Hey everyone on SBG!
This post is to help mainly those who are in the situation I was in some time back, male baldness pattern or MBP at a young age. Though I guess it can be helpful to anyone considering going sly.
For those who are interested I will tell my entire hair story, with all the nasty truths I have come to accumulate during my short time as a MBP person.
I also want to excuse some grammar and english mistakes, and also this will probably be a long post because of two reasons, 1. I want to include every possible detail of importance and 2. I like to write
There is a summary at the bottom which you can scroll down to!
I will because of some secrets I still keep in real life, which will be revealed here, stay anonymous for this post. I will probably sign up for another account with pictures and all to inspire further, maybe someone will be able to connect that account to this post, I idk...
So hello everyone again, this is my success story.
As the title suggests I am currently 20 years old, not too much on this forum... But oh well, lets go back in time!
Growing up as a shining blonde I didn't really have a lot of hair, not notably little but under average, at the age of 15-16 my hair peaked, looking back it was great! I could do all kinds of cool hairstyles with wax and all that. But during my rapid and late puberty I guess my hormones went crazy (although genetically I should have a bad MBP soo..) and during just the course of 2.5 years I lost a serious amount of hair, mostly on the "peaks" or "tabs" above the forehead, not really creating the "island" on the forehead but more of a line in the middle, with no hair on the sides.
Initially I tried, and kind of successfully to cover it up using wax on my existing hair and pulling it forward, and so I didn't think to much about it since it. But on a few locations people from both genders asked me straight out, "how can you be so thin haired?" "aren't you getting your vitamins?" "Using a bad hair-wax?".
This was a MAJOR blow to my already weak self esteem, I got seriously depressed as a result.
This went on for a few months, and it got worse and worse, more people commented, I started wearing hoods and caps almost all the time etc..
One day my dad came out of nowhere and said that I should consider something he had read about online, some sort of "system", not a wig but a system, and he would fund it and help me with it.
I was more on the path of transplantation, my mom took me to a laserclinic but since I knew it was genetical I did not want to do that. She was also supportive of transplantation (and so was I) but my dad said that it would maybe be stupid to do that before I had lost enough for my MBP to hit a halt so to speak. I was also concerned about scars and whatever..
Reluctantly I felt forced to try this system thing, my dad was really supportive for which I am really thankful, he kind of saved my life and took me out of depression.
At first we constructed our own system, bought a full size cheap system with coloring from my hair, then we cut out two small pieces to put on each side of my own hair on top of my forehead, to fill in the tabs so to speak.
And it worked! It was a hassle, and sometimes it looked bad. But it worked, it took me through my entire last year of high school and even though I was not completely satisfied with it, I was feeling much better this way.
After that year, I started working. But my hairloss was working constantly it seemed... My mom had me try all kinds of things; lasercomb, priorin (pills), that thing you drop in your hair which works for many people. It was not that my parents were judgmental about my hairloss, it was more that they noticed how much it bothered me and how sad it made me, and they wanted to help with any means necessary. God I love them! (Though I do not believe in god or in anything for that matter, on a side note...)
As the loss got worse, the two-piece system didn't work anymore, it was time for a full system, which required me to shave the top of my head under it. I was nervous about the switch since I thought it would look "too good" which would make people see through it, and my mom did. Initially the system secret was only between my dad and me but my mom didn't think this was a good solution since it in her view was a constant hassle and worry, what about if you want to dive in the ocean? What about if you forget the equipment (glue etc)? Will you do this for decades to come?
I now looked great lol, one guy reacted to it, having a MBP himself I guess he took note of everyone else, though my main consideration was doing this crap over the long haul, gluing, cleaning, being careful, checking mirrors all the time etc. And also, if I found a girlfriend using this, she is bound to find out later, what would she think of me then?
I had considered shaving in the traditional meaning of the word in my country (in Europe btw) which is 3mm or 0.118inches I suppose, a standard trimmer shave here. My main concern with that was that the outlines of my MBP would be clearly visible. I remember a discussion with my mom where she was like: "Some shaved people look great, look at David Beckham for example!" but I knew that the MBP would make ALL the difference and in my eyes reveal my MBP even more..
I have always, due to poor self esteem, cared about how I look, I am currently quite muscular due to strong discipline in the gym, all because my terrible self esteem..
And hair has always been a central part of what I look for in good looking people, every time someone says: "omg he/she is so hot!" it is usually someone with a great hairline. Also in my view MBP can be seen on a primal level as a genetical weakness, which does not create attraction on a primal level.
As a lucky coincidence I came across this forum while googling shave head etc (searching for results of the classic 3mm shave) and I saw all these encouraging posts about going "sly" which was a new word for me ^^
From the first day of reading this forum some 6 months ago I could not get that thought out of my head, to go sly!
It was actually not with too much hesitation that I ordered a headblade, headslick and a mach3. Investing money in this plan to go sly was also to help me take the leap, having the best tools to do it available was sure to help me overcome my fears!
I will also put a tiny product review at the end of this post.
This is where I think the best tips of this post begins, aside from investing money in the plan to go sly!
What I did was, 2 days after the shaving stuff arrived (A Saturday, wanted it to be a weekend) I began shaving my head, first with trimmers for the remaining long hair and then I followed the video guides I carefully had studied over and over here at SBG. The first time I was very careful and took my time, I don't think I got any cuts that time. I used the headblade mainly and the mach3 for the sides and missed spots.
That Monday I arrived at work, not having told anyone about it, I still never tell people, I just let them see it when I meet them. Everyone was in shock, in GREAT shock. For me, I had decided to handle their shock with confidence and just reflect the skepticism with displays of self esteem. In their eyes I went from a decent to good head of hair (because of the system) to complete baldness, or slyness if you will. And doing that with confidence gave me much advantage as well as some disadvantages.
