Anybody here shaved their head? Sorta off-topic I guess...

Hey guys,

I just took the plunge and shaved it today. I'm not going to post pictures or anything like that, I'm kind of in that "wanna off myself" moment when you make a big change like that. But its bitter sweet...sort of mixed with a liberating feeling that I can get out of the shower and be out the door, no more money on hair products or haircuts, and maybe most of all no more stressing about the prevailing weather conditions and if they'll blow my hair out of place. In that sense, the stress resolution alone makes it worth it. But its also a big change to boot. It was a difficult transition enough getting used to my new identity as being a man losing hair, and now I've got to get used to being hairless completely. Its an odd experience, but in the end I imagine it will probably be a decision I'll be glad that I made. The girlfriend seems to like it more than (how did she put it) the "pretending I had hair" look and says its much better, although she's a sweetheart and could easily just be being nice .

Has anybody else took the plunge and shaved it here? Recently? Did you acclimate to it and get to where you liked it? I know getting into the gym and probably getting some color on my skin are going to be a big priority though.

Gotta say though I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad about my head shape. I knew that was a big factor going in. I don't have any lumps or a cone head, in facts its almost too round. I have Bruce Willis' head. I can't get used to it. I think of him whenever I look in the mirror now and I instantly want to start quoting his movies haha.

I've shaved my head a few times now, at first i hated looking at myself in the mirror but now I'm fine with it and i don't think it looks that bad anymore. Took my a while to come around to being comfortable with it though lol

One thing i did notice which i thought was interesting was back when i use to experience frequent itching sensation on my scalp (inflammation?) whenever my hair was reasonably long i would feel this itching sensation a lot however when i shaved my head i would never experience it in the slightest and it wouldn't come back until my hair had grown back quite a bit.

I think I can speak to that already. I've been feeling the hell out of my scalp. It used to be that when my hair was grown out the touching my scalp even a little bit would provoke itching and pink scalp. I haven't had any irritation whatsoever even with all of this rubbing haha. What an odd sensation though. I remember hearing guys who had shaved talking about how nice it was to have their heads touched. I've been making my girlfriend rub my head nonstop. Its great.

I shaved my head around christmas because I was expecting for it to grow back even. Lol boy was I wrong about that. It is very clear that the top of my head where I'm balding grows about 2/3 more slowly than the sides/back. I just wish all of it would grow at the same rate and same density. Now at about a month, I have to clip the sides down to a number 1 while the top grows every half week.

I gotta say I love the look when its shaved to the skin, but once the hair start growing back and it looks all uneven: that shit looks horrible. Maybe if I was like 30, I'd shave it regularly because I resemble Shemar Moore and ladies don't seem to mind. However, I noticed that when it looks patchy, people seem to have more a negative view. Dude, like you said, stay in the gym and get some color.

Good for you man! I've shaved my head 3 times now but still have just enough hair to not be rocking a blatant comb over, so I always grow it back out. +2 on staying in the gym and getting some color on the dome..

As for the emotional aspect, I totally understand what you're going through. The first time I shaved I was hammered drunk and had one of my buddies do it after a BIG bar night. The next morning, I was massively hung over and....bald. It was pretty depressing. However, the feeling of liberation the days following were pretty amazing. I also got many comments in the weeks following about how I looked great with the new look. This was from both people I knew well and people I had never met until after shaving. Not only that, but I got laid the very next night after shaving. That and, for the first time ever, some girl blatantly came over to me at a bar a couple weeks later and told me her friend was checking me out.

Long story short is that I never exuded any shame or timidness in public with a shaved head. I consciously told myself to get out there and own the look. People definitely reacted positively to that energy I put out. There are plenty of girls out there that dig bald dudes, especially if you rock it with confidence. Luckily in your case, you've already got a girlfriend who's cool with it. That being said, keep shaving, own the look and never look back. That's the best thing you can do overall as a hair loss sufferer IMO.

EDIT: Don't forget to spruce up the wardrobe as well!

If your head shape is correct it doesn't look that bad, but in my case shaving my head is not an option, I look like a conehead.

Anthonyspencer - sounds like you are already gettng used to your new look - and many men can pull it of so actually being bald add to their masculinity .. if you see Bruce Willis in the mirror you prob are one of those lucky ones!

MikeBison wrote:If your head shape is correct it doesn't look that bad, but in my case shaving my head is not an option, I look like a conehead.

I have the coneshaped head too.

Thanks for the replies fellas. It'll be an odd few days I'm sure until I get comfortable with it. Glad to hear you guys had some positive experiences. And dudebro, I totally get the different growth rate thing. Well for me, its a density thing. I shaved it with no guard, but I didn't bic it. You can definitely see the difference in stubble/color tone on the skin where the hair was still dense. There is that definite line where you can tell the hair just stopped, haha. The hairloss fence. I think I'm going to just bic it and get a tan, and I'm hoping that will look better being that the bald vs. not bald sections won't be so blatant.

Anthony -

I took mine down to a 1 this summer and haven't grown it back out. Number one, I like the look for me. My wife, family & friends think it makes me look younger. I have taken it down to a zero a bunch of times and I started to love the simplicity of that as buzzing down to a one made a mess in the bathroom every time I did it. Right now, I gravitate between a 1 and a 0 all the time.

