# shave or buzz head for balding? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 18, 2015, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838 "2015-06-18T10:45:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![perc\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e68b1a/32.png) [@perc\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perc_1)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/21 "2015-06-18T18:10:12Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > I buzz my head with my Wahl clipper every week with a 1/16" guide. Takes a couple of minutes, everything comes out neat and even. I’ve never shaved my head but it seems like it’d be a bit of a hassle. buzzing it is much more of a hassle. With shaving you just jump in the shower and 2 minutes later you’re done and nothing to clean up… ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/22 "2015-06-18T18:34:24Z")
> [@perc\_1](#): > > buzzing it is much more of a hassle. With shaving you just jump in the shower and 2 minutes later you’re done and nothing to clean up… I have a small stool (Hirsh Tool Stool actually) to sit on and set it in the middle of an old sheet. Two or three minutes (OK - maybe 5 tops if my ears give me issues) and it hits the laundry and I hit the shower. No muss and little fuss. I use an old Oster model 830-01. (But in interest of full disclosure I have been mostly doing my own hair since like 1976. Even when it was longer and full across the top) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/23 "2015-06-18T18:34:45Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I prefer men close to my height or shorter rather than a lot taller than me. > [@perc\_1](#): > > that’s odd. Yes, well, it’s not the first time I’ve been told I’m a little weird… How about we go with “unusual”? ---
**Author:** ![perc\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e68b1a/32.png) [@perc\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perc_1)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/24 "2015-06-18T18:48:16Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > I use an old Oster model 830-01. this is awesome for buzzing your hair > **[Amazon.com: ConairMAN Hair Cutting Kit for Men, Maintain a Short Hair Cut at...](https://www.amazon.com/Conair-Professional-Cordless-Cutting-Lengths/dp/B004UKT2PU)** > > Amazon.com: ConairMAN Hair Cutting Kit for Men, Maintain a Short Hair Cut at Home with Even Cut Cordless Rotary Hair Clippers ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/25 "2015-06-18T19:13:27Z")
I’ll cut my husband’s hair with a #1 guard on the clippers - all over, including the sideburns. He trims his own beard and keeps it a bit longer than that. When the hair on his head gets to be about 3/8" long, I call him a hippie, and we get out the clippers. This is the easiest and cheapest alternative for us. At our age, easy and cheap are important! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/26 "2015-06-18T19:32:01Z")
Q: Will your head look good cue-ball style & with cheesey $5 sunglasses that make your head look the same put on forwards or backwards? [Size:1]Well, so much for lunch…[/size] ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/27 "2015-06-18T19:35:01Z")
Just shave it. I’ve been razoring my head for over a decade, and it takes only a minute if you do it in the shower. I also have discovered that shaving every other day is quite fine, and no-one can tell the difference. ---
**Author:** ![perc\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e68b1a/32.png) [@perc\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perc_1)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/28 "2015-06-18T20:02:33Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > At our age, easy and cheap are important! 😉 easy and cheap is important at any mans age ---
**Author:** ![perc\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e68b1a/32.png) [@perc\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perc_1)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/29 "2015-06-18T20:24:10Z")
I’ve found the cure!!! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/cgru3d9GZQ0/maxresdefault.jpg "23 Year Old Will has Scalp Micropigmentation at HIS Hair Clinic") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgru3d9GZQ0) ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/30 "2015-06-18T20:59:07Z")
I’ve been weighing the nuclear option for a while now. My hair, never what you’d call thick and luxurious even in my mullety teens, is now just a sprinkle of sad cobwebs on the sandstone outcrop of my skull. Rogaine was a bust, and Propecia was a brief, terrifying foray into the magical world of impotence. I’m resigned to my fate. The wife insists it’s not buzz-time yet, but maybe she shares my trepidation that I’ll end looking a lot more like the aforementioned Uncle Fester than, say, Jason Statham. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/31 "2015-06-18T21:01:58Z")
> [@perc\_1](#): > > this is awesome for buzzing your hair > [Amazon.com: ConairMAN Hair Cutting Kit for Men, Maintain a Short Hair Cut at Home with Even Cut Cordless Rotary Hair Clippers](http://www.amazon.com/Conair-Hc900-Even-Hair-Clipper/dp/B004UKT2PU/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8) Might just have to purchase one of those… Having done both shaving and buzzing, they are about the same amount of time. My issue was the extra aftershave lotion or moisturizer/sunscreen I had to put on my scalp when I shaved regularly. You won’t know until you try, **VT**. And it’ll sorta grow back so nothing ventured… FWIW, I look more like Statham… At least that’s what SWMBO says. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/32 "2015-06-18T21:06:07Z")
Being a child of the 60s, I keep the hair I have left a bit long. ---
**Author:** ![perc\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e68b1a/32.png) [@perc\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perc_1)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/33 "2015-06-18T21:17:26Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Propecia was a brief, terrifying foray into the magical world of impotence. haha ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/34 "2015-06-18T21:33:48Z")
> [@perc\_1](#): > > buzzing it is much more of a hassle. With shaving you just jump in the shower and 2 minutes later you’re done and nothing to clean up… This has been my experience. I have been buzzing or shaving my head since about 2003. I do not have male pattern baldness so much as just generally thinner all over. IMHO, I look a little better with some hair vs. a smooth razor shave but I love the way smooth feels and I shave in the shower so there’s no additional cleanup. When I buzz it there’s hair all over the sink and bathroom floor which means I have to drag out the shop vac and spend five-ten minutes cleaning up the clippers, guards and room. Actually, I’ve learned to drag the shop vac out _first_ to avoid tracking hair out of the bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/35 "2015-06-18T21:49:51Z")
We don’t think Broomstick is odd; well not the way you mean. > [@perc\_1](#): > > easy and cheap is important at any mans age Just wear Axe Cologne & dont sweat your hair. Do you have any heavy gold jewelry? _taking 3:2 odds on yes_ ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/36 "2015-06-18T22:05:06Z")
I’ve never understood why people say bald guys that shave their head are trying to hide the fact. I have a completely full head of hair, but I shaved it a few times when I was in the Army so I wouldn’t have to worry about being out of regulation for a while. I mean if you still have your hair, even if you shave it completely you can still see the little hair follicles, I mean I never Bic’d my head with an actual razor blade but I imagine if I did you’d still that little "shadow " of hair so you’d know I wasn’t really bald. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/37 "2015-06-18T22:55:14Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > This has been my experience. I have been buzzing or shaving my head since about 2003. I do not have male pattern baldness so much as just generally thinner all over. IMHO, I look a little better with some hair vs. a smooth razor shave but I love the way smooth feels and I shave in the shower so there’s no additional cleanup. When I buzz it there’s hair all over the sink and bathroom floor which means I have to drag out the shop vac and spend five-ten minutes cleaning up the clippers, guards and room. > Actually, I’ve learned to drag the shop vac out _first_ to avoid tracking hair out of the bathroom. I use the clippers in my workshop (wife hates finding any stray clippings in the sink so I no longer buzz myself in the bathroom) and I crank up my dust collector when I’m done. Vacuum the floor, the clipper and my head for good measure. It’s like the New Yankee Workshop & the Flowbee had a kid 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/38 "2015-06-19T01:56:33Z")
Get one of [these](http://www.amazon.com/Wahl-79600-2101-Lithium-Cordless-Clipper/dp/B0058SY1X6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434678436&sr=8-1&keywords=wahl+cordless) and buzz it once a week on 0.5 (the green guide) with the lever all the way up. That’s one-sixteenth of an inch. Looks neat and clean and you get less of the “blinded by the shine” effect. > [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Actually, I’ve learned to drag the shop vac out _first_ to avoid tracking hair out of the bathroom. I just do it out in the driveway and let the wind clean it up. ---
**Author:** ![justanothermike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@justanothermike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justanothermike)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/39 "2015-06-19T02:54:12Z")
I just shave mine once a week. By the end of the week I look buzzed. Nobody expects my head to look freshly shaved daily. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838/40 "2015-06-19T03:20:16Z")
I buzz mine to something like a 5 o’clock shadow once a week. The cue ball is a little harder to pull off and a bit higher maintenance, but the buzz is more messy. You’ll figure out what you like best. Welcome to the world of never buying shampoo or paying for a haircut. > [@Honey](#): > > Shave it off. Bald men are sexy. 😉 Well, hello. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-or-buzz-head-for-balding/722838.md?page=3)