Is hair becoming optional?

[Razor X]

Until I read about SlickCountry's problems at work, I was thinking how far the bald look has come over the past 10 years or so.  What once would have been considered to be a very extreme look is now totally mainstream.  I think it is more or less expected nowadays, for those who are losing their hair.  If you have MPB and don't shave, you are rapidly becoming the exception and not the rule.

And of course, as we all know, there are plenty of guys who shave full heads of hair.  It makes me wonder if we're getting to the point where a shaved head is considered to be just another haircut.  Wouldn't it be nice to get to the point where a man's scalp hair is viewed in the same way as facial hair -- i.e., some have it and some don't, and neither having it nor not having it is considered to be a positive or a negative thing?

[BALDANDRE]

Without a doubt it has now just become another "haircut" option...

funny i was just thinking that at the gym yesterday when I saw this really fit army dude (also said army on his shirt) with an extreme shaved high and tight and it made me think how mainstream a completely razor shaved head has become and now what looks more extreme and radical is any shaved type military stlye haircut ie. the high and tight or h&t flattop...

well, it's safe to say at least that is the case in the everyday 'regular" non military world...the dude definately and of course intentially stood out...

 way more than me with my slick, sly dome!

[Robmeister]

I saw this guy yesterday at a restaurant that in my SLY-bent opinion looked ridiculous by what he was clinging to.  I don't mean to be insensitive to what inner HELL he may be going through.

But the guy was otherwise a strapping, mid- to late-30's, nice build, nice skin tone, etc...

He had the classic horseshoe MPB...but just above his forhead was this silver dollar sized tuft of hair, like an "island" on his head.

I felt sorry for the dude....it's one thing to walk up to a proud head-shaver with a SBG card (Tyler gave me a bunch)....but I've never handed someone like that a card...

Might be a new "mission field"

[Razor X]

He had the classic horseshoe MPB...but just above his forhead was this silver dollar sized tuft of hair, like an "island" on his head.

I hate that!  For years I feared that I'd end up with something like that - and made sure that I shaved before it happened.

[Razor X]

Without a doubt it has now just become another "haircut" option...

What I think makes it different, though, is that it's a hard haircut to give up.  I think if you've been shaving regularly for a year or more, it would be very difficult to adjust to having hair again (assuming that you can grow it back). I do occasionally have moment where I wish I could grow mine, but at the same time, I don't think I could go back to all the hassles that come with having hair.   And I'd think I'd miss the feel of a freshly-shaved scalp far more than I miss being able to run my fingers through my hair.

[BALDANDRE]

[/quote]

What I think makes it different, though, is that it's a hard haircut to give up.  [/quote]

Tell me about it....10 years and counting... and I could have pretty much a full head of hair if I wanted to...

and on the early rare 'attempt to grow it out periods"...bam! a cool , skinned sly dude walks by and the urg to go sly will NOT let go until you rid yourself of the whole lot...happened everytime.

Man, the need for sly is strong for this dude!

[Tyler]

I saw this guy yesterday at a restaurant that in my SLY-bent opinion looked ridiculous by what he was clinging to.  I don't mean to be insensitive to what inner HELL he may be going through.

But the guy was otherwise a strapping, mid- to late-30's, nice build, nice skin tone, etc...

He had the classic horseshoe MPB...but just above his forhead was this silver dollar sized tuft of hair, like an "island" on his head.

I felt sorry for the dude....it's one thing to walk up to a proud head-shaver with a SBG card (Tyler gave me a bunch)....but I've never handed someone like that a card...

Might be a new "mission field"

There's  a guy at my gym that has this exact haircut.  He's the first person at the gym that I told about Sly Bald Guys, yet he continues to keep his hair the way it is.  He's probably only a couple years older than me, yet it makes him look so much older.  I just feel sorry for the dude everytime I see him (which is about everyday) because I know he could rock the look like so many of us baldies at the gym do.

[Paul]

Without a doubt it has now just become another "haircut" option...

funny i was just thinking that at the gym yesterday when I saw this really fit army dude (also said army on his shirt) with an extreme shaved high and tight and it made me think how mainstream a completely razor shaved head has become and now what looks more extreme and radical is any shaved type military stlye haircut ie. the high and tight or h&t flattop...

well, it's safe to say at least that is the case in the everyday 'regular" non military world...the dude definately and of course intentially stood out...

 way more than me with my slick, sly dome!

