Recently, a friend of mind gave me a haircut. She told me before that she was good at cutting hair, so I trusted her. What she didn’t tell me was that she never cut a guy’s hair before, it was just other females. Needless to say, the results were less than satisfactory.
My hair looks awfull, and although it could be salvaged, I’m too cheap to pay a barber. So I decided to hell with it, I’ll just shave my head.
I’ve never done this before, so I’d appreciate some advise on how to go about doing this in the most smooth and painless way possible.
If you shave it off, it’ll take a lot longer, and you’ll have to go through those awful 1" long, 2" long, 3" long stages. When you grow it out from bald you’ve got a long time when you just look goofy.
If your hair is currently growing all over your head (no bald spots or receded areas) it takes a long time and a lot of effort to shave your head daily. You get 5:00 shadow all over your head that makes it impossible to put on a sweater w/o a third party to pick off the lint from your scalp. AND, you’ll look mighty goofy if you miss a spot that you can’t see because you shave in a hurry one morning.
Most heads are not smooth and soft like your cheeks or legs. Your skull is right under the skin. Consequently, it’s not very easy to get your whole head cleanly shaven.
I used to shave my head, and it was an awful pain in the ass. (Well that was an unfortunatly chosen phrase!) But, having had short hair all my life, I really dislike having hair, so I was in a quandry. I now “shave” my head with shears every morning, but don’t shave it. My hair’s always 1/4" to 1/2" long, and no one notices if you skip a day or miss a spot, because it’s all pretty uniform (kind of like fur). It’s very cool in the summer, long enoughthat it’s soft, rather than wiskery, and just long enough that my head doesn’t get sunburned as quickly as if I were bald.
PS: If you live where there’s cold weather, get a freakin’ hat for the winter, or your brain will freeze solid in no time at all.
Go bald brother. Last summer I was left alone and in a non-airconditioned apartment with a beard trimmer.
The result was a Q-Ball on my shouders that is easy to maintain compared to my previous mane (regular soap, and no more “where the shit is that comb I just bought?”). And frankly, the women who enjoy a bald head are many and much more forward with their attentions.
The only tow drawbacks can be if you go shaved-smooth it is time consuming (check http://www.headblade.com for a razor designed for your cranium) and sunburn can be a concern (wear a hat). Also if you get dry scalp you need to moisturize every so often (Clinique “Dramatiocally Different Moisturizer” is my brand oc choice), finally ingrown hairs can occur which sucks.
Alleviating most of these issues is instead of actually shaving your head, just trim it with electric clippers. It’s almost bald, easier than shaving, and you can go a few days between clippings with no worries.
Just replace your scalp with a metal plate, al à Merlin in Excalibur. You’ll look really cool and imagine the fun polishing that baby! Serious chrome-dome! You could be seen from the air from miles around on a sunny day if you do it right!
It’s not like it takes hours and hours to shave your head, hell it only takes me about 15 minutes and that includes my regualr shaving dutu=ies and I do it every other day.
If you are going to do it, I would recommend using a Mach III razor. The cartridges are expensive but it does the job a hell of a lot better then a disposable.
One thing you should know is that your hair grows in different directions. By that I mean that you can’t shave “front to back” all the time. You have to go at different angles. It may take a little while, but it’s fairly easy to get the hang of it.
I shave my head once a year, at the begining of summer. (though I have not shaved my head this year because my wife wants me to take her to her high school reunion and she perfers that I don’t look like a thug, which I do when I’m shaven:D)
It makes the razor glide like silk. Not only does it give a much closer, smoother shave than shaving cream or gel does, it also removes old/dead skin, making the shave seem even closer, and enhancing the “shine” everyone want’s on a bald head. Use Shave secret for regular shaving to. It’s excellent. I’ve seen it at Walmart for $2.49, or if you call those guys they’ll give you a deal on multiple bottles.
Also, For any kind of shaving, use a single blade razor. The belief that double blades give a closer shave is a crock. All double blades do is get gunked up real quick, preventing a closer shave.
Single blades don’t get as gunked up, and are easier to clean with just a dunk in water. You’ll need an easy cleaning razor, because that shave secret stuff real takes the gook off your face/head/legs, whatever. I’ve been using it for 2 years now and I love it!
MOHAWK! Dude, embrace the true warrior’s haircut. Nothing says “Power!” in a middle management meeting like a seven inch spiked mohawk! It reminds me of a funny story.
In Band Of Brothers, the paratroopers are shaving mohawks into their heads. Their commanding officer walks in on them and cracks up laughing. They ask why. It seems that the Germans had told the French peasants that the paratroopers were derranged criminals who killed civillians, and who also had mohawks
For a few years now, my best friend has been shaving his head shiny, kojack like bald.
He shaves it down as close as he can with clippers, then he shaves it with a razor, then he waits a day and puts on some depillatory creme stuff (sorry, can’t remember the brand name) for that extra shiny kojack look. Then he just needs to use the creme stuff a couple of times a week.
I tried this once, but my hair is very thick & dark and grows really fast and so I needed to use the creme every day, and I didn’t want to go through that much trouble, and I was also worried about what it was doing to my skin.
