New here, need help from those with experience

[Coach7]

Wow - that was a serious but honest analysis.  Ouch.  OK, I do understand what you are saying, Saintc.  I know I am still working my way to sly.......it is a transition that is easier for some that others.  But for me it is not a question of "if", but a question of "when".  I may sound soft, but I really need a natural transitional period to do this, and June is that time.  I will have a week away from work, and return to a new situation at my office.  It is a time when it will be sufficiently comfortable for me to make this change.  Will it still be scary?  Sure.  But I can handle it.  I am counting down the days, and again feeling great about what is coming.  I will be on the forum regularly between now and then, and I will post up pics.  I could not have even made it to this point of commitment (albeit delayed commitment) without the guys on this forum.  I look forward to joing the ranks of the SBG's.

[TheBreeze]

June is certainly a long way off, but you have to do what you think is best for you.  I can't see how a bald head would be bad for your meeting, but if that is really the case you could always grow some stubble. 

I took off the rug and went sly just over a month ago and what I can tell you from experience is that giving yourself a time buffer is most likely not as important as you think it is.  I waited a few months after deciding to go sly so it coincided with a long weekend trip to Florida.  Figured I would use the extra couple days to adjust and try and get some sun on the dome.  I ended up being comfortable right away and the sun thing didn't really do too much over only a couple days.

It stunk having to wait so long to pull the trigger because (like you) I had that itch and wanted to get rid of the rug and move on.  In hindsight, waiting until my time buffer came up was not necessary.

Maybe one day you will feel the same way - maybe just come home on a Friday or the start of a long weeekend, rip the rug off and shave it down.  If you choose this route, I can assure you - IT WILL BE JUST FINE!!

Good luck and looking forward to you joining the sly ranks soon. 

[Coach7]

"Move forward.  Life must go on." said SaintC, and he is right.  I have not bailed out here, I am just biding my time until June.  But I must admit it is hard to wait.  June is a big transitional time for me in so many ways, and it is when I will feel most comfortable going fully sly FOREVER.

SBG's is my weekly inspiration.  It's just friggin hair.  My life will be better when I move on, and I am looking forward to it thanks to the help of so many on this board.  You guys are great.

Already have my Mach3, King of Shaves, badger hair brush, and camera.  I don't have much hair left, so it should be easy to move to the next and best chapter of my life.

Thanks again, guys.  I wouldn't have reached this point of blunt determination and optimisim without you.

[Coach7]

Can anybody offer a post-shave moisturizer recommendation?  I don't think I want one that turns the shine up heavy, maybe more of a dull or matte finish.

Thank you friends.

[Coach7]

Hey guys --- is there a Sly Bald Guys group on Facebook?  Just trying to connect through a different medium.

I cannot wait to go surfing this summer without wearing the frickin rug.  How empowering that will be.  What an idiot I must have looked like last summer.

Oh sweet freedom, less than 90 days away.

                                                                                           

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

Can anybody offer a post-shave moisturizer recommendation?  I don't think I want one that turns the shine up heavy, maybe more of a dull or matte finish.

Thank you friends.

Glad to suggest Nivea Extreme shave balm, non oily, feels really good to rub into a newly scraped grape.  You're going to feel so much better about yourself and, excuse my bluntness, very much younger.  Your biggest complaint will be, and I guarantee this, "Why did I wait so f'ing long, why did I prolong my sadness?"

[buddha]

Based upon my own experience I think you're putting WAY too much thought into this. I've shared my own sly history before in here and it begins with hair down to my shoulder blades one day to a totally unplanned and un-thought out clip and scrape the very next day. That was about 12 years ago and the catalyst was deer flies. When I went back to work the day after scraping the skull I had one woman ask me if I had lost weight.
I gotta be blunt here because I read so many posts where guys develop ulcers over the idea of shaving their heads. The fact of the matter is that this ain't like you've been an Orthodox Jew all your life and you're planning on converting to Catholicism. It's just a haircut. Nothing more. But the problem that plagues you and, probably, 99% of the guys who write their worries in here is concern over what "other people will think". Answer a question for yourself regarding this: Which one of them is paying your rent/mortgage and buying you food and clothes? Then shave your head and get on with your life.
Those who mind truly don't matter and those who matter truly don't mind.

[Razor X]

I have to concur with Buddha.  You'll feel a whole lot better once the deed is done, so the sooner the better.  I know you've set June as a time that will be an easier transition because you'll be going away for a week, but the truth is you have to face your colleagues sometime, and you won't be any more ready in June than you are now.  It really is better to just rip the Band-Aid off quickly.  You'll find that the anticipation is alot more anxiety-ridden than reality.

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

Based upon my own experience I think you're putting WAY too much thought into this. I've shared my own sly history before in here and it begins with hair down to my shoulder blades one day to a totally unplanned and un-thought out clip and scrape the very next day. That was about 12 years ago and the catalyst was deer flies. When I went back to work the day after scraping the skull I had one woman ask me if I had lost weight.
I gotta be blunt here because I read so many posts where guys develop ulcers over the idea of shaving their heads. The fact of the matter is that this ain't like you've been an Orthodox Jew all your life and you're planning on converting to Catholicism. It's just a haircut. Nothing more. But the problem that plagues you and, probably, 99% of the guys who write their worries in here is concern over what "other people will think". Answer a question for yourself regarding this: Which one of them is paying your rent/mortgage and buying you food and clothes? Then shave your head and get on with your life.
Those who mind truly don't matter and those who matter truly don't mind.

[buddha]

Awwww, you guys.....

[Nonick]

Buddha, you have to admit it; you nailed that one.    As those of us on the sly side of life know, you are speaking total accurate truth!    

[buddha]

Thanks, guys. Even the blind squirrel finds the occasional nut.

[Tyler]

Coach, where you at?  Please tell me you shaved already!  Everyone that procrastinates ends up saying the same thing afterward - "I wish I would have done it sooner!" 

[Arty Chris]

Hey Coach,

The guys on here are very wise... Listen to their advice

Two things come to mind as I read this dicussion... Firstly, it took me around 4 years to get it together and loose the hair! I set dates then didn't do it.. there's no shame in that, so if you haven't, don't be hard on yourself, and we're all still here and on your side! I had to wait till it was the right time, but when it was... I just knew...  I'm pretty certain you'll love it! I'm even more certain you'll love the reaction you get from people you know!

And if you have already... AWESOME!!!

Secondly... I don't know what the scars you have are like, (and I truly hope I'm not coming from too much of a place of ignorance here.)  but an officer I hadn't met before was in our station today, cool sly guy, and he had some mean looking scars on the back of his head... and you know what? He looked even cooler for it!

So Coach, let us know what you've done.....

[Mozingo]

Hello Coach,

As Arty Chris said, the guys on here are wise and their advice has been spot on.
If you have already shaved please post a picture and let us know how it's going.
If you haven't, then get your kit together and do the deed. You'll only regret putting it off so long. Either way give us a heads up on whats going on.