Nothing profound here, just random observations and thoughts. As I get accustomed to the new way of things I find that I am forgetting all the 'learning curve' / initial impressions / 'wow' moments from starting out. Add your own thoughts.Lurkers. There is a lot to discover, to think about, and then make decisions about. Don't get stuck only in gathering information ... something brought you here and caused you to stick around. Make sure you do something with what this site has provided for you.
Even if you're only lurking, at least
Register for an account. It helps the site-admins see how the site is being used (and so get sponsorships / promotions etc and keep the site going), but your account also allows you to track particular conversations and keep up to speed on new posts.
"
Old-timers", thanks for sticking around. There is quite a flow of "guests" through the forum, and some newcomers make their new start and then move on. So, thanks to those who stick at answering the same old questions, and letting each new person feel that they are personally appreciated and helped.
Don't be shy to
give something back to the forum - especially if you feel your contribution adds something helpful, constructive and new. Even if you don't stay around, your post will be helpful to those who come searching after you've moved on.
While the mission is always to attain smoooooth - I've discovered that
I love the Velcro too!! I always try and skip a day a week (face and head - my skin appreciates it).
After whipping a blade around my face for almost three decades, I am finally
learning how to shave properly! Why didn't anyone ever explain this before!
(perhaps I wasn't listening). I was dreading the extended shave routine of face and also head -- but I love it, I look forward to it, I even wake up before my alarm-clock and get started (I thought the novelty would wear off - but I've turned into one of "those morning people"!). A properly hydrated warm lather is absolute magic!!
As a lurker I was a little intimidated reading about guys routines and the long list of accompanying
lotions and potions. I'm in a different country and those brands / products aren't always available (nor cheap!). My strategy to keep it simple and only 'add as required' was helpful. My headblade was my only preparatory purchase - otherwise I made do with what I already had, until I knew what I wanted to add and why.
One big discovery was my
skin! Had hardly noticed it before. Skin cancer is a problem in the family and I've already had bits cut out. Suddenly moisturiser, scrub, sunblock, etc make a lot of sense and are a real help. I've also discovered that stuff made for guys is much nicer for this guy. Slowly I've ditched the products I already had and now have my own intimidating collection of stuff I really like.
When I did the deed I used clippers and my Gillette Fusion - I chose to stick with known tools in unknown territory. But from the next day onwards it's been the
Headblade Sport. A brilliant invention!! I've noticed in several posts that people struggle with it. I think starting out with it helped me; I had to learn the HB and my way around my head simultaneously. Also arm contortion and tiredness is much less of a problem with the HB.
My
apprehension about going sly was
people's comments - I'm used to being on the receiving end of verbal rubbish, but this would relate to something more personal and deeper for me. I worried unnecessarily -- it's all been brilliant (with a bit of fun) and exceptionally positive.
My
fear about going sly was my
head shape. You try and anticipate the final result. You feel with your fingers and your imagination runs riot. I have a crease across the back of my head that makes it look like an axe-murderer almost did me in. There is a bump below that which I thought would look like a second nose, but on the wrong side! I have a ridge marching down the middle of my head that I was convinced would make me look like a rooster (especially with a bit of sunburn). My hope was that people would be too polite to make adverse remarks and just ignore ... in fact I get 'inspected' with some interesting feedback - but nothing negative!! Since going sly I'm quite happy with my head -- inside and out.
A strange dilemma that caught me unawares is the simple personal question:
Am I bald? I still have my hair, it's just cut very short. Some parts are sparse, but the velcro doesn't have patches. I look bald, I relate to baldness, people treat me as being bald, I present myself as a bald person. At an important level I am bald (but with hair lurking just out of sight). I suppose it's about BBC / BBN being perceived as the same thing (which is why we ask each other about that), but the underlying issues are so different.
No-one warned me that going sly would earn me a complimentary pair of
oversized ears! As someone else has said, that makes for excellent profile shadows ... no amorphous blob here!
Shaving your head leaves a sense of nakedness. Not only did I feel uncovered, but I felt that people who knew me were struggling with a sense of encountering nakedness. In different cultures / societies there are boundaries and taboos with nakedness, and I suspect that at a subconscious level this was activated in the 'first re-encounters' with people who know me. Strangers didn't have an issue at all. Also I live and work in an ethnically diverse community, and the responses vary considerably.
The biggest things that come out of all of this!!
Attitude!! Self-confidence!! Revised self-perception!!
Personal holistic connectedness (you own and embrace all of you, as you are, warts and all -- no add-ons, fixes, cover-ups or excuses).
I took my hair off with clippers in the bath (a good tip I found). When I was cleaning up, all my hair fitted into one clenched fist - I couldn't believe there was so little of it, and I suddenly realised that something so small and temporary had caused so much anxiety, uncertainty, doubtfulness, hesitation and concern. I don't want to end up in a place like that again over anything.
