Hey! Thinking about going sly...

[mikey06]

Hey, my name is Mike and I just found this site the other week. I'm 19 soon to be 20 and already losing my hair. I've been thinking about shaving my head since my receding hair line just looks ridiculous and it's been ruining my life. Hopefully I don't write to much but here is my story of how things began...

Well when I was 18 I noticed my hair line was receding and I knew I was destined to be bald since my brother is pretty much bald in his late 20's. At the time it only receded maybe a centimeter or 2 and wasn't really noticable. I looked up treatments when I first turned 19 a little bit and planned to do something about it later down the road because at that time I was battling acne. I had acne throughout my teens but it didn't bother me as much and wasn't as bad. For some reason it got worse after I turned 19 and my skin was totaly destroyed from an acne treatment I used for a few years that's similar to Proactive. I messed around with different treatments for a while and pretty much because depressed about it. Then finaly after I took a holistic route of changing my diet I started to see a small improvement. A few months ago I started taking fish oil and getting good fats which really reduced my acne. I finally started to feel decent about my self again and started to get back to my normal self. At this time my hairline receded a little bit more but it still wasn't that bad. I started to look up more treatments for hair loss and deceided to go on Saw Palmetto for the hell of it until I went to the doctor to ask about Propecia(Finasteride). I was on SP for a few months but during that time my hairline seemed to be receding faster. Then once I new more about treaments and what not I got off SP and got on Finasteride about a month ago. During this time when my hairline was continuing  to disappear I started getting depressed again and not going out much anymore just like I did when I had the acne problem. Well now here I am... Don't have a job anymore and I feel like total crap about my self. My life is horrilbe right now. My hairline hasn't receded insanely bad but it's an inch or so up from where it used to be and being able to see my head through a part of my temples doesn't make me feel to good.

After I found this site the other week I've been thinking about going sly. I've been around skateboarding most of my life and one of my favorite pros shaves his head bald. I always kind of liked his look/style. If I do I'm going to have to wait until it gets warmer out cause I'd really like to cut my hair with a #2 and get some sun so I don't have a pasty white head or anything. lol I'm not sure how good it would look because I think my ears/nose/height would ruin it for me...what do you guys think? Here's two pics...



The first one is from about 5/6 months ago and the second one is from a few months ago. The pics don't show my receded hairline to well but it has definately become a good bit worse. I'm not sure what to do.

[SLYinKC]

Welcome, Mikey,  Glad you found us and decided to seek our advice.  All of us have been in your same shoes...Wondering what to do with thinning or receding hair.  Actually, the pics don't look too bad.  It looks to me like you've still got lots of choices before you.  My advice would be that if it really bothers you and you've seriously considered shaving it all off, you definitely owe it to yourself to give it a try.  You will probably love it, just like the rest of us. But if not, it will always grow back.  But if you never try it, you'll always wonder if it's the look for you.  So I say why not give it a try.  All of us guys on here think that you'll be hooked for life and will love it.

Best of luck.

[nomad]

Like many here will tell you just give it a try, if it doesn't work for you then it grows back, but as many of us here, you'll be saying why haven't I done this earlier. give it the 30 day trial and you be hooked. I delt with losing my hair to and this is the best thing I could have ever done.I'm glad you found us, we're here for you bro' just keep posting and surf the site for all kinds of great advise.

[KollegeKreed]

I actually think you have a good headshape...why not try a 0 buzz and go from there?

[warhawk]

I've been thinking about shaving my head since my receding hair line just looks ridiculous and it's been ruining my life.

mikey...welcome 2 the sly fraternity.  glad that ya found us.  your pics don't look bad at all....i was expecting 2 C nothing but forehead.  u still have plenty of hair and from the 2 pics your hair looks fine.  however....anytime one has thoughts of shaving their head than U will never B satisfied until U "do the deed", "take the plunge", in other words "scrape that dome smoooooth" with a quality razor.

i say go 4 it!!!  U won't B comfortable until U do it.  after "doing the deed"...U must keep it smooooth for 30 days.  the 30 day trial is the "unwritten" rule on the sly forum.  after 30 days...U will have the answer 2 keep it smooooth or 2 grow it out.  IMO....U will luv the look and U will B thanking us 4 encouraging U 2 shave your noggin'.  anyways....keep us posted 2 your road 2 slyness.

WARHAWK

[wpruitt]

Old saying here ... Nothing ventured, nothing gained! 

[mikey06]

Thanks for the support! I know the pics don't show my hairloss at all. I wasn't going to post pics for that reason. The first pic I messed with in a photo program and it just happened to make my hair look like it did when it first started to reced. My hairline has gone up a bit more since those pictures but part of it could be due to shedding from treatments. I'll have to give Finasteride a while to see what that does. I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow and I'll try to get some close ups so I can show how it is now. I would really like to go sly but I'm just affraid that because I've always been a small guy (5'6 120-130lbs) that it might not look right. I'll definately cut it short here in a few months just to get a better idea of how it looks. My hair has always been really thin and not fun to deal with so it would be nice to be able to not have to worry about it. Also, I've been really considering joining the Navy since they offer opportunities in electronics which I took 2 years of in high school. I was suppose to go to a local tech school right out of high school for electronics but I decided to take a year off school which wasn't a smart choice. If I do join the Navy the hairs going to have to come off anyway. I'll definitely hang out here from time to time even though I don't have a chrome dome....yet .

