For the past 30 years (I am a 53 year old guy) I have combed my hair back and secured it with a rubber band. When the pony tail reached mid-back length, I’d cut half of it off with kitchen shears. This was a combination of laziness and dislike of having my hair cut.
Then, earlier this summer my SO had an early diagnosis of breast cancer. After lumpectomy she was dealing with the thought of chemo. I offered that I would shave my head and we could do the bald thing together. Happily, oncogenetic typing of the cancer has lead to her not needing chemo, but I had psyched myself up for head shaving so I went and did it.
Any hints/tips? I shaved Friday for the first time, again on Sunday and Monday. I have been putting a hot, wet washcloth on my dome for a few minutes, lathering up with shaving gel, then using my Mach III Turbo and it has gone well.
I have been doing the top part toward the back, the sides in an up direction, then the back upwards.
Questions:
How do you do the back of your head?
Do you apply anything after shaving?
How often? (the smooth feel is great, I was tempted to shave twice on Sunday)
How long before you could glance in a mirror and not chuckle?
Uhoh. It’s been nearly four days and I’m still laughing. My gf also, and she keeps calling me CBD (crazy bald dude).
“Make it so Number One” I’ve said this to my gf several times over the weekend. I thought it was clever. Turns out she had no clue (she never saw star trek) and I had to find video on youtube.
“How do you do the back of your head?”
Feel and sound. You can hear hair being shaved when it’s on your head.
“Do you apply anything after shaving?”
No. I use shaving soap with a badger brush, an adjustable double edge razor and Astra blades. That seems to be enough to give a close, comfortable shave.
“How often? (the smooth feel is great, I was tempted to shave twice on Sunday)”
I prefer the peach fuzz thing. I do it once a week.
“How long before you could glance in a mirror and not chuckle?”
I used to cut my hair with a clipper on the 0 setting. It wasn’t all that strange to switch to a razor which I did for the sake of convenience. I had started using a clipper because my hierarchical superior at my job kept telling to get my hair shorter.
How long does it take you all to shave your head from getting out the razor to putting it away?
I don’t know if I’ll ever reach that day. See, I have vitiligo affecting the backs of my hands and my forehead. I guess I’ll try short times in the sun and see if I tan at all.
I’ve been shaving my head for 10 years now. Some things I’ve learned:
Use a Fusion razor and shave in the shower
Go with the grain, then against it. Multiple passes are the key
Nivia makes some good after-shave lotions that are SPF 15 to boot.
Never be more than 5 ft. from a hat. Tanning of any sort is contra-indicated, and you’ll burn your dome faster than you can imagine. respect the skin cancer and always wear a hat.
I shave my head in the shower, using a Good Grips shower mirror, a Mach 3, and a badger brush. It takes me about ten minutes to do my face and scalp, and I do it every time I shave.
I’ve tried a Mach 3, but while it works great on my face, it sucks for my scalp. For that, I use a twin blade disposable. It took a lot of experimenting to come to that conclusion.
When I was going through my head-shaving phase, I bought one of these. After a couple uses I could shave my head in the shower in about 1 minute without a mirror.
Hubby uses a product called “Head Slick” on his head. Mentholated shave cream in the shower, and then an after-shave moisturizer after. The moisturizer, iirc, is safflower oil based, with an SPF of 15. He’s tried other products, but goes back to this every time. Also, he swears by the Gillette Fusion razor.
I’ve been doing it regularly for about 15 years. The first time was about 20 years ago. I went from shoulder length to the scalp. My first thought was, “Oh my god, my head feels so SMALL!” That first time palming my head was crazy. My mom HATED it. I only did it the one time, until I moved out and started doing it regularly, though not USUALLY to bare skin, usually just on the razor’s lowest setting, which leaves maybe 1/2 millimeter or more of hair.
I love it, and I encourage you to keep doing it. I am a naturally hot (temperature-wise, that is :p) person, and I always feel SO MUCH BETTER after getting rid of all that insulation.
Very quickly. You’re skin has had no time to build up resistance. I shaved my head once and though I’m pale, my head got burned within 15 minutes of exposure, while the rest of my pale white self didn’t get burned at all.
Wear a hat and expose your head in five minute intervals
Just to add to the discussion… on the way to work one morning I could see the driver in front of me, also on his way to work, shaving his head with an electric razor.
I’m not getting the sunburned head thing. It’s never been a problem for me. But I started with shorter and shorter lengths, so maybe I built up resistance slowly.
If I know I’m going to be out for long periods of time, such as at the beach, I’ll put on sunblock and wear a hat. But I’ll routinely take a half hour walk to a store, then walk back, with no protection, and I’ve never burned my scalp.