As advantages I have this:
1. People think I can grow a full head of hair if I want to, thereby being sly by choice.
2. If it is completely by choice, it is easier to pull of the confident slyness.
As disadvantages:
1. People still think I had a good normal hairstyle before starting to shave, people being conservative therefore have a hard time understanding why I would do this, at this age. Little do they know about the hassle, the worry that I went through using a system...
2. It became even more of a shock, going from a good almost 20 years of sort of long hair to nothing at all is a much bigger leap than going from say 3mm to sly.
Personally I prefer it this way, it boosts my self esteem that people think I have a full head of hair, I could in the beginning motivate it like this: "I am just trying something radical, I can always let it grow out again" Many times I wouldn't say the second part, my friends would...
I really have come to believe that the perception of someone being good looking is partly say 50% because of how they are created genetically, hairline, skin color, hair color, cheek bones, fitness level, clothing etc. and the remaining 50% (maybe not 50%, but largely) is all how much confidence you display, without being cocky of course...
Not having to worry about "being discovered" using a system, not having to glue, clean, be careful in rain wind and when removing helmets. Just being my real and honest self really boosted my self esteem, and after a few weeks almost everyone (over 90%) including my doubtful father who liked the system solution for me, said that I looked better sly, comparing it with how I looked with the system. This boosted my confidence even further and I am currently a much happier person as a result. The MBP was the root of my entire depression, and all of a sudden it was gone...
My recommendations for feeling good about being sly are a few tips for improving your other areas of attraction, some might not need this, but it has helped me a lot.
1. Working out
I work out 3-4 times a week, never less than 3 times unless I am very sick. Being healthy and looking healthy boosts my self esteem and helps your attraction on the primal level, being fit is a sign of good genetics, At least that is what I believe.
2. Shave often
I can (because of my blonde hair I guess) get away with shaving one day, skip the second day and then shave again the third and repeat without showing my hairline. But I almost always end up shaving every day simply because I want there to be no chance of people seeing my hairline and I feel better when I can pull my hand over my head feeling absolutely sly, people like to feel that as well and I encourage them to, especially the girls
Also shaving every day makes it easier to shave because your hair doesn't get as long (yes you notice the difference) and you get good at it much faster)
3. Tan (With care)
This one many of you might disagree with, because of skin cancer and all that. I respect that opinion. But for me I think that a slight tan adds to the healthy look, not being sickly pale white. Also at my age I still have a slight issue with pimples. And the most effective method I have found for getting rid of them is tanning! So tanning is a double purpose for me, adding some color and removing pimples.
4. Shave with care
The method I prefer
-Hot water
-Shaving cream
-Shave
-Clean blade with hot water after almost every stroke
-Wash of remaining cream
-A lot of cold (The colder the better for me) water all over your head
-Dry with towel
-After shave balm (odorless I prefer atleast)
5. Embarrassing tip...
My eyebrows are kind of dark, in the middle, but gets brighter at the ends. I have come to understand that this is not very attractive and so now I color them (not too much...) but to a fuller brown color. I also pluck alone hairs to create a stronger border. I must sound silly now but I want to do everything I can to boost my self esteem, being confident is for me much easier than faking it.
6. Do what you want to do..
This is not supposed as a must follow guide, this is my story and my tips. In the end you can do whatever you want to do. I just remember reading the success stories from this site, and peoples encouragement was the sole reason that I took the leap which changed my life forever. I just want to give back to this site for that reason. Offering the objective of a 20yr old who was buried in depression about MBP, it really was the central part of my life.
Summary:
Thanks to this site I with a bad MBP at a young age went completely sly, it changed my life and turned my confidence from rock bottom to the higher end of the scale. I am now a much happier person and will probably never consider any sort of transplantation or laser. I am very thankful to this site and its members!
One extra thank you to those who have had a transplantations and have shared their experiences on this forum, some even with pictures. I found these posts very helpful and I am thankful that you people shared this information for those of us who have previously or still are considering a transplantation.
And as promised, my short product reviews!
Headblade with triple blades:
I started out with the headblade, and I am glad I did. It helps with the angle and reduces the risk of cutting, although I did twice with it anyway... Later on I came to find that I shave much better with my mach3.
Gillette Mach3
I really like this one, easy to shave with, doesn't cut skin if careful even at bumps and pimples. Gives a close enough shave for me at least and one stroke is usually enough in contrast to the headblade which I usually had to drag at least two times on every area.
Headslick
I must be honest and say that I did not like this one. It did give a good soapy glide but I had to apply so much of it, over and over. And after just seconds the "foam" would somehow disappear from my head and I would have to apply more, I do not know if I maybe used it wrong but I did not like it.
L300 shaving gel
I do not know if this is a local brand or not but I really like the sort of air pressured gel which foams when exposed to a looser pressure and water, stays on my head foamed for long and gives a smooth ride.
L300 after shave balm
This is the odorless after shave I use, sometimes it really hurts to apply this, but it really helps against red spots and whatever so it is totally worth using.
Absolute Dry (Not shaving related)
Thought I had to share this, take this wherever you think you sweat a lot (usually the armpit) once a week and you wont break a drop of sweat in that area, even when working out, NOT A DROP! I was surprised and now I only use a ordinary deodorant on nicer occasions simply because I do not need it...
As I warned in the beginning this did indeed become a long post, I couldn't care less if you read it all, I just hope someone found it useful. Because the situation I was in before seeing this site was not pleasant and I wish none to be in it. I didn't even need to count the 30 days sly trial run, I had a feeling right away that this was permanent for me, and now I know it is!
Approx 6 months sly, hopefully another 60 or so years to go. All thanks to SBG!
Thanks!
