Hello everyone,
I have lurked here on occasion for the past few years. I admire you all who sport the bald head with confidence. I actually think there is some inherent confidence in the bald look, I am not sure how to describe the aesthetic qualities other than that. It looks strong and aggressive, yet relaxed and confident. It looks very IDGAF to me, but in a good way. I think I would like to shave bald, but I'm having hesitancy.
Here is my situation.
I am 20, male, NW3, pretty fair skin, freckled, shorter side of average height, in OK shape. I honestly very much dislike my hair as of right now, and I have for a while. I have been balding since I was 15. Been a NW3 since I was 18, not sure if it has progressed much or not I don't have pics to compare. Right now my hair is long. Hair transplant is out of the question, and I don't want to go down the road of trying to treat my hair loss with medications and techniques unless the bald look just does not work well for me and I cannot live with it.
My hold ups:
Like every other guy, I am worried about my skull shape. I can feel these 2 bumps on either side of the top/back of my head, and a dip between them. I believe it is called parietal eminence. Can any slyguys attest that they feel this on their head, and their head looks fine bald? This, right now, Is probably the thing stopping me the most. I can't find any pictures online of bald guys with what I feel on my head. I imagine it would be most visible from the back, if it's even visible at all.
I think I have very sensitive skin. When I shave my face, I use a DE aggressive comb, and even when I don't cut myself, the area I shave becomes red and stays that way for a while. Really anything that rubs against my skin for an extended period of time makes it red. I don't want to be walking around with a very red bald head. I actually find I cut myself much less with the aggressive comb opposed to the one the razor came with. Worth trying first with the aggressive comb if/when I shave my head?
I am only 20, and I am worried about the shock of seeing a 20 year old bald guy. I kind of want the attention from uniquely being a young bald man, but only if my head looks good.
The reaction from my friends might be brutal, as they are not balding and enjoy making fun of those with receding hairlines and thinning.
I'm especially worried about the reactions from my family, as the men in my family do lose their hair, but they all hang on to it, even when there's little to hang onto. No one is shaved bald aside from 1 uncle who I rarely ever see and lives across the country.
I'm pretty sure I will develop freckles or sun spots or whatever they're called on my head because I am fair skinned and I develop them on my arms and face from sun exposure, and i'm not sure if that is going to look bad or not on my bald head.
If it goes wrong and the look doesn't suit me and I can't live with it, I have to have a horrible looking NW3 hairline for who knows how long.
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I believe it when you all write about the confidence boost it gives you, and I want that feeling. I am just so worried I will dislike my appearance after shaving and that is going to drive my confidence down further. As you can probably tell from how long this is, I am close to shaving. Thank you for reading my long, rambling, anxiety inducing post. I look forward to any wisdom and advice you all have to share.
Fyi, nearly everyone is apprehensive about the first headshave. Bottom line, you'll never know if you like the bald look until you try it. If you hate it, it will grow back, and you can see what you look like with a buzzcut.
That being said, if you decide to go for it, with your sensitive skin, maybe try a foil electric shaved at first. It's much easier on the skin and you could ease into a razor.
Most of us here love sporting a smooth shaved head. It's just not for everyone, but now that you considered trying the baldie haircut, you'll always wonder how you will look.
You have nothing to loose with giving it a try. It sounds like your friends are already giving you a hard time because you are loosing your hair, so give it a go and see how you like it. Head shape will not be an issue unless you make it an issue.
We all had to first take that big leap of faith. You can ask all the questions you want , but until you shave you will never know the answers. You could start with a short buzz cut. Give it a try!
Try going progressively shorter with buzz cuts and see for you look. That way you can get a better idea of your head shape. When you get down to a 1 or a zero, you'll have a good approximation of being bald.
As for your friends' comments, brace yourself for the worst, but after a while, they will probably stop.
Well I wasn't that young when I started losing my hair I was about 20, but it did take me another 35 years to shave it off big mistake fact is though you'll just find it is not that big of deal it's just who you are and you're the same person you were, but I also recommend that you check out a YouTube channel called bald cafe a lot of young guys on there and it gives you more face-to-face interaction then just chat although this is a great site you might find it a little more helpful for your age group good luck best regards, Ty.
With regards to your friends they're already razzing you actually you'll take away their thunder by just taking it off and I think you'll find it will stop very quickly and honestly they're probly not being as mean spirited about it as it might appear. I think we're all will sense that to our thinning hair I know I was.