Recently shaved and ambivalent - page 1 -

• Recently shaved and ambivalent by thenewbaldy on 29 Jan, 2008 20:55
• Hey guys,
  
  I am a new member of this forum. Recently discovered it, you've got a nice community going on here Anyway, I recently started shaving my head and I am not sure if I should keep it or not. I am 24 years old and has been losing my hair since 18. It has started to become pretty noticeable so I went ahead and shaved it 5 months ago. I had not obsessed over my hairloss or anything like that before. I wanted to see how it looked. And here is my problem: I am not sure how it looks I mean, some people said it looked very good (including family), and some people did not think it was that good. And the interesting thing is that I am seeing a different face whenever I look in a mirror. Sometimes I feel like it looks very good, sometimes I think that it is awful. I am not sure why I feel that way. I feel like that girl in one Seinfeld episode who looked drastically different under different lightings I've started to develop this into an obsession and I don't want this. So guys what do you think? Is it normal for me to feel that way or is it simply because I can not accept the truth that I do not look good with a shaved head? Has anyone felt insecurities like that when they shaved their heads?
  
  Thanks!
• #1 by BALDANDRE on 29 Jan, 2008 22:04
• First off, welcome.
  
  Second we or anyone else can't make you dig it.
  
  So five months slick bald  and you're not sure...hmmm, I say grow it back and see if you like THAT better...not a buzzcut, but a style of some kind, eventhough it's thinned out and not so nice....
  
  then maybe you'll THINK the old you looked better...
  
  I bet you'll choose the bald version of you...
  
  Always bet on bald bro...
  
  I say shave it ,post a pic and hang out a while!
• #2 by Tyler on 29 Jan, 2008 23:45
• Welcome to Sly Bald Guys new baldy.  If you're looking for our honest opinion on how we think you look, it would be good to see a pic.  Though, I echo what BaldAndre said.  It's really going to come down to what you think.
• #3 by warhawk on 30 Jan, 2008 00:19
• thenewbaldy...welcome 2 the sly fraternity.  glad that ya found us.  wow...u have been wearing the smooooth noggin' 4 about 5 months and your unsure of the look.  like baldandre stated earlier...if u r unsure (after 5 months) than try growing it out & decide if u like your dome with hair or if u like it smooooth.  whatever your decision will b...i hope that u can come 2 a style that u will luv.  my bet is that u will prefer being slick and smooooth. anyways... hope u stick around & b an active member of the best site on the internet.   
  
  WARHAWK
• #4 by JDog on 30 Jan, 2008 03:14
• Welcome to the site NewBaldy.
  
  What the other guys have mentioned is as best advice as I can give. I've been slick bald for nearly 14 months and my wife still gives me grief about it.80 percent of people say it looks awesome ,the other 20 or so say I look older and better with hair. Well I like it and that is what is important so I guess you gotta just do what feels you.
  
  Always keep in mind that not every single person you meet or know is going to dig a bald head.
• #5 by Mikekoz13 on 30 Jan, 2008 04:56
• Welcome NEWBALDY..... Like the others brothers said.... you can't force yourself to like the look. But I'll bet it looks better than that thinning hair. Post before and after photos for us if you can.
  
  
  
                                                     Mike
• #6 by SLYinKC on 30 Jan, 2008 06:11
• Welcome Newbaldy.  The other guys have made some great points.  To be honest with you, I still have my days I get those feelings.  But then I look at pics right before I shaved and realize it is the best thing for me.  It's only when I remember my younger days before any of the hairloss started that I even think about wanting hair.  Just make sure that you're not longing for something that is long gone.
• #7 by ugabulldog on 30 Jan, 2008 06:39
• Agreed, agreed..... I have shaved and grown my hair back several times, just because I like a change. I used to have really long hair (when thicker) and cutting that off took two years to grow that back as opposed to the two months now.
• #8 by D.A.L.U.I. on 30 Jan, 2008 08:34
• There's one thing about this site I really appreciate, I find that thoughts that I've had aren't unique at all.  It's going on 4 months sly, and 5 months buzzed.  Before that, my hair "style" hadn't changed since I was in college.  My thought is that most men don't change hair styles often or easily any more than they would change their wallet until it is literally falling apart.  It's one thing that distinguishes us from the ladies.  When I buzzed, then shaved, it was a once in a lifetime experience.  Sure I'd thought of it, but doing it, ye gods it just doesn't happen w/ men. 
  
  Well lately I had some thoughts of change again.  What twice in a lifetime?  Then, on a cold and rainy day, I was in the elevator lobby on my floor, and the windows were like mirrors due to the darkness outside.  It became clear, late in the day, even these poor mirrors showed the outlines of the shadow, and that shadow tells all.  If I did grow it back, I'd be a balding man, thin on top, fringe on the side.  Change???  For me, as a MPB male, it isn't really a choice unless I can endure that fringe, the "thins" on top, etc.  Quickly I remembered, never a compliment about that, neither how good it looked or how "young" that made me look.  Never any compliments, and damn it, it's nice being complimented on my appearance, that's new too.  I'm not giving it up.
• #9 by PigPen on 30 Jan, 2008 08:49
• Welcome, I say give it at least a month. Post a pic too, so we can give you an honest opinion
• #10 by schro on 30 Jan, 2008 09:17
• Wow, 5 months huh?
  Every once in a while, I have doubts as to whether or not going sly is right for me. The most important person in my life (the Lovely Mrs. Schro) hates the look on me. That really bums me out, but since I suffer from a bad scalp condition that completely goes away when I shave the dome, keeping it sly is a necessity. Be thankful your family likes the look on you.
  
  Also, I should mention that I was like you in that I really didn't care about my MPB prior to going sly. But, now that I am sly, I really prefer the look. Rarely do I wear a hat now. I show the dome with a sense of pride!
  
  Without getting too psychoanalytical, it really comes down to how YOU view it.
• #11 by X The Hierophant on 30 Jan, 2008 09:37
• Quote from: BALDANDRE on 29 Jan, 2008 22:04

  First off, welcome.
  
  Second we or anyone else can't make you dig it.
  
  So five months slick bald  and you're not sure...hmmm, I say grow it back and see if you like THAT better...not a buzzcut, but a style of some kind, eventhough it's thinned out and not so nice....
  
  then maybe you'll THINK the old you looked better...
  
  I bet you'll choose the bald version of you...
  
  Always bet on bald bro...
  
  I say shave it ,post a pic and hang out a while!
  

  
  I agree with Andre on this one.
  
  A pic would help us give you external opinions however...
  
  At any rate, welcome to the forum 
• #12 by Marz on 30 Jan, 2008 09:58
• Welcome!
  
  I cant really add anything that has not been said already.
  
  SBG's are wise, they speak truths.
• #13 by bonanza50 on 30 Jan, 2008 12:50
• I did not realize how much hair I had until I shaved it off. I don't recognize myself and my daughter says it's scary.
  
  I still belive in the look and will stick it out. The old look was, fankly - old.
• #14 by Cameron on 31 Jan, 2008 19:13
• Everything else being equal, I've also found that a shaved pate is certainly a conversation starter.  That certainly can't be said for almost any kind of reasonable hair-do!  Definitely, its something that sets you out, and a lot of the time, isn't that even better than pleasing everyone?  We're the purple thread in the otherwise white toga, so to speak.  I find that quite cool.