Greetings!

[Alcibiades]

The poet Horace once said,

"The years, as they pass, plunder us of one thing after another." 

I'm 29. I'm a part-time artist and full-time staff member in the University of Alabama's Department of Chemistry, where I'll also be a post-graduate Freshman in the Spring of 2014. Between my responsibilities at work and my pursuing a BA in History with a Minor in Latin or Anthropology, I can hardly expect my hair to hold out much longer against the combined forces of stress and heredity.

I asked my barber about giving me a good ol' buzzcut, but he wasn't too hot about that. My hair is fine enough to tell my head isn't perfectly shaped. He suggested I just see him more often and continue to keep my hair cut really neat and thin. I feel really great with the thin haircut he's giving me, but I am so pressed for time that I cannot keep it up. Not to mention the issue of money.

Did any of you guys get a similar "you don't really want to don't want to do this" type response from your barber on the subject of buzzing/shaving?

[Mr Jules]

"I can hardly expect my hair to hold out much longer against the combined forces of stress and heredity. "

Then you have come to the right place, Alcibiades.

Considering the 30 day shaving trial.
More here: http://www2.slybaldguys.com/smf/index.php?topic=12256.0

[Darren67]

Hey man welcome
 On the subject of money and time, shaving ur head or even buzzing it is way cheaper than going to a barber and way quicker.
My barber seemed reluctant when I mentioned that I wanted to cut my hair short so about a month after I went, I just bought some clippers and did it myself and to be honest if felt so good. I saved so much money as well ha ha which is always awesome. And one night before work my clippers broke half way through cutting my hair so I really had no choice but to shave it. Then I shaved it for about 18 months, grew it back out to see what it looked like and now I'm gonna shave it again.
So welcome and hope u stick around

[Sir Harry]

Welcome aboard! As has been said many times, if you give it a try and don't like it, you can always grow it back...Good luck!

[slymyke]

Welcome!   I think the barber doesn't want you to learn that you can buzz your own hair.   It wouldn't be in his best interest.   lol.

[TheSlyBear]

There's a word for barbers who won't cut your hair as you like: fired.

[Mikekoz13]

I have a similar story but with a happier result. Not quite about when I went SLY but:

I had long hair..... almost shoulder length but it was getting so very thin on top. I was on my way to my softball game one very hot Summer day and decided to stop by the shop where I had been getting my hair cut for several years.

I sat in the chair said to the girl that always cut my hair, "Let's try something different this time". "Let's cut it all off but about an inch and spike that inch on the top of my head" (this was about 13 years ago when the spike thing was still cool).

She was shocked.... but she did it. When she was done I said, "Well what do you think?". She said, "It doesn't look good because you're hair is so thin on top. I think you should let me buzz it all down to about an 1/8 of an inch all over while you're here".

I said, "Go ahead"....and she did. It was a few years before I went SLY but this was the first step with a "barber" that wasn't worried about filling his own pockets but was more worried about what would look best on me.

Dude... if you want to shave it, don't let your barber or anyone else make your choice for you.

[Mike E. P.]

I asked my barber about giving me a good ol' buzzcut, but he wasn't too hot about that.e
Did any of you guys get a similar "you don't really want to don't want to do this" type response from your barber on the subject of buzzing/shaving?

Who's working for who here? Welcome Alcibiades! I used to get so pissed because my barber would charge me the same price for a 5 minute buzz that he would charge guys with a full head of 25 minute hair styling. Get a clipper and do it yourself.And like all the guys have said, if you don't like it, grow it back.  Not paying a barber anymore is a sweet thing!  And no one has a perfectly shaped head!  Good luck!

[mrzed]

If you don't want to pay the barber, just buzz your own hair. At a #2 or #1 it is very easy to do. Does not take much time and in 2-3 hair cuts, you've paid for the clippers.

Now once you are going that short, might as well remove the guard and just buzz it down shorter and you'll realize that SLY is the say to to.  It feels fantastic as you rub your freshly shaved head with your hands.  Looks sharp too.  I get comments "You look like a professor". Working at University, this might be a nice compliment.

[Cave Dweller]

Welcome Alcibiades!

I like the forty-eight star flag. I still have one my grandfather flew in the 40's.

Like the other gentlemen have said, a good barber will give you his opinion if the style you want to go with doesn't work for your hair type. I am not so sure about yours, though.

Few of us have perfectly shaped heads. (I sure don't.) What most of us found out, though, is that we were the only ones who really noticed anything about our respective imperfections. If you want to buzz it, then do it.

[clipped]

I guess that I am one of the lucky ones who had a barber (young, but he owned an old fashioned type barber shop) who suggested a buzzcut as I was thinning. I stuck with him for a long time, as I was taking my son for his haircuts, and enjoyed the barber shop atmosphere. Over several years I went from a short businessman regular to a #2, #1, bare blade, and finally a #00000. Along the way, I tried a flat top (luckily) before I was too thin to do that (I had always wanted one as a kid, but parents were against it).  Finally, one day as he was trimming the last attempted winter flat top, he said that he "just couldn't do much with what I had left on top anymore" and said that he thought that I should just clippershave it all off.  He also said that he thought that I had a good shaped head for a super tight buzz.  I never looked back. (I do have a dent, a 1" scar from a fall down the stairs as a kid, and a bump or two that add character.) Eventually, I bought my own Andis clipper and now clippershave (occasional razor shaver) myself....#000000 in the summer and #1 in the winter.  No regrets....a really cool barber!

[wpruitt]

Welcome

[Alcibiades]

Thanks everyone for the kind words - I really like this community, very supportive.

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING!