Hi! I am one of the younger slybalds here, almost year after first shaving my head (25th February 2022) and after a year of saying goodbye to my long hair (12th August 2021). As I was born in 2001, you can already guess that I had to do it very early in my life, which by some people would be a reason to give up absolutely. What I want to do here is to write a guide for people who experience hairloss in late teens - early 20s bracket.
1. Accept that you are not 'cursed', 'ill', or 'the only one with this burden'. Even though you are very young, balding can absolutely occur and it's just life. Nothing to be actually ashamed of. Yet accept that your hair will be gone soon and don't delude yourself.
2. Avoid hiding baldness, it is obvious that you are losing your hair. Don't think about fibers and things of that sort: even though it looks phenomenal in Youtube videos, you certainly can't afford and are not willing to go to that kind of barber daily.
3. I recommend going gradually shorter, so you get used to taking care of your hair yourself.
4. When you finally decide to go bald, get yourself a shaving gel and some basic Gillette, don't start by using fancy stuff. I think you will naturally come to think about safety/straight razors and shaving soap with brush. Take your time and accept that you might cut yourself few times. After some time, you will get better at it.
5. Reactions to your baldness will vary and be aware of that. I recieved many positive reactions, some people were not that interested in my shiny dome, and I recieved few negative comments. The key is being confident in your skin and not getting that emotional about your appearance. In time, people will get used to it and you will not be breaking news anymore.
6. You don't have to grow a beard, actually. You might want to keep a stubble or a beard, but it's not mandatory and in case of being late teens/early 20s, it might make you look even older. I personally clean shave both my head and face and I don't feel old anymore because of it.
7. No, being bald won't make you unattractive. I know many people who fear losing their hair as they believe they will be invisible to women. In case of our young age, some girls can actually be interested in your look, as it is uncommon in our age bracket. I was asked many times why am I shaving my head. The truth is though, you should take care of your body and face.
8. Your style will not change that much if you shave your head. In my case, I stopped thinking that some clothes may make me look faggy; bald is masculine so I will look masculine even in a Pusheen T-shirt. I advice against copying bald male models on internet, as many of them are in their 30s or 40s. Take note that you are supposed to represent an estabilished man by then, and in our age bracket you want rather look young and fitting with your peers. Don't think you will look odd; shaved head is just another hairstyle and you should treat is as such, so no need to make yourself older with clothes destined for older men.
9. Embrace being bald: don't be mad when someone calls you bald. You shaved yourself so no shame in that. Don't be worried when you become 'that bald guy', it's just wht you are. In time, you will either like being bald or just get used to it, like I did.
10. Just be yourself. Literally, just be the same person you were before hairloss, don't copy other bald role models like Jason Statham or The Rock or any other. Become a brand of your own, a bald role model you define.
Good comments! Thanks for sharing the knowledge you have gained.
Well put! Truth is that many of your points apply to older guys, too.
I would add a corollary: If you think being bald makes you ugly, then you will feel ugly and project that feeling out to others because ugliness comes from within, not from your hairstyle.
I realized that the hardest part was getting used to seeing myself in the mirror! It took awhile to get used to seeing myself bald and friends, relatives and doctors took awhile to get used to seeing me in the "bald" configuration. Now my only question is: Why? How do people deal with the hair they have? I really don't know how to wash or brush my hair anymore. OH, by the way. A few days ago I was carded so that spoke volumes to me. Sounds kinda silly but it made me feel good!
@clint902 , same with me! After nearly 10 years, I still look in the mirror and am amazed I'm completely bald. Probably because I was 59 yo the first time I shaved, I had a full head of hair for my entire life. Friends, family, and everyone else seemed to accept my new look very quickly. Like we've said many times, nobody really cares if you wear a shaved head, only matters to us.
Agree 100 percent, I was born in 1977; on April 5th 2004, when I had the Straight Razor Head Shave, I decided to conquer my worst insecurities,
I had a couple of friends years ago and they were twins and barely 20 but they both had a big bald circle on the crowns of their heads. I really bothered them but now they are both completely shaved and only about a year younger than I am.
When I was in college (back in the Dark Ages), a friend of mine was rapidly balding. We were merciless with him because this was the era of long hair and he had a big bald spot with thin hair around it. He took it all good-naturedly, saying he was saving his money to buy a good toupee. We fell out of touch after graduating and I had not seen him for years. Well, a couple weeks ago, I got an email newsletter from my alma mater and in it was picture of him with his fringe still in place albeit mostly gray. Here I am, going on twelve years of being bald. I am sure he would get a good laugh if he saw a picture of me now.
I knew guys that shaved their head in their early 20s.
My question for them today is...why didn't you insist I join you lol