Just Do It

[Northernlion]

Seriously.

(this applies mostly to guys with MPB/thinning)

If you've ever considered shaving your head to the point where you've found yourself on this forum, just do it. Don't hmm and haw about it, go for it. Go to the nearest drug store, buy a Headblade, come back, clip yourself down, and shave it off. Don't give yourself a chance to think about it. Shaving your head is a HAIRSTYLE change. It happens to be one of the few hairstyles that offers a ton of other benefits but it is still just hair. By clinging to tumbleweeds you're giving credence to society's notion that BALD is BAD. Is this the attitude you want to have? Just do it.

Why do people always come to this forum and look for assurance? They always come with doubts and look for people to give them that little extra nudge towards slyness. Nobody comes in and tells the truth which is usually, "My hair loss is causing me so much pain that I searched out an online support group for bald guys. I'm so tired of looking like Woody Allen when it's windy out and people keep telling me I look 20 years older than I actually am" because if they typed that the answer would be obvious. Look deep within yourself and think about all the pain your thinning hair is causing you. If it didn't hurt, you wouldn't be here. Going sly will rid you of that pain. Just do it.

Some common excuses/walls:

I think my head might be shaped weird because I can feel bumps/I had forceps as a baby/whatever
Yeah well unfortunately nobody has invented a "Hair-Ray" that will show you exactly what your head looks like when you're bald so I guess there's only one way to find out. Some guys do find out that their head is shaped really bad but the vast majority are good. And if you're balding anyway, what are you going to do about it? Embrace the image.

I'm worried about the reactions I'll receive from my friends/wife/family/people on the street
The truth here is that the vast majority of reactions are either good or just questioning. If anybody close to you has a really bad reaction then maybe they're not the kind of person you should be with. This is important to you (if it wasn't, you wouldn't be here).

I'm too young
I started balding at 17, shaved it off at 19 (where I am now). There are people who have gone bald younger than me but very, very few. All of my friends still have complete, thick coverage. The truth is slyness looks fantastic on young guys. You'll stick out -- wear it with confidence.

I'm still single and I'm worried girls won't like me
The example I always bring up here is Neil Strauss who in his 30s shaved off his super MPB hair and went on to become the most famous pickup artist in the world (author of "The Game"). The truth is that going bald will probably not hurt your chances with women and in the vast majority of cases will HELP you because it will ramp up your confidence to the extreme. Plus, the headrub.

My line of work prevents me from doing it
Then why are you wasting your time here? All I can say is that in almost all fields there's no way they can fire you for shaving your head unless they want a really stupid lawsuit on their hands.

The simple fact of the matter is that if you've ever thought about shaving your head due to hair loss, you HAVE to do it. At best you might have, what, 7-10 years of increasingly diminishing coverage? Go for it, love the look, f*ck everyone else that doesn't have the confidence to rock it like you will. Be proud and, above all else,

Just do it. 

[Tyler]

Amen!

[kristian]

If you've ever considered shaving your head to the point where you've found yourself on this forum, just do it.

Yep, I agree with that 100%

[william]

Seriously.

(this applies mostly to guys with MPB/thinning)


Why do people always come to this forum and look for assurance? They always come with doubts and look for people to give them that little extra nudge towards slyness. Nobody comes in and tells the truth which is usually, "My hair loss is causing me so much pain that I searched out an online support group for bald guys. I'm so tired of looking like Woody Allen when it's windy out and people keep telling me I look 20 years older than I actually am" because if they typed that the answer would be obvious. Look deep within yourself and think about all the pain your thinning hair is causing you. If it didn't hurt, you wouldn't be here. Going sly will rid you of that pain. Just do it.

I understand that you think like this. But for all of us it seems to be more of a self confidence problem than the hair loss, which we blame it on. We simply can't accept ourselves or the new look, with no hair. And it takes time for some of us to realize this. We are questioning ourselves too much.

Most of us are hiding this problem for our friends/family, why it's easier to talk and discuss here. And guess what, this forum rocks, here is a lot of different people with different experiences. Seems that there is always someone that can encourage one to understand that hair loss is just a matter of self confidence. We have all been raised different and we all deal with problems different thats why one wanna tell you their story so its easier to talk/discuss about the problem. I mean, I don' think anyone would get any helpful replies if they wouldn't tell about how they felt about their problems.


Just do it ? Easier said than done, I'm afraid.

[Razor X]

Just do it ? Easier said than done, I'm afraid.

Not really.  I know it can seem that way in the beginning.  There are hundreds of excuses why you can't shave your head -- your family/employer won't like it, your head shape isn't right, you're too fat, thin, short, tall, pale,dark, etc., etc.   But at some point you realize that they are just excuses.  Are your friends and family going to disown you because you shaved your head?  Is it going to cause you to get fired?  Is it going to irreparably damage your life?  Probably not.  Once you figure that out, it's not so difficult.  If you want to do it badly enough, you'll do it.  And one of the first things you'll realize right after you do, is that the world will keep on turning and that most people aren't going to care all that much.

[dagenhamjim]

And if it all goes wrong (which it wont) you can always cry on our Sly shoulders!

[BALDANDRE]

And if it all goes wrong (which it wont) you can always cry on our Sly shoulders!

Or...and most times this is the case...it goes "RIGHT" and you live a more confident, healthy life!

Really...it's only hair...and it is only a change in "haircut" after all!

[william]

Just do it ? Easier said than done, I'm afraid.

Not really.  I know it can seem that way in the beginning.  There are hundreds of excuses why you can't shave your head -- your family/employer won't like it, your head shape isn't right, you're too fat, thin, short, tall, pale,dark, etc., etc.   But at some point you realize that they are just excuses.  Are your friends and family going to disown you because you shaved your head?  Is it going to cause you to get fired?  Is it going to irreparably damage your life?  Probably not.  Once you figure that out, it's not so difficult.  If you want to do it badly enough, you'll do it.  And one of the first things you'll realize right after you do, is that the world will keep on turning and that most people aren't going to care all that much.

Yes, I have finally started to realize this even though it has taken 3years of my life to understand it. If you got a problem you need to clear it up instead of finding excuses. But some people rather find the *solution* in having those excuses, instead of just do it, like you say. It's a process that takes time, we are all different but we cant expect everyone to see the problem from our own perspective even though it is the most logical and reality. Simply takes time for some people.

[Razor X]

It's a process that takes time, we are all different but we cant expect everyone to see the problem from our own perspective even though it is the most logical and reality. Simply takes time for some people.

Absolutely.  Just make it a goal to do it at some point, and when the time is right, you will.

[Northernlion]

If it's a self-confidence issue then shave it off. Thinning hair looks bad, much worse than sly.

[Tanizaki]

My line of work prevents me from doing it
Then why are you wasting your time here? All I can say is that in almost all fields there's no way they can fire you for shaving your head unless they want a really stupid lawsuit on their hands.

While I agree that fence-sitting is not the way to go (I just bought clippers on the way home from work one Friday and that was that), most states and most jobs are "at-will employment". That means you can quit for any reason, which also means you can be fired any reason (saved certain legal exceptions like race, sex, and so forth)

Back on point, I work at a fairly conservative law firm (we're all in suits even though many firms have gone to business casual), and I got positive reviews all around, especially from the young female staff. A week after I came in with my shaved dome, my friend in the office next to me (almost no MPB) went to his old jarhead (he's a retired Marine).

[Sly Red]

You enabler you ! 

It's great when people are able to embrace their own personal look isn't it.  Tanizaki, glad you've embraced your sly self once again.

Red