going back to hair??

[tomgallagher]

To thine own self be true pardner. They will get used to it.

[SlickEric]

As a fellow biker, I understand exactly what you're saying. This is all new to you. Give being a sly biker some more time. Maybe in two weeks you'll be able to embrace your slickdome and be rid of any lingering doubts.

Eric

[zzaapp]

As the Philosopher, Richard Nelson once said, "You can't please everyone, so you gotta please yourself..."

[kman3]

I've really had a hard time in the past two years dealing with increased thinning of my hair and more receding of my hair line.  I hate it!  I started complaining to my wife about it and she sent away for Bosley pamphlets and I seriously thought about Propecia or Rogaine or anything, but I also had a hard time with the idea of throwing money at my head in the name of vanity for the rest of my life.  So, earlier this year, I decided I would shave my head for the St. Baldricks Foundation and so if I hated my shaved head, I would at least have done it for a good cause and would begin growing it back.....well, after having my wife and kids shave my head with a razor down to stubble, my first reaction was, oh, damn, my head looks like an egg....I had spent all my years having my haircut  in such a way that it would not look like an egg!   After a couple days, I realized what convienience having no hair was like...I used to have to take a shower everyday because my hair would be so greasy and stuck in bed head formation that only a shower could make me presentable for work...now I could go every other day (this was while the weather was still nice and cool!).  Then I broke my foot skateboarding and having short hair was helpful in that I didn't need to hop in the shower everyday.  The look grew on me, yet I was still unsure if it looked better on me than my hair did...so I didn't get the reactions of women wanting to touch my head, but I did have a guy rub it once (not the same).  I also just got polite reactions to my headshave...like, it will always grow back or looks good...but nothing where I felt, heck yeah, this looks good on me.  I had one balding guy ask me why I would want to shave my head because I had a cone head....great, not the comment I needed....my mother-in-law said it added 10 years to me...again, not a positive comment....so I asked in my myspace blog what I should do, grow it back or keep shaving....my wife said why shave it if you still have some hair, a friend told me that not everybody can pull off a slick bald look, but that I should keep some stubble....those were the only comments...so I decided to start growing it back...well, that was not as easy as I thought, there is a point during the growback where it is VERY VERY obvious that the top of my head is thinning and I absolutely hate it!  It makes me feel so much older and it really bothers me....so I start getting antsy to shave again, but my son tells me that when I shave my head, he doesn't like it because I look like a monster..he is 5 years old...my 2 year old daughter says I should shave it....so I hold off for a couple weeks on the shave because I don't want my son thinking I look like a monster, who does?  Then I had one person at work, ask my why I haven't  shaved my head again and that it really suited me and that I should really shave it again.....okay, that really felt like someone actually thought I looked better with a shaved head....the thinning hair on top was really bugging me, hurting my self confidence, so I took out the razor a couple nights ago and buzzed it off....I feel so much better now that my stubble is all the same length....I really wanted to grow it back out, but I just can't seem to get past this stage where the top just is so obviously thin....I guess that means when I had my hair long, I was really pushing my hair into positions to cover up the thinning....I hadn't really realized that was what I was doing...wait, that's a lie, i knew I was trying to hide my thinning all along....well, I am happy again...I hate that I care so much about what others think, but I can't help it, I want to look good and if a shaved head makes me look terrible, then I want hair...but shaving does save money and grooming time and I never get bed head or hat head anymore!   Here are some pics of my journey....what do you all think?  I've been reading your posts for 2 years now, but never joined the sly club until now...

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Life is a journey, and the hair part of your journey is over, stay sly, looks clean, neat, strong.   

[BALDANDRE]

Welcome Kman..

quite honestly the best pic on the photogrind is the one with you razored smooth!

I would go smooth brutha..it looks great on ya!

[Stu]

Kman, welcome.  There are some guys that really have a hard time pulling off the look, but you are not one of them.  The thinning hair makes you look much older.  I think your mother-in-law needs some good glasses because in nearly every case, when guys (especially balding guys) get rid of their hair, they lose years.  You look much more youthful (and happy) with the shaved head.  You seem to have discovered all of the benefits of the look, so it sounds like you just need to go full steam ahead and say that this is the new you... no more worries.