Man, I couldn't agree more.  For my entire career in the Marine Corps I wore nothing but a shaved H&T flattop.  It was exceptional then and still is today unless you are near a base somewhere.  Slickdomes though can be seen in just about anywhere in varying numbers.  I don't seem to get half the comments about being sly that I did with my H&T.   

[schro]

I saw this guy yesterday at a restaurant that in my SLY-bent opinion looked ridiculous by what he was clinging to.  I don't mean to be insensitive to what inner HELL he may be going through.

But the guy was otherwise a strapping, mid- to late-30's, nice build, nice skin tone, etc...

He had the classic horseshoe MPB...but just above his forhead was this silver dollar sized tuft of hair, like an "island" on his head.

I felt sorry for the dude....it's one thing to walk up to a proud head-shaver with a SBG card (Tyler gave me a bunch)....but I've never handed someone like that a card...

Might be a new "mission field"

I had "the island", but I called it a patch of bad grass.

[MC HammerHead]

Without a doubt it has now just become another "haircut" option...

What I think makes it different, though, is that it's a hard haircut to give up.  I think if you've been shaving regularly for a year or more, it would be very difficult to adjust to having hair again (assuming that you can grow it back). I do occasionally have moment where I wish I could grow mine, but at the same time, I don't think I could go back to all the hassles that come with having hair.   And I'd think I'd miss the feel of a freshly-shaved scalp far more than I miss being able to run my fingers through my hair.

I have those thoughts on occassion too but then I am always reminded as I put on a helmet that having the slick look is for me.  Its funny, but I have even got to the point now where I don't like it getting stubbly at ALL and am basically shaving everyday and if I am going out or doing something at night, twice a day.   I didn't have the classic MPB, just the forehead thing, and a little on the crown but that was enough to make me go sly.
The other thing is that people that know me say that they couldn't imagine me with hair.

[blondeguy]

Hair is definitely optional these days.  The day before I shaved my head, I noticed as I drove downtown that every other car had a guy with either a buzzcut or a shaved head.  I realized it wasn't a big deal, especially in a hot place like New Mexico where anything that cools you off is a good thing.

[Razor X]

and on the early rare 'attempt to grow it out periods"...bam! a cool , skinned sly dude walks by and the urg to go sly will NOT let go until you rid yourself of the whole lot...happened everytime.

I've had that happen, too.  Every once in a while I don't shave in the morning because I'm either running late or just feeling lazy.  And every time, on the way to work, I see somebody with a perfectly smooth dome and I feel guilty because mine isn't.

[Razor X]

There's  a guy at my gym that has this exact haircut.  He's the first person at the gym that I told about Sly Bald Guys, yet he continues to keep his hair the way it is.  He's probably only a couple years older than me, yet it makes him look so much older.  I just feel sorry for the dude everytime I see him (which is about everyday) because I know he could rock the look like so many of us baldies at the gym do.

All you can do is continue to set a good example for this guy by continuing to keep your own head shaved smooth every day -- as we all know you will.

Which brings me to another point.  Before I started shaving my head, I'd see guys with shaved heads on the train and think to myself that I just wish I could get up the nerve to try it myself.  It took me quite a while but eventually I did it.  Those guys, to whom I never even spoke, were inspirations to me, just by looking confident and being good ambassadors for the sly look.  Those of us who have taken the plunge have an obligation to show our slick domes to the world because we never know who is out there that we may be inspiring to adopt the look next.

[Paul]

and on the early rare 'attempt to grow it out periods"...bam! a cool , skinned sly dude walks by and the urg to go sly will NOT let go until you rid yourself of the whole lot...happened everytime.

I've had that happen, too.  Every once in a while I don't shave in the morning because I'm either running late or just feeling lazy.  And every time, on the way to work, I see somebody with a perfectly smooth dome and I feel guilty because mine isn't.

Ditto, had those exact same reactions myself and like you Andre I am BBC!

[Tyler]

There's  a guy at my gym that has this exact haircut.  He's the first person at the gym that I told about Sly Bald Guys, yet he continues to keep his hair the way it is.  He's probably only a couple years older than me, yet it makes him look so much older.  I just feel sorry for the dude everytime I see him (which is about everyday) because I know he could rock the look like so many of us baldies at the gym do.

All you can do is continue to set a good example for this guy by continuing to keep your own head shaved smooth every day -- as we all know you will.

Yeah, I just give him a nod when I see him and then get my zone to workout.  There's a ton of us with shaved heads at the gym and I always wear my shirts there, so hopefully one day he'll get the courage to shave it.