Finally took the plunge

[Mozingo]

Welcome Brett. It's a good look for you.

[bsev08]

Thanks Mozingo!

Forgot to post yesterday.. I am getting faster and better each day. Walked into the bathroom at 6:10 showered and shaved and was out in just 20 minutes. Compared to the 20 minutes just to shave last week.

Did not get a chance to pick up shave secret yet, also will finish off two of my three remaining hb triples before trying the custom plus 3 blades.

[bsev08]

Day number 8 -

Only irritation I have been experiencing is on the sides in front of my ears. It takes a good amount of passes against the grain to get it smooth.

Decided to clean up the look, beard grows a little thin so I got rid of it.

[warhawk]

Hey Brett:  I'm late 2 the party but just wanted 2 say welcome 2 the sly fraternity.  U look like a natural.  I'm glad that U are enjoying your new look.  The sly life gets better each & every day.

WARHAWK

[Sir Harry]

Day number 8 -

Only irritation I have been experiencing is on the sides in front of my ears. It takes a good amount of passes against the grain to get it smooth.

Decided to clean up the look, beard grows a little thin so I got rid of it.

You got rid of the beard? NOOOOO! Just kidding, Brett...the beard in your first picture wasn't bad, but the Van Dyke looks good. Nice job shaping that up. FWIW, as a Guardsman, because of weekend drills, very rarely can I keep a beard past six weeks.

[kalbo]

Looking good brett...looking good. 

[bsev08]

Well finally got my hb order yesterday.

Started this morning with headwash followed by headshed in the shower. Has been 24 hours since I shaved, noticed a quicker shave requiring less passes. Used the clearhead in front of my ears and on the back of my neck, burns for just a second or two but quickly takes the redness away. Hoping after a few days of treatment every other day it will get rid of the irritation.

Finished it all off with a dab of headlube matte and wow am I pleased with the results! I think tomorrow morning I will give the glossy headlube a try and see how the shiny dome suits me. Just as an example, a good friend wanted to touch my head the other day. She liked it of course, but her reply was that it felt similar to a snake's skin. I immediately noticed that the headlube makes it so much smoother!

 I have been wondering why my head doesnt look like most sly guys. I have been noticing recently the sides of my head looked awful dry and red. I will keep updating with my results on how much this routine helps with the scalp.

Happy shaving!

[stasiu]

Hey Brett !  Thanks for updates.  Not sure how much hair reamins on top, but I'm sure your sides/back is thicker stubble that still gets irritated.  After your dailly chrome dome shave, try ice cold water before the the rest of your sly routine, which sounds good !

[boston501]

great look

[RoWilJr]

Looking good 

[Cris]

The slyness fits you so perfectly that I can't imagine your head full of hair

[bsev08]

Been a few days since I updated..

Now 17 days in, twice I have skipped a day between shaves and have not noticed a real difference as opposed to shaving every day. I will say that today (Saturday June 9th) had nearly no irritation at all in my previous areas that bothered me after using clearhead for a week. In front of my ears and the back of my head are showing great signs of improvement.

Stasiu - You are correct that the top of my dome has major thinning compared to the sides and back where it is thicker and showed irritation. Clearhead has really helped, I have not deviated from the cold rinse or HB triple blades yet.

Tried the headlube glossy the other day and I dont notice it being any more greasy than the matte. It was more shiny earlier in the day but as the day progresses my natural oil gives it a shine of its own. Both glossy and matte provide the moisture that I was hoping for.

More updates soon!

[Frontier Guy]

Great update. It's a really good look for you. Your writing indicates total comfort and confidence, if I'm reading it correctly.

[DaveM61]

Welcome bsev08.

I was somewhat in the same boat.  I had been buzzing down to a 000 for about nine months (and had shaved smooth a few times but just one day and let it grow back).  Last week shaved on Friday ... Saturday ... Sunday ... I'm now day ten and agree that I won't need 30 to get me over the hump.  I'm already over it.

As for pre-post routine.  I started using a pre-shave oil and use Headslick with the Headblade and found that the pre-shave oil makes a huge difference.

BTW ... sly looks great on you. 

[bsev08]

Well guys here we are an hour into day 30.

It has been a long time since I last posted since I have been super busy. Sure you all will be glad to know I have not deviated from shaving for more than one day.

Have a few things to say about my experiments and trials with products.

First and foremost, every cartridge in a pack of blades is different!!! The blade that came with my HB sport and the first two of my triple blade 4 pack were great. The third one was a bit dull, pulling and tugging the hair more so than cutting it. Just moved onto the last one in my pack and all is well again. (Picked up another pack today with one of my three $1 off coupons that HB sent with my order)

I did give the Gillette custom plus 3 a try and after about 3 strokes I threw it in the trash and put on a HB triple blade. I know a lot of people have had great results with them but my hair seems too thick, I may try again since I have 3 left.

Headshed and headwash are excellent products that I would recommend to everyone! Headshed really rids the dome of dead skin and the headwash leaves it super clean.

Clearhead... AMAZING! I used it for about 15 days straight (sometimes skipping a shave or two) on the sides and back of my head/neck that were showing signs of irritation. Wednesday I was out in the sun for about 5 hours and my head got pretty burnt so I decided not to use it because it would only hurt that much more. Thursday when I did not use it there was NO irritation. I'm sure without it my head would have still adapted but not this fast.

Thursday, the day after my head got burnt I hopped in the shower and man the water hitting it was painful. The headshed was like sandpaper on it. I got out and I shaved it all off while gritting my teeth with quite a bit of pain. (Still shaving out of the shower) The sunburn made the top and back of my head feel so tight and raw, even with having used aloe on it the night before. Again this time I did not use clearhead, no irritation. Once I put the headlube on, my sunburned scalp IMMEDIATELY loosened up and became smooth and it did not hurt a bit!

When I showered Friday morning, the water hitting it did not cause any discomfort. As well as the shaving was near pain free!

Not trying to sell or promote any products here, but I am sure sold on all products that HeadBlade has to offer!

On another note, the response from people has been great. I have ran into a lot of people I have not seen in over four years since high school, when at one point I had hair down to my shoulders. None of them recognized me at first, a few people actually asked "Did you use to have hair?" When I told them yes and they remembered who I was, we had a good laugh and talked a bit about my new look. They all had comments ranging from "I like it" and "you look better without hair" to "it makes you look older." One person even said I resemble Phil Collins which I thought was pretty awesome!

In short, I could not be happier with this decision. If you are on the verge of deciding whether you should go completely sly or not. My recommendation to you, is to GO FOR IT! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Sorry for the long post, but I had a lot of catching up to do and I hope this helps some other newcomers take the plunge!

Brett