Thinking on doing it today (Done!)

[Frontier Guy]

That photo's taking quite a while to develop :-)

[kalbo]

Welcome to the bald brotherhood Slyer. You  have the head and the face that can rock the shaved look. Looking forward to the hair liberation and the pic.

[Andrei]

Welcome!

Enjoy the barber shave experience and let us know how it went.
Don't worry with the girlfriend, at start it might be a surprise, but you will see that you will both like it.

[Slyfive]

Welcome Slyer, the others have touched on it, but it really is the mental burden that warrants the shave rather than the physical appearance, you'll look great I'm sure!

[Slyer]

OK guys, just as planned... IT WAS DONE!!!



Before and after:



Sorry for the delay, I had planned to post the picture last night, but I got home kinda late (things developed differently), and had no chance.

It's 7:50 AM, and here I am, first thing of the day...

The story:

Went to the barber, and I had to wait like an hour for my turn. Lucky enough I had a good book with me... Anyway, the moment came (by the way, no doubts in my head -pun unintended- whatsoever during the wait time). The barber has known me for a while:

Barber:-What are we doing today?
Me: - Cut to zero.
- hahaha no, come on...
- I'm serious
- haha nice one... So, what are we doing...
- Dude... zero... zepo... nada!
- hahaha you'll have to go to another barber then... haha OK, what are we doing??
- I want to have it cut to zero man, seriously
(by this time the whole situation was very amusing )
- Are you really being serious??
- Completely!
- How about we try short but, something else
- Zero!!!

Ok, the conversation went on for 10 minutes, with him trying to convince me on doing "something else", and I was laughing so hard, which didn't help on showing him how serious I was.... hahahahaha (I'm still laughing at the whole thing)

So once he realized I wasn't going to change my mind, he got the clippers and started... But with a Number 4 clipper!!
-See? you could cut it short, like this...
- ZEEEERRRROOOO !!!!

And THEN he started!!

It was a lot of fun and a great feeling to start seeing my MIND freeing from all those "thin moments of useless thoughts"...
The barber, as you can tell, was at first reluctant, but we finally had a lot of fun, doing crazy cuts and shapes and laughing about it... Even at a point I started complaining really loud (there were other customers around):
- How could you do such a thing!!! I said short, but NOT THIS SHORT!!! How are you going to fix this now (and he played along)
- But I though you meant this....
Everybody who was talking was now staring at us ... until the barber broke in laughter and told them we were playing around.

Ok, so that's the barber story... Now my girlfriend:

Went to pick her up from her dance class. As she is approaching the car she can't see me (it's dark in the night), and she tries to open the car door, and I, instead of unlocking it, roll down the window... She immediately thought she was at the wrong car!! hahaha So she backed off, and after a second she goes: "my boyfriend!!!!!!" hahaaha  
That's when I opened the door

to make the story short (after making it so long):

THIS FEELS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm super happy with how this feels. Sleeping with no hair was a whole new experience... 100 times better!! The freedom I'm experiencing at this moment is exhilarating!

I also like how it looks, and my girlfriend ended up liking it too. At first it was sort of shocking for her, because she works at a hospital and subconsciously associates a shaved head with not so nice thoughts... but then she digged it... she even lent me her sun glasses for my sly look!  

I really want to thank all of you guys for encouraging me to go do it. You were all right, it's something that has to be done!

I do want to know what you guys think of it.

2 technical things:

1) You'll notice there's a shadow... this is as far as the clippers could go, the barber really put a lot of effort to go for zero. But my hair is quite dark, and with a light skin I think the only way to make the shadow disappear is with a razor. But even with that it will be hard. I can't make my facial hair shadow disappear with shaving... If you know how, point me in the right direction (although I don't mind the shadow... as I said, hair is not something I want to think about)

2) Please point me in the right direction (forum posts) where I can read about keeping this look for 30 d... years!!   I'm thinking on buying some clippers...

Ok, I'll post this now...

[leighmundo40]

Wow! you did it! And it really suits you! Good for you!

Other guys will be able to answer your questions about shadow etc, though I have to say, for me, I like the shadow look.

Glad it turned out all alright for you!

You remind me a bit of a young Keanu Reaves!

[Sly Red]

Barbers simply don't want to buzz guys' heads 'cause you'll figure out how easy it is to do it for yourself.

If you get antsy for a shorter buzz, Oster makes blades to cut as short as 00000 (Five Zero).  Your barber probably won't have any blades to cut that short.

