Finally took the plunge

[mrzed]

Brett, we should talk. I use head blade products, so am familiar with them.

In a bit of a rush this morning, but will write more later, but just a few comments.

I often use the head shed ONLY. It has a nice massaging feeling on the head.

For head lube,  glossy!!!  I love the shine. It does feel a bit slimy at first, but it absorbs into the scalp within an hour and then you have this great shine all day! 

Oh, and coffee or tea tastes great in a head blade coffee mug!  (well it tastes great any way, but it's more fun to drink in a head blade mug!)

Congratulations on coming around and shaving totally bald.  Looks good.  Welcome to Sly.  May you become sly for life. 

[wilky895]

     Hey Brett,
     Welcome aboard and Congrats on taking the plunge. I also had the receding hairline thing for over 20 years and recently decided to go sly. Figured I would try for 30 days, to be honest I don't see me going back. The results and comments I have gotten have been great. I too started out with a Gillette razor, just went to HB sport a few days ago and LOVE IT!! Picked it up in a local drug store and a bottle of Headslick and was out the door for around $20. I use an aftershave with aloe and a  moisturizer with coconut oil and shea butter.. works for me. Great site for info and support. You look great, stick with it. 

[stasiu]

Welcome Brett and congrats !  You already in sly-zone for life !

[Johannes]

Looking great

[bsev08]

Thanks everyone!

Fourth shave under my belt, immediately noticed less irritation overall. Still certain areas that I have to hit 3-4 times from different angles that are bothersome. But that goes away about 5 minutes after rinsing. The one bump I sliced two days ago and yesterday has healed well and it did not get cut this morning. As well as the bump that showed up yesterday did not get cut today either. For my skin, two bumps in four days of consistent shaving is a very good outcome. Especially for not using any scrub before or cleaner/moisturizer after.

I am going to place my order with HB tonight so I will have the products mid week hopefully. Until then I am just going to keep shaving every day the same way I have been, just to get my head used to it in a consistent manner.

It is hard for me to get as close of shave as I like, especially on the top area of the back of my head. I dont know for sure if the HB tripleblades are the culprit or just my hair, guess I will know after using headshed.

[mangosink12572]

Brett

You look great  - -nothing like it and the smooth dome is so nice to feel

A GREAT LOOK

[Frontier Guy]

I'm only ten days in, but here's what's working for me so far.

Also, I moved the whole process into the shower - and got the Toiletree Fogless Shower Mirror which was mentioned elsewhere on this forum.

Everything below comes from tips learned here.
* Shampoo to get rid of oil and dirt (and because I've got a Costco-size bottle of shampoo to use up).
* Exfoliate with St Ives Apricot Scrub - $5 at Wal-Mart for a generous tub
* Apply one drop of Shave Secret to the razor blades to prevent gunk buildup
* Apply five drops of Shave Secret to my palm and then massage onto scalp thoroughly
* Apply Headslick - just a pea-size bit forms plenty of lather in my opinion
* Shave with Headblade (I'm using the Gillette CustomPlus3 disposable for replacement blades). I like the HeadBlade because my index finger can "ride" in front to detect stubble patches. I end up going several different directions to get every last bit smooth.

After showering I apply HeadLube or a Sunscreen product.

Recommended in the forums, but I'm not doing/using:
* ice cubes to close pores
* witch hazel or astringent
* after shave lotions

For about the first week it was taking me an extra 15 minutes in the morning, but that has gradually decreased and I'm back to my normal 43 minutes from "bathroom light on" to "bathroom light off" - fully cleaned, dressed and ready to greet the world. But feeling ever more confident as I stride out the door.

Cheers to you for moving forward.

[kalbo]

Welcome to the bald brotherhood Brett. You are owning the sly look. The fun is just beginning.

[Lynchy]

Welcome,

You are rocking the look!

[bsev08]

Thanks guys! Appreciate the process breakdown you use frontierguy, I have been contemplating getting shave secret..

Day number 5-

The longest time between shaves so far since I had something come up this morning before work. It was about 30 hours and by the time I got home at three I wanted to get rid of it so bad!

My head is adjusting very fast, there was practically no irritation today. I let my OCD take hold again and while it took me almost as long as my first shave, this was the most perfect to date.

I placed my order today. Got the headwash, headshed and clearhead, as well as 2 oz of each glossy and matte headlube. Figure ill try them both out before I commit and if I still like the matte better ill have some glossy for those special occasions

Spent some time with some friends and their family (basically family to me) yesterday. They had not seen me since the change and they all loved it. It is my best friend, his five brothers and their sister. All of the guys have perfect full heads of hair, they're the type that keep a comb in their pocket at all times. Yet they were all so intrigued by the shiny dome they held a Q&A session with me for nearly an hour.

I have yet to get a bad reaction from anyone whether friends, family or coworkers.

Every time I get the opportunity to see someone that is unaware of the change I take it, just to see what kind of reaction ill get.

Loving it!

[mrzed]

Good for you.  An hour Q/A. Wow!  Maybe all five of the guys will shave their heads, too.

Isn't this addicting?  Listen to you. 5 days and you can't wait to shave your head in the morning.

[SalWalker]

Welcome aboard.  It looks great on you.

I'm afraid I can't offer much advice about products or routines.  I use a Nivea anti-irritation shave gel and some disposable razors with three blades and a moisturizing strip.  Sometimes I shave in the shower, sometimes at the sink.  Takes a lot longer in the shower. 

I also have a hard time with the back of my head.  I think it's just where the hair is the thickest and going against the grain there is always noticeably tougher than elsewhere.  I've tried going with the grain first then against, but it doesn't seem to make much difference.

And the only aftershave product I use is cold water.  Feels good!

Do let us know what you find from your experiments with different products.  I may look into other options when the opportunity presents itself.  Thanks!

[bsev08]

Zed, I dont see them shaving theirs any time soon. And yes this is extremely addicting!

Thanks Sal, my aftershave has been cold water followed by gillette hydrating body wash (had a sample bottle that came with my last fusion razor I bought).

My headblade order will probably be here Monday since they're in California and I am on the east coast.

Day six-

The whole process has gotten easier each day. It has almost become second nature knowing which way each section of the scalp requires the blade to be dragged for the best results.

The against the grain directions are regular for the most part, except for the back of my head. Dragging perfectly side ways from my left to right ear produces the best results from my neck to nearly the peak. The whole crown area surrounding the top has shown best results going basically 45 degrees between front to back and side to side axis ( i.e. - drag from behind left ear in a forward and right direction, up and over the top towards the area near your right temple /right forehead. Repeat in opposite direction for other side).

Looking forward to seeing how much the HB products help, plan to test out shave secret as well if necessary.

[Frontier Guy]

Brett, that's a really good look for you. Very striking.

Try the shave secret oil (I use five drops) and the Headslick - I've been doing that this week and the whole process has become so much easier and smoother.

[bsev08]

Thanks Frontier, I plan to pick up the shave secret tomorrow or Thursday.

Also found the thread about using the Custom Plus 3 cartridges with the headblade. Plan to try this trick as well to see if it require less passes, hopefully meaning less irritation.

UPS tracking finally updated and my HB order will be here Monday. Gives me a week to test the oil and blades to find my constant variables before throwing more things into the equation!