Pillow talk

[Acme]

I'm still very new to this (day 3 - that's why I'm here) and I have a question about what you use on your head and when.  I'm heading to the store today to buy my first products (I'll start with some headblade stuff).

The first day, my head was on fire.  Even though there were no cuts and everything looked good, it was on fire.  I tried some regular vaseline hand lotion and eventually it calmed down.  Day two, I slathered it with sunblock (and kept re-applying) and did yard work to get it a little even tan.  After shaving, no fire feel.  The sunblock probably left a lot of moisturizers in the skin.

Since my skin is naturally oily, I'm not thinking I need anything on it until maybe winter when it will probably get really dry.  My question is, do you lotion your head if your skin is oily?  Do you use something that helps reduce the oil?  Do you use it at night or do you wash all the stuff off before going to bed.  I don't want to start slicking up my pillow case.  I like the feel of the clean head with just some of it's natural skin oils.  I'm also wondering if anyone has any issues with their "sandpaper head" starting to thin the pillow case fabric.  Is that stupid to think about 

I didn't realize there really is a lot to learn about being bald.

[paragon]

What you want is a moisturizing toner. There are lots of them and they are non greasy. Make sure it's alcohol free, otherwise it's gonna make it even dryer.
I currently use this if not having to apply after shave, just putting this on after a nice wash:


There are looooots of them Use any of them as of your personal preference
Some more examples:



As for the sandpaper... Well i have that every other night as I shave every 2 days but shave against the grain, baby butt smooth Although i don't think you should jump into shaving against the grain right away. My skin was very sensitive the first time as I think everybody's skin was sensitive the first time as it wasn't yet exposed to the world or any sunlight. On the 4th shave i've done 2 passes, one with the grain and one across the grain. After the seventh shave i started doing 3 passes, WTG, XTG, ATG. The third one leaves me baby butt smooth for ~20 hours. That means only one night with sand paper if shaving every other day
I might start shaving every day as many guys here if i can do it with reasonable speed and just do 1 ATG pass under the shower every day.

[Laser Man]

There's a lot to learn because we're all experimenting to try to find what works for us.  Here are some suggestions based on my own trial and error.

Since the scalp is sensitive at firs, shave only with the grain and be sure you keep it well lathered and moist.  When done with the blade, I rinse with warm water to be sure all shaving cream and hair are gone, then rinse with cold water to close the pores.  I then use ClearHead which is an astringent to heal the scalp.  By the way, at first this will sting a bit, but as I've shaved daily for three months now, the stinging has nearly completely stopped.  the astringent also helps prevent bumps.  You can try witch hazel as many others will recommend.

I occasionally use a moisturizer since my scalp is naturally shiny.  I use HeadLube with SPF 30 if I'm going to be out in the sun a lot.  It works well and isn't greasy.

I wash / rinse my head a couple times during the day to manage oiliness.  The scalp continues to secret oils just as if the hair was still there.  And I always wash before bed and use a moisturizer maybe every other day.

That's it.  Pretty simple, but three months in, the dome is clear, smooth and shiny.

[Acme]

Thanks for the suggestions.  Just went out and bought the headblade, headslick, whitch hazel, and some coppertone non-oily spf30 moisturizing face sun block.  You never know what those flourescent lights in my office at work are going to do to my head.

I couldn't find the toner but I'm pretty sure I'm going to need that too to help with my oily scalp.

When I got home and unpacked the new products, I realized I had some cleansing to do of my old stuff.  Don't need hair gel, hair styling glue, or conditioner anymore.  That should be part of the 30 day rule.  Cleanse your medicine cabinet

I am loving this new me!

[Laser Man]

Should have mentioned that I use an exfoliant (HeadShed) every other day and wash my head with HeadWash.  Soap, especially antibacterial soaps like Dial, can dry the scalp.  So far, I've been very happy with the HeadBlade products, but other than HeadSlick, they're hard to find in stores and the shipping on mail order is on the pricey side.