New member looking for trimming advice

[Nea]

Hi everyone !
I've been lurking here for a few days now but this is my first post so I'll try to keep it concise :

I've been receding (which I'm okay with) since I was 15, but the thinning also started in the crown area about 2 years ago and has gotten pretty bad over the last months (the whole top of my head now).

I have thought about buzzing my hair for quite a while now, as it will represent some kind of transition state between my current hair and razor-shaved-bald (which I know will come to be my style when I get a bit older - I'm 21). I'll go to a music festival with friends in exactly a week, and since showering/hygiene is often an issue in those places, I figured I might as well just buzz my head and my beard before leaving.

Which FINALLY brings me to the meat of the subject : I am kind of nervous before this big, sudden change in my appearance, and I would really like not to mess it up. I have an electric trimmer that I usually use for my beard, and I intend to trim my hair by myself.  Do you guys have some advice to give on how to (or how not to) buzz your hair ? I was thinking about a #1 and maybe #1.5 on the top of my head ?

Thanks in advance and have a lovely day !

[Tyler]

Hi @Nea congrats on making the decision to buzz your hair down.  Start with the 1.5 and see how it looks and then you can buzz it down further if you'd like. Though, if you're going to a festival, you may want to buzz it down to a 1 as it will grow back to a 1.5 while you're at the festival.

In regards to buzzing, it's easier if you use full on clippers instead of a beard trimmer, but if a beard trimmer is all that you have then it will work. It will just take more passes.

[Nea]

Thanks a lot Tyler ! I'll start with a 1.5 and decrease depending on how it looks then. Do you think I should wash my hair before ? Trim dry hair ?

Again, thank you for the advise

[DoberDaddy]

Wash your hair, only if it's oily, as oily hair will potentially muck up the clippers.

Since you said "beard" trimmer, it may not be sufficient to do the job.

I would go to a good barber, this way, you can get your nape cleaned up properly, and you can try going down in stages. Also, he/she can properly fade your beard into your sideburns.