Sly Guys Everywhere!

[bem75]

So, either shaved heads are catching on in a big way or I just never noticed all of the slick domes before.  My dad recently joined the ranks of the Sly Guys and we're both noticing a lot of shaved heads around town.

Today at lunch, we stopped by Office Depot.  The guy in front of us in line was bald.  The guy behind us was bald too.  The stock-room guy who was bringing things up to the front was a sly guy too.  Then, at lunch, four more shaved heads in our immediate vicinity.  When we left, the guy getting out of his car next to us...bald.

Has the uniqueness worn off, with all of the bald heads around?  I really feel like the number of shaved heads around town is growing exponentially.  I liked being unique and the only bald head in my group of friends.  Now, I just feel "trendy."

As a note, the site did experience a huge influx of new members, a couple months ago.  There were a few new intros every day.  Has SBG had an influence on the number of bald guys walking around?  It sure helped convince me to shave my dome.

What do you guys think?  Has it become trendy to shave your head?

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Has it become trendy to shave your head?

Not trendy, it's just that for a whole lot of guys, particularly the 20-30 group but also the 40+ guys, who have mpb have learned not to pop pills, or apply drug laced lotions, pay huge sums for "transplants" that are in reality mutilations of their scalps, or wear expensive and ridiculous looking wigs, a/k/a toupees that also cost a fortune. "Trendy" to my way of thinking would mean that those twisted responses might also gain popularity at some point in the future.  Instead of the futility of fighting their genetic makeup, those guys, myself included, have opted for the "hide it in plain view" permanent, not trendy, solution to mpb.  It's a nice look, it's healthy and natural, easy to keep up, and generally well accepted by society as a whole.  Granted there are a lot of us and it continues to "grow"--pardon the bad pun--, but there are still a lot of guys who slouch around with a dying mop on top of their heads.  This site is as much for them, to help them learn the best way to deal with this, as it is for us to have fun, exchange tips and ideas concerning the pursuit of the perfect shave and generally "hang" with the guys, sly guys.  Trendy? No it's not trendy--it's here to stay. 

[Larry]

I think we tend to notice more kinda like when I got siding done on my house then compared it to everybody elses siding.

[dawgfan]

I don't think it's trendy & I agree with Larry.  I seem to notice more sly guys during the day now that I am one.

A couple things to consider that could be increasing the number of SBG are this website and products on the market.  I've been sly for only a few months, but I would think that five years ago there weren't a lot of forums like this to help guys deal with MPB nor were there as many products specifically designed and marketed to our group.

[Alexander215]

I think it is more likely a direct reflection of popular media. There are a lot of sly music artists and film actors that are sly.

[bem75]

I am going out tonight to a VERY trendy area in South Florida.  So, I will keep my eyes open and try to keep a running tally on the slick melons.

[Rob]

I think many guys do it for practical reasons, but just as many do it to be trendy, especially here in the UK.  It's quite a common style here, and is something every age group can try.  i certainly don't think that every guy who is SLY is actually doing it because of MPB

[Larry]

I shave mine in the beginning because my inlaws had lice and I didn't want to deal with em but I really like this look and it's so comfortable I didn't bother growing it back except for the first winter but in the spring, off it came! 

[Rusty Shackleford]

I think we tend to notice more kinda like when I got siding done on my house then compared it to everybody elses siding.

This situation does occur, but I've had "siding" for over a decade now and I see "siding" a lot more than I used to.  Prior to going with siding I was mulling it around in my head so I would have noticed the siding that was around me.  Siding's been around for quite some time, but it seems like it's all over the place anymore.

I'm not one to mindlessly follow trends, but if siding suddenly became very out of fashion, and I mean so very out of fashion that it brings nothing but shame and ridicule like the mullet, I really don't know if I would continue. 

Now that I'm in my mid 30s I can at least partake in the privilege granted to those in their middle and elder years: people lower the bar SIGNIFICANTLY on how well you follow the "correct" fashion trends.  In the 90s, no one under 30 would even think of growing a mustache because they were basically declared the mullet of the face by the fashion police and no one really defended it because guys adopted the far superior goatee.  But a 40 year old?  Sure why not?  "He's just some dinosaur from a previous era!  He doesn't have to look cool!"

Hopefully the shaved look will simply remain a common hairstyle and not a specific trend.  I am glad you're seeing the look mixed up with a lot of different facial hair styles now because back when I started it always seemed like a guy with a shaved head always had a goatee.  THAT could have become a specific trendy look which could have gone down in flames like the mullet and THAT would have sucked for me because that's MY look.  So I'm glad to see others mixing it up out there!

One thing I'm glad to

[slyatlast]

I think it's a combination of the 2 - more observant after joining the ranks AND more common.  I'm glad it's a little more mainstream because I work in an environment where it would not have been acceptable 10 years ago....however I hope it doesn't become too common as I kind of like the "uniqueness" of it.  I had red hair growing up so I was used to having a hair "characteristic" that people identified me by.   I think it's another reason I like being sly - I was tired of having the "redhead" label define who I am. 
 

[Razor X]

Hopefully the shaved look will simply remain a common hairstyle and not a specific trend. 

I think it's a trend among the BBC crowd -- one that seems to be waning at the moment but the pendulum will probably swing back eventually.  But among those who have MPB, the look is continuing to gain momentum.  The typical sly guy I see these days is 35 or older with moderate to severe MPB.  I think we're nearly at the point where guys with MPB are expected to shave their heads -- and those who don't are the ones who stand out.  For that reason, I think it will continue to be a popular look among the MPB crowd, because I don't think many guys will want to go back to wearing a horseshoe.