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Let it go: go bald/buzzed?

Discussion in 'Tilted Life and Sexuality' started by DamnitAll, Sep 11, 2020.

  1. DamnitAll

    DamnitAll Wait... what?

    Location:
    Central MD
    Last week I came across a story in Men's Health featuring this video compilation of a hundred plus guys who gave up on their thinning hair and fully embraced their baldness, with resounding success.



    While thinning hair and male pattern baldness were once battled with transplants and plugs, spray-on solutions, chemical/medical treatments, and other expensive and heavily involved measures, shaved heads among men are all the rage now, including among several members here. I personally am a huge fan of a buzzcut and have gone so low as the shorter side of a #1 guard, but never beyond.

    Questions for the guys:
    • What's your hair coverage situation currently like? Are you happy with how full your hair is now?
    • If your hair is thinning, are you holding onto it for all it’s worth, and how is that working out for you?
    • If not and you're rocking a shaved head, what inspired you to let it go, and how has that worked out for you?
    Ladies:
    It's not quite the same story for us, is it? While thinning hair is a very real issue among many women, covering it up by any means necessary still seems the prevailing solution, though the shaved head look among women has gained some traction in recent years as well.
    • Have any of you ever shaved your head before? If not, would you ever consider doing so?
    • If it's something you've considered, would your reasons be only medical (e.g., alopecia, chemotherapy, or excessively thinning hair), or would something else compel/convince you to shave your head? If so, what would that be?
    ------------
    Storytime: The first time I rocked a buzzcut was almost twenty years ago. After growing and keeping my hair at below-shoulder length throughout most of high school and college, I wound up with a curly bob during my senior year, which I loved... but it apparently required more maintenance than I was willing to give. For whatever ill-advised reason, I continued to have cheap hair style establishments hack away at it, badly, over the next few years. My hair is curly when there's enough of it to get it cut, and most folks employed by places like Great Clips and the Hair Cuttery—at least the ones I've encountered—don't exactly know how to stylishly cut curly hair without taking the decidedly geriatric approach of cutting it close at the sides and leaving it super pouf-y on top.

    The steady progression of crappy haircuts finally landed me with a terrible grandma cut that was so bad, my exwife's first impulse to take me somewhere else to "get it fixed" was immediately shot down—nobody's going to be able to fix this—and she decided we were heading straight home for her to take care of (i.e., get rid of) it with her set of clippers instead.

    Before:
    before03.jpg

    Twenty minutes and a four guard later (she was being conservative), I was delighted with the results.

    After:
    buzzed01.jpg

    Once exwife was out of the picture and I was left to my own devices, I've come around to doing a decent buzz job on myself, have buzzed it considerably shorter since that first time, and haven't set foot in a salon—or a cheap haircut joint—in years (though I do miss having my hair washed and my scalp massaged). I've grown out my hair to its curly/semi-mullet state a bunch of times since then—more often while exwife and I were together since she was the one wielding the clippers—but I've never felt as sound in my own skin as I do with a buzzcut. Weird.

    In truth, I had first toyed with the idea of shaving my head in high school around Homecoming of my junior year, when underclass football players were hazed with buzzcuts, mohawks, and weird blue dye jobs matching our school's mascot colors. I wanted to shake things up by buzzing off my hair and dyeing what was left royal blue. Knowing just how catastrophic the fallout would have been at home, I clearly opted not to follow through. What amuses me about this is that the few people I shared my idea with cautioned me against it by warning that I might have an oddly shaped head. They assumed I'd instantly regret getting rid of my hair in case my scalp was lumpy or my skull was knobby. Shit... people compliment the shape of my head all the goddamned time now, and I welcome it.

    And yes, please do rub my head.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2020
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  2. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    When I was younger I hated my crazy hair: A widow's peak, two cowlicks, and it grew two inches in thickness for every inch in length. I wanted the parted down the middle, long straight hair look.

    At my age now I'm happy to have hair, and I have no thinning/bald spots or a receding hairline. My wife cuts my hair down to #3 clipper attachment. It's low maintenance, and caps actual fit my size 7 1/2 head (yes, my thick hair does make that much of a difference).

    From what I can tell most of the guys who seriously rock the bald look are good looking anyway, and tend to be very fit.


    I have to add this...I don't understand why a certain public figure and celebrity who is rich (even though his exact claims are extremely questionable) got such ridiculous and poorly done hair plugs.
     
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  3. MrMD069

    MrMD069 Very Tilted Donor

    Location:
    Space
    I transitioned to totally bald probably 10 years ago or so. Between the balding spot in the back and the receding hairline in front, it was time to go full on bald. (I told people that I was going to let the front spot grow out and then mousse it into a unicorn horn)

    I had been buzz cutting it for years and figured, it's only one more, little, step so I took it. Never looked back.
     
    • Like Like x 3
  4. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    Uhh, I might be biased... ;)
    But go for it.
    Unlike me, you can always grow it back.

    Nature took most of mine, back in my mid-20's
    I had a difficult time at first, especially since I had long curly hair.
    Using every gimmick to try to keep it.