I say go completely Sly, at least once. 

Red

[Frontier Guy]

Congratulations Slyer, you look great. The look with the sunglasses is very good, but I think without would be even better - you've got a great face (eyes) and everything works well together.

As for the shadow ... if you've got dark hair, it's going to happen and you are going to be the only one who really notices it. It'll be there for anyone to see, but you'll be the only one who cares. A good friend of mine has a really pronounced shadow and it's just part of his "look." I think you just accept it and move on.

Then, when your hair turns lighter (or 'gray' like mine) the shadow will disappear.

You can maintain the current stubble length using clippers or you can go "baby butt smooth" by shaving. I start every morning with stubble and am transformed into BBS after an encounter with the HeadBlade. If you think going to "zero" was awesome, you have a much more thrilling experience waiting - when your scalp is slippery slick. Incredible. [You might try shaving, at least once, before you invest in clippers. If you find the smooooth look appealing you'll have saved the cost of the clippers; if smooth isn't quite right you'll be back to stubble in a couple of days.]

There are lots of threads here which talk about shave routines, best blades, exfoliants, after shaves, sunscreens, pre-shave oils, etc. What I've learned over my extensive (four months) Sly journey - you have to experiment and find what works best for you and what you enjoy. You are unique and it's unlikely anyone else's choices will mirror yours. So don't be afraid to experiment. Even when you find something you like you may occasionally want to try something different for comparison - just might be better.

But the bottom line is "Congratulations" to you. You went into this with a great attitude, you had a terrific experience with the barber and the girlfriend's reaction, and you're poised to shine to everyone else in your world.

My recommendations: Commit to the 30-day challenge (which I think you have). If you move towards head shaving (which I encourage) do that on a regular (daily if possible) basis which will toughen your scalp, develop the muscle skills which are a little different, and provide a consistent look for you and everyone else to become accustomed to.

And, finally, please continue posting here of your experience, reactions from others, things which surprise (or puzzle) you about being Sly. Because it is your experience which will substantially empower others to rediscover themselves in the Sly world.

[waine]

Hello Slyer

Welcome to this awesome site.  Your profile pic shows that you have long thick hair.  Probably the most hair that I have seen on a guy who has visited this site and who is contemplating going bald.  But if you are losing some strands of that nice long hair, there is no reason why you cannot go sly.  It was one of the most exhilarating things that I and many others here ever did in their lives.

[warhawk]

Hi Slyer:   Welcome 2 the sly fraternity.  Glad that ya joined us.  Your new look is a keeper.  U look like a natural.  Remember to keep it for the "30 day rule".  It is an "unwritten" rule on SBG in which the new head shaver must maintain the sly look for 30 days straight.  After the 30day rule the new head shaver will either decide to keep it smooth or grow it out.  As you probably know... most if not all decide to keep it smooth.

Keep us posted to your road to slyness,

WARHAWK

[-Doug-]

Welcome!! That's a big difference and I'm glad you and your GF like it.

[balddaniel]

I think the new look makes you look more mature.  Not too keen on the sunglasses, just my opinion  

[Sir Harry]

Welcome, Slyer! Nice transformation there, though the long hair wasn't too bad, either...but you wear the sly look well!

[Slyer]

I can't thank you ALL enough for your positive comments and support!

I will complete the 30 day challenge (of course). And also will study the best way shave my head with a razor or get the Oster OOOOO zeros. I know shaving my head periodically won't work for me, since it'll be a lot of work and time, and as I mentioned, the whole point of why I'm doing this is to stop thinking about hair. So probably those good clipper will be the way to go for the long term; but I will definitely try the razor AT LEAST once.

Of course as soon I'll be posting any news here.

For what is worth, let me tell you that my impression on the SBG community is VERY positive. People trying to help and encourage, in the most friendly manner. THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE.

I hope my experience can encourage others to do it on the VERY SAME DAY they start thinking about it.

We'll keep in touch!!

PS: Maybe I should now change my avatar to the new me?

[Laser Man]

Good job! I'm glad you and your girlfriend like the "new" you. 

I suggest you try the fully shaving your head at least once during your 30 days.  While it may not look much different than a very short buzz, a shaved head feels completely different than a buzz.  And it's really not much work - in fact if you look around the site, you'll see that most of us really enjoy and look forward to the daily ritual of shaving.  It's not that we worry about hair, it's just that we enjoy the slick feeling of a smoothly-shaved head.

Whatever you choose, I applaud you for taking control of things and not letting hair control your life!