Hello and introduction

[Bencito]

Hi there,

I have been a long-time reader of this forum and finally decided to introduce myself. This forum is a wealth of information for people considering or maintaining the bald look, regardless of whether they are bald by choice or choose to embrace baldness and their hair loss.  I have increased my confidence about the bald look by reading the stories and experiences in this forum.

I like the bald look on other men and think it is a clean, masculine look. I have wanted to shave my head bald for a long time. I shaved my head a few times in the past but never kept it mainly due to the time it took to shave a full head of hair with a razor and other people’s reaction.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the barber shop shut down, I seriously thought of shaving my head again, and asked my barber for a head shave before the shutdown. Since then, I have been shaving my head almost daily and decided to keep it as my look. Sometimes I get the urge to regrow my hair because I still have a full head of hair, especially when I see sharp, short haircuts on other guys. However, after one or two days of stubble, I would be itching to shave my head clean again.

After close to three years of being bald, I am confident enough to make it official. I renewed my driver’s license with my bald picture and asked the registry agent to change the hair colour to bald. I will renew my passport photo in a few years and will have an updated photo to match the bald look.

I use an electric shaver, and it is easy and convenient to maintain the look. I think that I have been saving time and money since adopting the bald look. I use the Andis foil shaver and really like it. I also like the Remington Balder Pro. I use the Nivea Aftershave balm to soothe my scalp. My scalp used to be very itchy and flaky when I had hair during the cold Canadian winter. This problem is almost gone now that I shave my head bald daily.

[Razorhead]

@Bencito welcome to the forum. I think you look great with your shaved head. And congratulations on your three year anniversary. I wish we met you earlier! Once you change your drivers license you are official.  when I shaved my full head of hair it was in the early 2000s when a lot of guys were shaving their full heads of hair. It was very fashionable to do so. But I can appreciate the apprehension some full headed hair guys may have today.

But I have regrown my hair to try a haircut trend and then ended up shaving again. I’ve done this repeatedly. I like the flexibility. But I always come back to a shaved head. It’s just easier. I say if you have a full head of hair….enjoy both worlds.

Congrats again. Hope to see you around.

PS…. I like your choices in eyewear!

[reddog]

Looking good young man! Welcome to the bald brotherhood, great choice.

[slybeard]

Welcome, the shaved head looks great on you!

[Semi-Sly]

Yep! Its a keeper!

Congrats and welcome.


Share your journey with us.  Are your friends and family used to the new you?

[Bencito]

Thanks so much for the nice comments and welcome. I appreciate it. This forum has helped me a lot in adopting the bald look.

@Razorhead Yes, I agree with you. It is nice to change things up from time to time, including hairstyle. When I was in high school, shaved heads and buzzcuts were in vogue. I still remember that time. I do plan on keeping my head shaved as my main look.

I got a new optician and she recommended me to try something new, hence the new eyewear.

@reddog you are very kind. I am older than I look. I am in my late 40s.

@Semi-Sly I first shaved my head a few times when I was young (around university), the reactions were pretty negative. My mom was pretty mad about it. Most people in my life did not like it. That was one of the reasons why I did not adopt the bald look earlier. Over the course of 20 years, I have gained more weight and I feel more comfortable with the bald look. I have always kept my hair very short before I adopted the bald look. I also shaved my head a few times when I was on vacation and had some good barbershop straight razor head shave experiences. This helped me build up confidence over the year.

When I shaved my head in 2020, people were pretty surprised but did not say a lot. I think society has become more open minded about individual choices. The pandemic also gave me an opportunity to do something I wanted to do but was reluctant/ afraid to. I hardly get direct comments - good or bad regarding my shaved bald head.  Sometimes I was asked whether I would grow my hair back, and I said no. Guys who have male pattern baldness tend to wonder a bit more because they want to grow hair themselves but have lost most of it.

I did get some funny comments. They are rare and I have no issues.

When I was in a hot springs on vacation, a young child saw me across the swimming pool and screamed - dad, no hair!!  The dad was quite embarrassed and told the kid to not say anything. I laughed a bit.

When I was on vacation in Iceland, an older American gentleman asked me whether I was a monk with my head all shaved. 😊 I told him I just liked it.

Another time when I was on vacation, my tour mate jokingly said that I had a monk look. We had a laugh.
 
When I was having a working lunch at a restaurant with my colleagues, I saw a young balding guy with a combover who kept looking at me. I think many men still struggle with hair loss to a degree. It takes quite a bit of time and confidence to adopt the bald look, whether it is by choice or by nature.

[Razorhead]

@Bencito i like you confidence. And your shaved head looks great on you. One of the surprising outcomes about shaving is that overtime as you meet new people, take a new job, or move, eventually everyone in your life that you interact with on a daily basis will only know you as being bald. It’s fun to show pictures of myself with hair to people who never new me with hair. Last summer at Home Depot, I ran into an old neighbor who always new me as being bald. She said “I thought it was you, I’d recognize that perfect bald head anywhere”. Eventually you are just the bald guy.I love it.