    But I got into a bad habit of constantly crunching it...with the product I was using to hide it. Paranoid of high winds and low branches.
    It was when I went on a cruise, while on a snorkeling tour, surrounded by girls, my hat flew off in the water and the wind from the ride blew it all back. Boy, what an ego check. :eek:
    So fortunately, bald had become a look finally with certain celebrities. (bruce willis, michael jordan, etc) You weren't considered radical any more. (I was worried about getting new gigs too)

    It's gone...no way it's coming back. What I have would poof out too, if grown, being curly with nothing to weigh it or balance it out.
    And it's gray now...not even, so it wouldn't look good. (I'm allowed a bit of vanity)

    So I shave, every day...the clean look is a good look. (makes you look younger and more built too)
    Most bald guy sites recommend the method I naturally adopted before seeing theirs...
    Hot shower
    Non-fog mirror
    No lotion
    Good razor
    The shower does most of the cleanup
    The heat and water takes care of the lubrication and exfoliation.
    It's like combing your hair everyday...2 minutes, done. :cool:

    2 tips - I prefer 2 razors - one for the shower for the bulk - 3 bladed but it's not precise. One for the mirror for precision and shaping and cleanup - 2 blades does better for accuracy

    ** 2nd...you can make razors last a LOT longer - just push the blade reverse (not cutting) up a firm surface 10 times (a towel, jeans, your forearm even) - do this every time it gets like your going to change it.
    ** It gets rid of the microhairs that are making it seem not sharp - this is useful for ANYONE that shaved, those things are expensive. :rolleyes:

    Frankly, all you have to do is ignore people who might look. That's the only challenge.
    But if it DOES something for you, fuck 'em.
    Your life. your bod. That's their baggage.

    Like I found I need a beard to balance it out. For me, totally clean is too much...I look like a chubby Mr. Clean and my cheeks are too flushed.
    So the beard contrasts the cheeks, and makes the jaw look sharper.

    It's a matter of tweaking it for you. (since you don't have a beard)

    Try it out.
    Just keep it clean.
    You'll find out if it works for your face and head. (that's important) Everyone is different.
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2020
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  5. MrMD069

    MrMD069 Very Tilted Donor

    Location:
    Space
    Wait, you mean there's two of us? (Bald Mr. Cleans)

    I also grow a beard and then cycle through goatee and fu manchu during the summer. I'm currently in beard growing mode for winter. I start growing it Labor Day. Will get shaved off April 1st.
     
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  6. ralphie250

    ralphie250 Fully Erect Donor

    Location:
    At work..
    i have shaved my head for a few years now. i started to get a bald spot and i hated it. long story short, i went to a REAL barber shop and told him to straight razor it. he did and ive been doing it ever since.

    as far as a beard, i have a full one, and try to keep it looking decent, but sometimes its like fuck it. its not like a zztop beard . just full

    i prefer womens razors for my head.
     
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  7. ralphie250

    ralphie250 Fully Erect Donor

    Location:
    At work..
    their are 3 of us. lol
     
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  8. DamnitAll

    DamnitAll Wait... what?

    Location:
    Central MD
    This might be fodder for another thread, but some other time... I have always been intrigued by the tactics of the marketing juggernaut that is the shaving and personal grooming goods industry. Moving past the hype and advertising jargon, what really are the differences between men's and women's razors—disposable, cartridges, or otherwise—electric shavers/groomers, and shaving cream? It's always struck me as another example of identical goods marketed—and priced—differently for men/boys vs. women/girls, with no essential difference between the two other than the color scheme... and that, to me, is bullshit.

    [​IMG]

    Back to the topic at hand: I, for one, prefer "men's" shaving creams—for my body, not my head—because I like the scents better than the feminine-scented flowery/powdery bullshit that targets my gender demographic. I've never found one fundamentally better suited to my skin/hair than the other.

    And then there's this thing...

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2020
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  9. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    Group photo needed :D.
     
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  10. MrMD069

    MrMD069 Very Tilted Donor

    Location:
    Space
    Here I is...

    20200912_194426.jpg
     
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  11. DamnitAll

    DamnitAll Wait... what?

    Location:
    Central MD
    We may need @MeltedMetalGlob’s (in)famous Photoshop skills to make this happen.
     
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  12. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    The most grooming that I worry about and is annoying...
    I have to shave/razor my ears now. (nose for some reason stopped) but my ears get tuffy now.
    So I have little electric clippers to get in there. (razors are safe, just not really effective...need too much area to get a good stroke in, that's a small weird layout)
    You'd be surprised how challenging it is to find a quality tiny clipper. (most are cheap and made to break or not function)

    I saw a older guy that let it go...all I did was stare at his ears, couldn't focus on his words.
    Refused to be "that guy" so I do it once a month - besides those SOBs itch like crazy. :rolleyes:

    The Head is easy and a no brainer by comparison (no pun intended)
     
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  13. DamnitAll

    DamnitAll Wait... what?

    Location:
    Central MD
    Two days in.

    ADBDA03C-F435-4043-931B-B67E6A5B7B6F.jpeg
     
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  14. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    I worked at a sandwich shop near the Univ of Houston. One professor was a regular, an affable & funny guy...who had a large wooly caterpillar in each ear.
     
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  15. MeltedMetalGlob

    MeltedMetalGlob Resident Loser Donor

    Location:
    Who cares, really?
    For some reason the tag didn't show up and notify me.

    Ah, well- better late than never!
    [​IMG]

    Although to be precise, that picture of me is outdated now- my hair has grown back considerably.
     
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  16. ralphie250

    ralphie250 Fully Erect Donor

    Location:
    At work..
    0917200729.jpg

    Sent from my VS996 using Tapatalk
     
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  17. ralphie250

    ralphie250 Fully Erect Donor

    Location:
    At work..
    and with the picture above, i normally shave it every other day.
     
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