissistic actor who wouldve gone to the best surgeon..


Yah. I see men with the scar all the time. The reason i notice it, is because i had considered hair transplant myself. I will def get hair transplant if they ever develop a diff technology... such as hair clone or something like that.

The **** guy at work sometimes says things like that to me.... but that is because he and his partner are the clean shaving preppy type. They dont like facial hair or that type of thing.

Actually, the first time i shaved my hair off was after I took a trip to London. I noticed a lot of stylish men over there with the shaved head. So when i came back to NYC, i took out the clippers and cut my own hair.

 

[Glorfindel]

I think, and definately for me personally, the facial hair is a must. Theres something about the shaved head + shaved face that VERY few people can pull off. I shaved my facial hair short (probably 1mm or 2) and it didnt look good. I think maybe its because the facial hair balances everything out.

As for the gay bloke thing. Who cares what he reckons. Are you trying to impress men or women? I guess it could be both from both a style (men) and sexual (women) aspect. I find it interesting that it was suggested that the shaved head + hairy face look came from the gay scene because the vast majority of gay fellas in Australia I've met (and this is only when people tell me that someone is gay because I am crap at telling who is and who isn't haha) go for the clean shaven/preppy/boyish look.

In all honesty, I originally stopped shaving for 2 non-styled related reasons.

1) I was 14/15 when I realised I could pull of some scrappy lambchops and so I loved the idea of rebelling against the school rules about being cleanshaven. **** THE POLICE!

2) Lazyness. Haha. Plain and simple. Way too much effort for me since it grows back really fast and thick. It hasn't been compulsory at any job I have had thus far so yeah.

But after those initial reason I just like the rugged and slightly non-conformist look it gives me.

 

[thekunk07]

the only way to pull off a shaved head is to be awesome in every other conceivable way.

 

[Essentio]

Originally Posted by thekunk07

the only way to pull off a shaved head is to be awesome in every other conceivable way.

Which starts from the shape of the head

 

[winston]

Originally Posted by JSC4President

Yah. I see men with the scar all the time. The reason i notice it, is because i had considered hair transplant myself. I will def get hair transplant if they ever develop a diff technology... such as hair clone or something like that.

There already is different technology. Follicular Unit Extraction, where they punch out individual hairs instead of extracting a strip of scalp and closing the gap. It isn't 100% scar-less (patients sometimes have tiny dot scars) but it's all-but in most cases with a competent surgeon.
Here's a guy who had it done: http://quest4hair.blogspot.com/
It's very expensive though.

I would advise the balders here to start taking finasteride (propecia) if they wish to keep what hair they have left.

 

[velobran]

I shave my head with a 1 or 2 because it is one less area for me to fail miserably on.

I usually keep my beard at a 1, or longer when the temps dip below 70 (I live in FL). <--- that was sarcasm.

I have really thick hair and it curls really tight in the back and never looks good grown out. I always tell myself that I'm going to grow it then revert back to the clippers when I realize it looks horrible.

 

[Nil]

I've shaved my head for roughly the last decade and I'm not even balding. I've kept it somewhere between a 0 and 2 since then except for a period of 6-7 months where I grew out my hair on the misguided advice of my then girlfriend. It's easy, cheap, hassle free and women dig it. As long as you don't have a deformed skull, I see no down sides.

 

[Fred49]

I vote for the shave

 

[sbbbjm]

glorfindel - you're not thinning THAT bad at all. it definitely looks better with the 4 buzz, but i think if you made it a bit tighter (shorter) in the back and the sides, it will make the top of your head look a bit fuller looking. any barber can do this very easily and blend the top to the bottom. i like the length on the top now bc you can still see a bit of you're natural texture. when you hairline is a bit more thinning, i would shave it closer, but right now you still have enough to do what i'm describing.

i remember when my best friend finally took my advice and went to a real barber instead of doing it himself and even he was like, 'wow, there is still hope lol'

. . . and for the record i'm a 23 year old gay man, that LIKES scruff, and the loose, careless, natural (but subtley groomed) look on guys ala bradley cooper circa now.

. . . and you totally look under 25, i don't know what that other dude is thinking.

 

[KBW]

what do all of you with shaved heads use on your head to keep your scalp from getting burnt in the sun? I took the boat out on the waterway this past weekend and my scalp has been irritated since.