Plus, I also looked like a complete thug, like an extra from an especially predictable B-grade Mafia movie.
It’s not the 7" spikes, but it did awe several unruly kids classes into good behaviour at Halloween last year.
How to shave your head in 3 easy (and should be painless) steps:
Trim your hair as short as you can with your clippers.
Get in the shower and wet hair.
Shave, following the grain (as per WSLer’s comments).
The initial shaving takes 20-40 minutes, if you get it short enough with the clippers. Then it takes 10-15 minutes daily, once you get the hang of it. Don’t hurry and be careful around your ears. Hurrying and carelessness around the ears account for the few nick I’ve racked up.
Blalron: I just shaved my head for the first time in over 8 years. I just took some sissors and snipped all the hair down as far as I could. Then I put a new blade in my razor and went at it. It took about 30 minutes because I didn’t get very close with the sissors in some places.
Once the hair is gone it takes a lot less time to shave the new growth off.
Just make sure you get that spot right behind the ears.
Of course, after you shave your head you should change your username to Baldron
My boyfriend has truly unfortunate hair; he’s a very handsome man but his hair is akin to a bright orange brillo pad. So he shaves it and like WSLer he shaves it in the shower about every other day with a Mach III.
I find it an incredible turn on. Oooooh, smooooooooth…
I happen to have a rather unpleasant scalp condition which forces me to shave my head. The easiest way by far is to shave it with clippers as short as you can get it (which alone, but the way, is an acceptable look). If you want to go completely shiny, use an electric razor. Its MUCH easier than using a regular razor. Takes maybe 5 minutes for the clippers, which was as short as I used to do it. Now that I’m forced to keep it all the way short, I just shave it every other day or so with an electric razor. Only takes about 5 minutes, compared to a good 20 or so with a regular razor.
By the way, if anyone has advice on what creams etc. could be used to get the hair down inside the root I would greatly appreciate it. Might help clear up my scalp condition.
A biker friend told me of a fellow known as Flamehead. He had his skull tattooed with flames. When he lets his hair grow, he looks respectable, but in the summer, when he shaves, he’s en fuego!
I’ve always suspected that women who go for shaved-pate guys are seeing them as giant phalluses.
I have kept my head shaved for about 2 years now, and I’ve found that the best bet is to use soap (Irish Spring is what I use) along with the razor of your choice (I agree with WSLer)
But because I am “painfully white”, I end up wearing hats most of the summer. I hate hats, but you can’t win them all. Good luck, Blalron! MS
I’ve been shaving my head for over 7 years now. I do it in the shower every other day. It adds 3 minutes to my shower time. I use shaving gel, tough beard formula or sensitive skin formula, whichever is on sale. Schick Tracers are good razors because they conform to your scalp. Schick also makes a disposable with 3 flexible blades, I think it’s called Extreme. I can use one of those for 2 weeks without getting any nicks.
the important thing about shaving your head is to use short, slow strokes. I like to go against the grain of my hair growth so I get a very smooth scalp. Feel with your hands to make sure it’s smooth.
The first summer I tried it, I had lots of new female attention. Lately it’s dropped off as the shaved scalp has lost its notoriety and is becoming passe, but with my hairline I’ll keep shaving, thank-you.
If you’re going to shave your head, first cut your hair as close to the scalp as possible. I go with shaving soap and a brush (seems to last longer, and the wetter the better, as far as shaving goes.
You will make out better if shave be feel. I run my empty left hand over my head and track it with the razor. By sight you’ll never get everything. I still use shampoo with my chrome dome, and it provides one last chance to see if I missed any spots.
Be prepared for a bit of razor burn in an unfamiliar spot, especially if you get too thorough.
I’d be tempted to use a little Bag Balm in the Winter.
A fleece hat will never blow off your head in a stiff wind – the velcro effect protects you from that.
If you have a date in the evening, it definitely helps to shave as close to date time as possible. You want to be smoooov.
Well, I finally went through with it last night. My friend’s dire predictions that I would turn out looking like a concentration camp survivor or a cancer patient did not come true.
I look better than I expected. My hair has been a source of annoyance for me for years. It gets greasy and dandruffy really easily. Now that it’s gone things will be much simpler. I might keep my hair like this for quite some time.
Right on, brother. I tell ya, once you live life hairless, it’s tough to go back. The time and money you save on products and maintenance is an unexpected freedom. The only real risk is that you look bad bald, and you say you don’t, and that pretty much seals it.
You may find that you start dressing a little differently–the clear-cut pate, as mentioned by others, does run the risk of looking thuggish if accesorized wrong. You gotta go for “urban clean-cut hipster” instead of “Seattle 1993.” Oh, and smile for ID photos from now on, otherwise your driver’s license will look like an Aryan Nations rally leaflet.
Another benefit I find from being close-cropped is that I have better diet and exercise habit now. The threat of being bald AND fat is surprisingly motivating.
And if the shaving irritates your skin, you may want to consider a quarter-inch or 1/8 inch buzz. Again, the wardrobe will have to compensate so you don’t look like Private Blalron.