[BALDANDRE]

Hey Mikey...

I think it'll look fine shaved smooth. I think it would give you a cooler skater edge too...

DON'T worry if it will fit your stature ...there is no ONE size fits SLY...by you wearing it with confidence THAT will make it fit with your size...

I'm a little dude too and it NEVER stopped me...

go for it bro...trust me, if you have shaving it all off in your mind, you WONT be satisfied until your slick, bowling ball smooth

[champ007]

Welcome to SBG Mike.
Reading your post I get this picture of you skateboarding with a volcom jacket, hoodie on your head, and just as you go to do a kick-flip up to a ledge to manual, the hoodie falls off your head and you wipe out because you worry more about your hair than the trick.
You are just hitting your 20's and it should be an exiting time. I think that if something bothers you so much that you revolve your life around it, you have to take control and change it. After looking at your pics I agree with the rest of the guys that you will look great shaved. If you read some of the post on here the one thing that sticks out is "I wish I had done it alot sooner!". Don't wait 10 or 15 years and regret it later. Whether your 4'3" or 7'3" tall, Sly doesn't discriminate 
You really don't need to wait for the weather to warm up to get sun, its always there. With the skin issues you discussed you will want to use at least 15spf sunscreen even in the cold months if your not wearing anything.
Read up on some routines posted and if you do shave give it 30 days to decide to keep it or not.
Good luck and keep us up to date on what you decide.

[mikey06]

Welcome to SBG Mike.
Reading your post I get this picture of you skateboarding with a volcom jacket, hoodie on your head, and just as you go to do a kick-flip up to a ledge to manual, the hoodie falls off your head and you wipe out because you worry more about your hair than the trick.

The funny thing about what you wrote is that it's true. lol I actually own a Volcom hoody and wear hoodies a lot. Last time I skated(don't skate as much anymore especially now since it's winter) I wasn't really having as much fun as I normaly would since all I could think about was my hair. I had my hair cut a few days before and my temples seemed to be creeping back more. It seems that's all I really think about anymore. It's horrible. Maybe I should quit being a big baby about it and take it like a man. lol I keep finding more reasons to go sly then to keep my hair. Then I could use a line from the show Seinfeld to lady friends that George says if anyone even knows what I'm talking about. lol

[JDog]

Mikey sometimes you've just gotta jump into the deep.

I say give a headshave a try and worst case scenario, it will grow back in a few days.

[Mikekoz13]

Mike-

       I think you will find shaving your head liberating. yeah, you'll proably worry about what others will say for a few days.... but it's only a few days. Right now your obsessing over your hair daily. A few days versus a daily routine of worrying... seems like an easy choice, huh?

       You can get all the support you'll need in your decision from all the great SLY brothers here.

        ...... and welcome to the Family.......

[Tyler]

Mike, welcome to Sly Bald Guys!  These guys have given you some great advice!

[jmcmana]

Hey bro, I know what it's like, losing it when you're young (I'm 22) - you look around and see all these guys who are totally lame walking around with great hair, and you're just in envy. It sucks because it's not like if you were in your 30's or 40's when your friends would probly be going through the same thing.

But then one November day, with the help of a Gillette Fusion, all those problems went down the drain - literally.

It's great man, and like they've said, if you don't like, everything that's there will grow back.

Look on the bright side, it's much easier to reinvent your look at our young age, take advantage of it.

Also, you may want to give some thought about shaving in the winter. It may be a little chilly, however it forces me to wear a hat (which keeps warm, something I wouldn't be doing if I had hair), and it gives your head a chance to 'toughen up'.There's a little bit of a sensitivity period, and I don't really know if you want to expose your head to the sun in that time frame, likewise if you shave now, your head is probly the same color as your skin - you shave in April or May and you'll probly already have gathered at least a moderate amount of sun.

All in all though, do what makes you happy

Final thought - Propecia is used to grow back hair (I don't think it works, or why would there be so much MPB). Anyways - Propecia is used to grow back hair, but is also known to have sexual side effects. Now, most people use Propecia to keep themselves "attractive" to the opposite sex. What good is earning the girl to have sex with, if Propecia won't let you have sex? Hmmm...

Shave it off and keep your muscles going

[xnewyawka]

Mike, welcome to the SBG site, and I echo what all the bro's have said. You just have to take that leap, and from there you'll be free. I think it will be safe to say you will feel much more at ease. Give it the 30 days like Warhawk says, but I guarantee before those days are up you'll be saying "why didn't I do this sooner?", as most of us here have.

Keep us posted on your progress and look for our many tips in the other sections.