[kman3]

Hey, thanks guys for all your positive comments!  I really like not having to worry so much about my hair all the time and putting product in my hair to style it how I like it and watching it get thinner every year, month, week, day....it just gets so insane, even now, I'm obsessing with how I look with a shaved head, constantly looking in the mirror, taking pics from different angles so I can see how I look to others.....talk about self esteem issues...sheesh!   or rather self image issues.  At least I have no hair to fuss with....I spent hours in front of the mirror styling my hair just so...and trying to cover the thinning is a losing battle and gets harder every year....I just need to do what feels right to me and not worry so much about what others think.  But I'm glad I finally made a post on this forum to get your guys input....I consider you all the guru's of baldness...you all know where it's at.  I'm pretty sure I'm gonna at least keep the buzz with no guard just because I have found going slick takes so much more effort from my experience doing it the last couple times, although I have to admit, I liked going all the way sly the best and I personally thought it looked better than leaving stubble.  Thanks again guys!

[IRDSM]

Hey man! You look MUCH better smooth. I know the shaving bit seems like a chore, but people keep saying you can cut the time down to 5-10 minutes a day to stay slick, and I've already gotten it down from 20-ish to 15 minutes. If you stick with it it may become easier and easier, and it's totally worth it  Besides, after a few weeks it will probably become so routine you won't even notice it anymore.

Dan

[yak]

IRDSM - I shave in the shower, it literally takes me about 2 minutes to shave with the headblade, I shave everyday so there is not much to come off.  If I waited a few days in between shaves it would probably take a little longer.  Keep it up fellas ...Nothing like a smooth dome! 

[Rob]

hey: you're looking good, what more could you ask?   Just keep at it and you'll wonder how you ever let it grow before!  Welcome to SBG's

[Razor X]

Don't be a Jesse Ventura or a Billy Zane, kman.

[kman3]

RazorX, I just looked up some pics or Billy Zane cuz I thought he had a full head of hair, but I am thinking of that Titanic movie he was in....well, I googled him and found out that he has been balding for a long time and just wears wigs and stuff when he does movies.  Who knew?  And as far as I remember, Jesse Ventura when he was wrestling sported a skullet and as governer, he was all sly, am I wrong?  But I think I know what you mean, i saw a pic of Billy Zane with his hair growing back some and it looked aweful up front and I would say my hair looks aweful up front as it grows in because it's thinning and that's a fact.  I guess you guys are right, my time with a full healthy head of hair is in the past...now I can choose to have a thinning head of hair that looks horrible or do as my friend says, mow it down.   The choice is obvious...well, I'm glad I shaved again...i've gotten more positive responses this time...I bet it is because everyone witnessed my nasty thinning spot up front which I think I covered up pretty well when I had longer hair...and they were not expecting my hair to grow back with thinning spots.  I'll definitly try shaving with a blade again, or maybe with my norelco, that actually worked pretty well...my profile pic is shaved with the Norelco!   It looks like a close shave but feels kinda rough...but I have shaved with a Mach3 a couple times and it feels nice and smooth....boy, hats sure fit kinda funny with a shaved head, they cling like crazy to your head....this time I shaved, I have been proudly sporting it and not wearing a hat like before....I figured it would look more natural if I let some sun hit it (but not too much sun, since I have a family history of skin cancer)...I'll need to start rubbin on the SPF soon...  I have not tried to shave in the shower yet because a couple days after I shaved my head for the first time, I broke my foot skateboarding and shaving in the shower was just way to physically challenging with also having a bag on my foot hanging my leg out the shower door...such fun guys!  but after 11 weeks in a cast now, doc finally let me just wear an ACE bandage so maybe I'll try that shaving int he shower bit now...do you have to keep putting more shaving cream on?  Do you shave with the water just spraying on your head?

