Young dude, tentative steps...

[mulis]

Hello there!

Thought I would introduce myself. 27 with MPB since around the age of 19. Finally at the point where I need to do something, living a lie and not enjoying it. My hair has receded completely off the front and I've just grown my hair out and have it coming forward, in all honesty it doesn't look rediculous but going swimming has been off the cards for a while. Just not sure what to do, just go slightly shorter, buzz it and reveal my sh*t hairline to everyone, or shave and possibly look rediculous. I brought it up with the gf and she thinks its a bit drastic which isn't exactly encouraging.

Im fairly tall and lanky without an ounce of fat but I'm 'toned' I guess. Not really sure if the shaved look will work for me. Searched a few boards, this one tends to be very pro shave (obviously ha) whereas most sites tend to say shaved looks crap on most people. It seems to look best to me on tanned, muscled, or older people... im none of these. I also work with a bunch of opinionated arse holes haha. Those first few weeks of people seeing me without hair scare me.

Is shaving for everyone, or are you guys just saying that?

[AgeTwentyTwoBaldy]

I'm 22 years old and I just started to shave my head regularly 4 months ago.

The only way to know if shaving your head is for you is to try it. Shaving isn't for EVERYONE, but most people can rock the sly look. Obviously it suits some better than others, but again, the only way you'll ever know is to try it for yourself. You're definitely right in saying that tanned bald heads look better than pasty white bald heads. I plan to get a good tan this summer.

My advice to you is to do what we call the 30 day challenge. Shave your head bald every day for 30 days no matter what happens. This will give you a good enough dive into the world of the sly. During the 30 days, I encourage you to experiment with different kinds of shirts, as some definitely look better on a bald head than others. Darker colors (black, navy blue, darker greens etc...) seem to look best on most bald guys. A white T-Shirt to go with a tanned noggin is also good. Fitted shirts tend to look better than loose t-shirts, also.

As far as your co-workers and other people... well, this is your life, isn't it? As long as you wear the sly look with pride, you won't be given a hard time. They may crack some jokes about you, but so what? Often times the ones who laugh the loudest at others are the least secure about themselves, and that's the honest truth. I suspect that in less than 30 days you will decide to keep the sly look and make it work for you.

If you need any head shaving advice, be sure to go look at some of the threads in the "head shaving" section of the forum. There are a lot of tried and true methods in there that you could follow in order to get a smooth, shiny head. Also, I saw that you enjoy swimming. I went to an indoor pool and swam with a bald head for the first time 2 weeks ago, and it feels great. Many of the other sly guys on here will say the same thing, I'm sure.

Let us know what you decide to do and if there is any other information we can provide. Take the plunge and see what happens. You may be surprised. 

 

[Goodfishfrancis]

Hi Mulis,

I was in the exact same boat as you. I still had hair in the front, but the hair on the top of my head was very thin. I tried multiple ways to conceal the baldness, as I was terrified of going sly. I'm not very muscular or tan, and before I was losing my hair I always had a 'cool' haircut. Let me tell you what though, going sly was the best decision that I've made since I started losing my hair. No more worries, no more hiding, no more spending money on arbitrary products. I've been going sly for about 4 days now, and last night my girlfriend says "I thought I'd miss your hair, but I love your bald head." Needless to say, everything has been great since I decided to shave. I'm happier when I look in the mirror, and I don't have the anxiety anymore. I'm not saying that going sly is for everyone, but man, if you can just do it the one time, there's a good chance you won't ever want to stop. IT'S ADDICTING! I now look forward to the routine of shaving my head. It feels soooo good and fresh. Anyway, whatever you end up doing, I can only hope that you find happiness with your noggin

[Natedawg]

Welcome! ATTB is dead on. Don't be so caught up in other people's opinions. They're just dealing with their own insecurities in an immature way. There's only one way to tell if it will work for you or not. Just do it. It's hair: It'll always grow back.

Personally, I love having a cleanly shaved head. I've never felt so liberated in my life as when I first took all my hair off. Sounds cheesy, but it's the absolute truth. I've loved every minute of it since I first did it 8 years ago.
Of course, it's not for everyone, but there's no good reason for anyone to not try it, is obviously more of the message we are trying to get across..

[KDusk]

Welcome to the forum, Mulis.

I'm 24 and I've been sly since 6 months. I also have MPB, with a major receding headline and thinning hair on top (my crown is still quite dense, though).

I had the same fears and questions about 'going sly': I'm quite small (173cm / 5'8 ), extremely skinny (54kg / 119lbs ) and quite pale. The first thing I thought was: I'm going to look like a cancer patient. To be honest, the first weeks I also felt like a cancer patient, just because that was the image stuck in my head.

But over the weeks I came to accept my sly look, made some 'modifications' (I grew out some facial hair, bought new clothing) and people could see I was gaining confidence. Today, I don't care about the negative opinions anymore. When my hair was shoulder length, people told me to cut it off, when I went sly, people told me to grow it back... I'm skinny, people tell me to gain weight. And once I gain weight people will start calling me fat. Some people will always complain about everything, so please do what YOU would like to do, not what others would like you to do.

I'd say: bald IS for everyone. Just carry it with pride.

[Slyfive]

Amen! Spot on Kdusk. Also, if there are sites out there telling you being bald looks bad.... They are painfully misinformed and, most likely sponsored by rogain and hair club for men, or just ignorami.

[Sir Harry]

Welcome! The best way to go about this is to treat this as just another haircut....As has been said many times, if you don't like it you can always grow it back! Good Luck!

[kalbo]

Welcome to the bald brotherhood Mulis. You'll never know until you try. Hope all will work out best for you.

[Lynchy]

Welcome! The best way to go about this is to treat this as just another haircut....As has been said many times, if you don't like it you can always grow it back! Good Luck!

+1 Being sly is the least permenant haircut you can have, in a couple of days it will look like a buzz, and a few weeks and it's short!

Honestly as said above, if you want to do it then just do it! The rest is just details IMO!

[Baldstu]

Welcome Mullis , and be Happy

[nilagorilla]

Something that has been coming to my attention alot lately is how alot of guys are SO worried over all of this superficial nonsense and lack luster of self confidence like, " will girls still like me if I shave my head." "What will people think?"  BS, it DOESN'T matter within reason what people "think". What  matters is your  personal happiness and  who YOU are as a person , etc. etc. etc  thats the meat and potatoes.

[Mikekoz13]

WOW! A LOT of great advice from a bunch of the new guys!!!!!! Listen to them.

[mulis]

Thank you all so much for the replies.

Its hard to really put a finger on what it means to shave it all off though, it's doesnt feel a case of just 'do it', I suppose the moment I get there, will be the moment I feel confident to 'just do it.' Its deeply psychological but this is the first time ever me really discussing my hair, under that wonderful guise of anonymity.

Few things, I already know cutting my hair short adds about 10 years to me. Going bald with the tale of "it will always grow out" still scares me as it'll be a while before it grows is as it is now. Im also getting married at the end of the year and I don't want my wedding photos to look ridiculous! Likewise, I don't really want to be sporting a lie. I want to be free!

Yes it will be for me, and me alone, and everyone else can bite me, but... The reason I'm doing this for me is to be more confident, to accept my hair and not let it control me... if it looks ridiculous on me then it will not be serving this purpose!

P.S. What an amazing group of guys, friendliest forum I have ever come across!

[mulis]

Uploaded a little album cover shot haha so you guys can tell me

[AgeTwentyTwoBaldy]

Shaving bald doesn't always make men look older. In my case, it makes me look younger.