[Bencito]

@Razorhead Thanks for your comments and encouragement. I also like your confidence and positivity about your bald head. Being confident about being bald is a work in progress for me, even though it has been three years since I have been bald, and I really like my shaved head. Sometimes it is strange to look at myself with a shaved head rather than hair, but this feeling is fading. Now whenever I see my older photos with hair, they start to look strange. I think that society as a whole prefers men with hair to being bald, and that is why it can be a struggle to be bald, whether by choice or by nature. Of course, nowadays people in general are good about individual choices, and that may be why I hardly get any comments.

Yes, there are newer people who have only seen me as a bald guy!

[cmac]

Pictures look awesome, being bald was meant for you. I have been bald by choice for three months now and really relate to your story. I always thought bald guys looked so cool and I really wanted to become one but I felt like I should not since I have a full head of hair. Like you I shaved multiple times before committing to it and now I can’t go a couple days without shaving. looks great welcome to the club!

[Bencito]

@cmac Thanks. You look great with your shaved head. I think you look good with hair as well. I read your posts and found them interesting because I can relate to your story too. How did you feel when you went to the barbershop to ask for a head shave? This must have been quite an exciting experience. I have done this a few times and found them to be enjoyable. Like you, I want to keep my head clean shaven, and usually I shave my head every day. It is hard to go beyond two days for me. All the best.

[Razorhead]

Sometimes it is strange to look at myself with a shaved head rather than hair, but this feeling is fading. Now whenever I see my older photos with hair, they start to look strange. I think that society as a whole prefers men with hair to being bald, and that is why it can be a struggle to be bald, whether by choice or by nature.

@Bencito   I‘be been shaving since 2007. During that time I did regrow my hair and shave again and repeat. Although I am used to being bald, I still find myself surprised that I shave my head and love doing it. Imguees it’s because it’s a daily ritual. I will look in the mirror and catch myself thinking “who is that melon head” all with a laugh. I think my hair hair days are over. In my mid 50s, being bald is just easy.  I am not sure how so society feels about bald vs hair. I think there is just general acceptance of baldness in all forms. I think we are more self conscious about ourselves when in reality no one everyone else isn’t taking notice. To any guy who wants to be bald by choice, I say just do it.

[cmac]

@Bencito it was a great experience! I was a little nervous but as soon as I asked for the smooth shave the barber ran the clippers right down the middle of my head and there was no going back. I talked to the barber about how i had always wanted to be bald while he shaved my head and he said some guys are just like that and he does a lot of head shaves. I agree with @Razorhead if you want to be bald you should just be bald. Once the idea pops into your head its like an itch that has to be scratched. There should be a term for bald by choice guys who now can’t go a couple of days without shaving. I feel like I am bald but no longer by choice after shaving so long, I don’t think I could get myself to grow it back for long without compulsively grabbing the razor. I am not complaining though, i am a bald guy to everyone in my life at this point. Fresh barbershop head shaved photo attached.

[Razorhead]

@cmac that is an amazingly smooth head shave at the barbers. What’s his process? Straight razor and foil shaver combined or just a razor?

Love your story about the barber running the clippers straight down the middle and there was no turning back. My first shave I did it myself in the bathroom. I was excited but very nervous. I took my first swipe with the razor across the side of my head. I guess I was probably thinking that I can probably save myself with a bald fade. Then in a flash, my thinking became “this is your first time shaving. Take it like a man and go right up the middle”. So up the middle I went. So worth it.

[Bencito]

@Razorhead  well said, and thanks for sharing your experience. I agree that our society has come a long way towards acceptance of baldness. That may be why I have not got a lot of comments since I shaved my head regularly. Of course, this varies with different cultures and societies. It seems like it gets easier with age. Yes, we are lucky to be able to enjoy this great style (bald by choice)!

@cmac  this looks like a good, smooth head shave at your barbershop. I have had a few of them, and it was nice to be pampered. I had them before I decided to maintain the bald look. I want to go for one from time to time but I also like the convenience of shaving my head myself.

Below are some of my experiences.

Some barbers would only do clipper head shaves.

One barber was very surprised when I asked for a straight razor head shave. He used the clippers to buzz around the sides before buzzing the top of my head. He asked a few times whether I wanted a full straight razor head shave before proceeding.

Another time, another barber did not hesitate to run the clippers down the middle of my head and lather it up after I asked for a straight razor head shave. Afterwards, he used the straight razor to dry shave the rought spots.

The most enjoyable one I had was in Istanbul, Turkey. The barber gently confirmed that I wanted to have a straight razor head shave before running the clippers down the middle of my head and buzzing my hair off. Then he lathered my head up and shaved my head with a straight razor twice before washing it and applying aftershave.

Similar to you, I have not been able to grow out my hair since I decided to adopt the bald look as my main look. The longest I have lasted was around 5 days and it felt very unkempt for me.  That is also why I decided to renew my driver’s license with the bald look because I want my ID to match with my look as a bald guy.

[Sir Harry]

Late to the party, but welcome!