[Razor X]

RazorX, I just looked up some pics or Billy Zane cuz I thought he had a full head of hair, but I am thinking of that Titanic movie he was in....well, I googled him and found out that he has been balding for a long time and just wears wigs and stuff when he does movies.  Who knew?  And as far as I remember, Jesse Ventura when he was wrestling sported a skullet and as governer, he was all sly, am I wrong? 

They both used to be cool sly guys and for some reason both of them chose to grow back their MPB fringes.   

I think BZ used to shave a relatively full head of hair and grow it back for film roles.  Now he's got pretty advanced MPB so probably has to wear wigs.  Can't figure out why he isn't shaved the rest of the time anymore.  It was a good look for him.

Glad to hear that we've got you back on-board.   

[skinhead002]

I've really had a hard time in the past two years dealing with increased thinning of my hair and more receding of my hair line.  I hate it!  I started complaining to my wife about it and she sent away for Bosley pamphlets and I seriously thought about Propecia or Rogaine or anything, but I also had a hard time with the idea of throwing money at my head in the name of vanity for the rest of my life.  So, earlier this year, I decided I would shave my head for the St. Baldricks Foundation and so if I hated my shaved head, I would at least have done it for a good cause and would begin growing it back.....well, after having my wife and kids shave my head with a razor down to stubble, my first reaction was, oh, damn, my head looks like an egg....I had spent all my years having my haircut  in such a way that it would not look like an egg!   After a couple days, I realized what convienience having no hair was like...I used to have to take a shower everyday because my hair would be so greasy and stuck in bed head formation that only a shower could make me presentable for work...now I could go every other day (this was while the weather was still nice and cool!).  Then I broke my foot skateboarding and having short hair was helpful in that I didn't need to hop in the shower everyday.  The look grew on me, yet I was still unsure if it looked better on me than my hair did...so I didn't get the reactions of women wanting to touch my head, but I did have a guy rub it once (not the same).  I also just got polite reactions to my headshave...like, it will always grow back or looks good...but nothing where I felt, heck yeah, this looks good on me.  I had one balding guy ask me why I would want to shave my head because I had a cone head....great, not the comment I needed....my mother-in-law said it added 10 years to me...again, not a positive comment....so I asked in my myspace blog what I should do, grow it back or keep shaving....my wife said why shave it if you still have some hair, a friend told me that not everybody can pull off a slick bald look, but that I should keep some stubble....those were the only comments...so I decided to start growing it back...well, that was not as easy as I thought, there is a point during the growback where it is VERY VERY obvious that the top of my head is thinning and I absolutely hate it!  It makes me feel so much older and it really bothers me....so I start getting antsy to shave again, but my son tells me that when I shave my head, he doesn't like it because I look like a monster..he is 5 years old...my 2 year old daughter says I should shave it....so I hold off for a couple weeks on the shave because I don't want my son thinking I look like a monster, who does?  Then I had one person at work, ask my why I haven't  shaved my head again and that it really suited me and that I should really shave it again.....okay, that really felt like someone actually thought I looked better with a shaved head....the thinning hair on top was really bugging me, hurting my self confidence, so I took out the razor a couple nights ago and buzzed it off....I feel so much better now that my stubble is all the same length....I really wanted to grow it back out, but I just can't seem to get past this stage where the top just is so obviously thin....I guess that means when I had my hair long, I was really pushing my hair into positions to cover up the thinning....I hadn't really realized that was what I was doing...wait, that's a lie, i knew I was trying to hide my thinning all along....well, I am happy again...I hate that I care so much about what others think, but I can't help it, I want to look good and if a shaved head makes me look terrible, then I want hair...but shaving does save money and grooming time and I never get bed head or hat head anymore!   Here are some pics of my journey....what do you all think?  I've been reading your posts for 2 years now, but never joined the sly club until now...

Best photo there is the one totally slick-of course!!  Dont think you have a cone head from your pictures.  My freshly shaved head looks like a waxed bowling ball and have been told so on numerous occasions.  I get called everything. If someone calls you a bald conehead who cares?  regards, skinhead002