Friends, Family and some observations

[gadgetwizard]

Now two weeks into my 30 days confirmed Sly..

Had a family get together at the weekend which i found interesting. So far my comments from work had been very positive indeed. This weekend was my chance to show off the bald look to my siblings and family friends

The reactions were very mixed, more mixed than at work. They went from "wow..no hair"! to "oh did you do it for a bet?" to "Oh i liked you better with hair"

All of the "you looked better with hair" came from the older generation. Which might is probably something to do with bald heads usually being associated with illness in the past.

By the end of the day everyone had accepted that this is me now except one older family friend who left at the end of the day with the final comment "grow your hair back, i liked it better"...which of course i won't

So, so far so good. This is better than i ever expected. Although i'm not shaving daily as i was the first week, i prefer to leave it about 2 days as the extra stubble length seems to make the shave easier. I do find that with my face though so it must be my hair type.

Still can't stop looking at myself in the mirror either. 

[geeman]

yep. .its always family or "close" friends who feel obliged to comment....my elderly aunt...who is well known amongst family for her opinions...told me that I should grow my hair back as "she" didnt like it...I replied...funny...I dont remember asking you for fashion advice....that's me off her Christmas card list...she hasn't felt the need to offer her advice since....

[Crowbar]

I didn't get one positive comment from any of my family, it has been either no comment, or negative, and my mum saying straight out regularly like an announcement that she hates it

Strangely this was really good for me as it reminded me of the fact that seeking approval or acceptance from others to find happiness will always lead to heartache.

When I had hair I was often seeking approval, I have been told that part of learning the way of Sly and becoming a "Black Belt Sly Master" is to learn that all the happiness comes from within and to not to need that approval anymore.

[wutwutman]

I think shaved heads must be more common in the Black community overall.  I see tons of them daily.  When I shaved mine, it was actually a couple of days before folks really noticed.  Most comments were "Oh you shaved your head?", "Did you use Magic Shave?", "You going to keep it shaved?".

I have yet to receive a negative comment from anyone including family.  Of course my Grandmother hasn't seen it yet so.. LOL  As far as women... the comments have been VERY positive so I know I made the right choice

[baldjoeg]

Good for you Geeman. You look awesome. I really like your new picture.

[Cave Dweller]

My wife and kids liked the smooth head the day I shaved it. When I showed it to my parents, however, my mother's statement after "Oh!" was "You'll probably want to grow it back."

My dad, who supported just about everything I did, told her to be quiet.

My mom has since come around and actually said she is starting to like me bald.

[geeman]

Cheers Joe :-)

[calbito]

...  seeking approval or acceptance from others to find happiness will always lead to heartache.

Truer words were never spoken.  And not just about hair, but about all facets of life.

[buddha]

All of the "you looked better with hair" came from the older generation. Which might is probably something to do with bald heads usually being associated with illness in the past.

By the end of the day everyone had accepted that this is me now except one older family friend who left at the end of the day with the final comment "grow your hair back, i liked it better"...which of course i won't

As kind of an old fart myself (60) I'll go out on a limb and guess that the reason that some old farts like to make comments like this I because they are unable to adapt to most things that are new to them. They have taken way too literally the adage that "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". Change frightens these people although they'll deny that. It's kinda like the old cartoon where a woman is commenting to her husband about a neighbor's bad taste in furniture. He asked her to define bad taste as opposed to the good. "Oh, that's easy", she explained. "What I like is good taste and what I don't like is bad taste."
If you ignore them long enough they'll eventually dry up and blow away.

[g_bald]

I am curious how my family will be. I am sure my mom will tell me she doesn't like it (when cut short before she would say how she liked it long, and it was just as short, if not shorter, the next time). My father will probably be ambivalent about it. I think my uncle will be a little shocked but accept it. The rest of the family are a bit younger so they will probably accept it.

We have a get together a week from Sunday, we'll see how it goes...

[Michael]

My wife and kids liked the smooth head the day I shaved it. When I showed it to my parents, however, my mother's statement after "Oh!" was "You'll probably want to grow it back."

My dad, who supported just about everything I did, told her to be quiet.

My mom has since come around and actually said she is starting to like me bald.

Had the exact same experience!  Due to the flu? I was laid up in bed for a couple weeks while my wife went to a conference. I the beard and head grow (BBC), the boss came home and without missing a beat said, "Shave it!" 

[EarlBald]

I have had very few reactions the times I shaved my head.  This summer, I shaved just before going to a gay beach bed and breakfast.  When I told a couple of guys that I had shaved my head but probably would let my hair grow out, they said, "You should keep it shaved--it looks really hot!" Hmmm, that ought to be a good incentive!

BTW, I grew it back for about a month, shaved again, grew it back again, shaved recently, and ... I'm in day 12 of the 30-day rule.  My mother used to make negative remarks, but she's getting more and more out of it.  This weekend, she looked at me sternly and asked, "What happened to you?"  My sister and her friend said (in a borderline neutral/positive tone), "He cut all his hair off."  It went past my mother, who said, "You were supposed to be here an hour ago!"  The best remark came from a friend of hers (she wasn't with us), who asked me how she was doing (not all that well, unfortunately).  The friend looked at me in a motherly way and said (beaming, actually), "You know, you look really healthy.  This is the best you've looked in a long time!"  I assume it wasn't because I had lost weight (no), changed my facial hair (no), dressed differently (no), or pumped up my physique (no, again).  I think that the look is here to stay this time.