For me, the great thing is I can see visibly that my inflammation is gone. I have no pinkness in my scalp like I did when I first started this journey. I also see where my hair grows thickest/fastest, etc.

I've kind of just stuck with this look for the time being and I'm happy with it. I also loved getting real sun on the scalp over the summer. I think that has benefited my health to be honest.

Hadrion,

I like the zero length myself. If I had had some more coverage on the crown before, I'd probably like the one a little more. And who knows, as I get comfortable with it, I might sway.

I love that you made the point about the sun though. Its been one of the things I've been looking forward to the most. I have noticed some little red bumps on my scalp since I shaved, and there is no doubt to me that part of this whole thing is bacterial/yeast related, at least when dermatitis is a component. Its isn't for everyone but I feel it is for me. The sun is a huge factor in making the yeast viable in dermatitis. Some people's react very well to sunlight so I'm going to be interested to see what the sun does for the skin up there.

Anthony - Do yourself a favor/test and use some extra virgin coconut oil on your dome post shower as a moisturizer. A little goes a long way. It should improve the condition of that scalp skin rapidly.

I have the correct shape. I did have a small conehead I guess? its slightly arched in the middle

girls are super picky and only like guys that are not only tall and handsome but have thick hair. It's like I say in my username....

never!

but hey its not a bad look.

Law,

Haha. I got tired of fighting the good fight. At least now I can focus on improving my health hollistically and not be so preoccupied with the stress about the hair. Or whatever I've got to tell myself .

Hadrion,

Will start that later this evening, oh wait, I've got to go to the store and get some coconut oil. I wonder if its the lauric acid in the oil?

Coconut oil does wonders for the scalp, i know mine felt really good after using some on it last time i shaved my head although i found if i left it on too long, like say a few hours before washing it off that it would cause a little itch every now and then

theseeker86 wrote:Coconut oil does wonders for the scalp, i know mine felt really good after using some on it last time i shaved my head although i found if i left it on too long, like say a few hours before washing it off that it would cause a little itch every now and then

If you're shaved down close, you can use it as a scalp/skin moisturizer. Fresh out of the shower, it'll just absorb and you won't need to wash it out. It destroys any kind of inflammation on your scalp in my experience. I think the same way it attacks issues in our guts in a anti-microbial kind of way, it attacks what's on your scalp and deals with it. Since I buzzed down, I've been using sea buckthorn soap as my shampoo & coconut oil as my moisturizer. My hair grows thicker, darker and my skin on my scalp is in perfect condition. But that's just my experience for what it's worth. We're all different.

Hadrion,

When you get a second, could you post links to where you buy your sea buckthorn soap and coconut oil from? Thanks sir.

anthonyspencer54 wrote:Hadrion,

When you get a second, could you post links to where you buy your sea buckthorn soap and coconut oil from? Thanks sir.

Anthony,

I get my coconut oil from Trader Joe's now. It's like $5.99 for a pretty big jar of it. They sell it in the cooking oil section. Costco, if you have a membership, has a great deal on an extra virgin coconut oil for what it's worth, but I just keep buying the Trader Joe's one.

Sea Buckthorn soap I get either from from Nidhogge on Hair Evo or I just get the Aubrey Organics bar soap version from iherb. I've used the liquid Aubrey Organics Sea Buckthorn that comes in a bottle but I really feel like the bar soap has more sea buckthorn in it than that liquid stuff. The worst one is the Swansons with Sea Buckthorn and MSM in a bottle. Don't waste money on that. I'm not sure there's any significant amount of sea buckthorn in it.

Spray some original listerine on your scalp after you get out of the shower the stuff feels amazing. It's like an intense cooling sensation that lasts about 10 15 minutes. I believe this stuff does wonders for the scalp by killing fungus/bacteria thus clearing up scalp problems. I use it twice a day sometimes and I swear my hair is thicker bc of it.

I buzzed my hair to grade 0 at the end of the summer, my girlfriend says she loves it and I am quite sure she is being honest, I also have got used to the shock of my new my new image and kind of like it now. It has helped improve my confidence, make my life a little easier and also I find it works better with scalp massages, towelling, brushing and accepting...

Amen to that, Fate. Its growing on me more everyday. And jesus, just the convenience of it makes it worth it. Granted if I could have a full thick head of hair, I'd take it. But compared to a thinning pate, the shaved thing beats it hands down. Showers are so quick. I can get out of the shower and walk right out of the door. I don't have to worry about how windy it is, or whether it will rain. Hats are a breeze...no need to worry about hat hair. The feeling of touch on the scalp is invigorating. I keep demanding head rubs from the gf. The look tends to masculinize me, whereas hair before tended to make me look more effeminate.

Going out in public has been a bit difficult at first. I'm going through that phase of mistakenly thinking everyone is looking at me. On the one side I realize that type of thinking is so narcissistic, but it isn't coming from a narcissistic place, but one of anxiousness. Going to class and seeing people who knew me before was a bit nerve racking at first.

I know that will all pass though. I guess its no different than doing anything drastic with your hair. You'll always be self-conscious about it initially.

Fuck it, the road through suffering is paved in gold.

I'd go with the Trader Joes brand over the Nutiva one offered at costco. It's better for cooking and everything else IME by a small margin. A few cents more per oz but no plastic either.

The closest i've come was when I buzzed my hair in high school. I usually have shoulder length hair, just wanted to change things up, regretted it the day after :/ back to shoulder length again