I'm thinking I'll shave my head sometime this March. When depends on the weather forecast come early March, Colorado has had a mild winter so far, but that's no guarantee of what will happen in the future. I guess I don't want to have my first day with a shaved head to be a blizzard. I'm curious about two things: 1) I have a rather oily head (it stains my pillowcases). Should I take any extra actions over this? Just use alum and an A/S splash instead of balm like on my face? 2) I'm a truely pale white-boy and burn easily. What is a good head-friendly, non-oily sunscreen for the noggin? Again, something compatible with an oily head.
Ok, here goes. First, I recommend you invest in a headblade sport (it's the one with wheels). Now a lot of folks will tell you it's junk. I unconcur. I get fast, BBS shaves every time with the HB sport. Don't get the HB brand cartridges though... go to your nearest Dollar General store and buy their knock-off Atra blades... they have a little ridge on the front that helps prevent clogging. If you simply must use a DE, then I recommend getting either a travel tech, or a Schick Krona. The short handle of the TT works a treat once you get the hang, the long handle of the Krona is also nice though, because you can sort of rest it in the crook of your hand while you shave. The secret is, use no pressure! Headblade makes really good shave cream. It's highly mentholated and it feels right nice on the ol' bean. I have given up using it though, and converted to the infinitely cheaper "On The Go" brand "Freeze" Gel, I get it at the DollarTree and that stuff is slicker than owl snot on an ice cube. As an after shave treatment, I use whatever aftershave splash I'm sampling for the month, but after it's had time to settle I might rub a little lotion in just for good measure. I too am oily headed, but once I started shaving, I found that I'm nowhere near as oily as I used to be. I like to use Headblade's glossy finish lotion, but sometimes I'll use the much cheaper udder cream. Seriously, a little dab goes a verrrry long way. Expect to get about 6 months or more out of a bottle. I'm one of those guys who tans really easily, so I've not got a lot of experience with sunscreens. I generally use bullfrog, but trust me, you're gonna start wearing a hat more. Especially in the cold. Go ahead and invest in several tabogans. I also have a couple of dressier fedora style hats. Baseball caps just make you look like a cancer patient. Trust me. Headblade (I swear, I don't work for them--but I wouldn't be opposed if they sent me some schwag) makes a sunscreen that's supposed to be pretty good. Good luck, and happy defleecing! Don't wait until too late in the year to do it though... It'll be less obvious that you've freshly shaved your noggin if you do it when the rest of your skin is sickly pale, rather than in the summer when you've gone a shade or two darker.
Thanks for the advice Micah. I'll think about the headblade, othewise it's between one of the Mach 3's I've go from before I started wet shaving, my trusty superspeed, and the Fatboy turned down to 2 or 3. I planned to use MWF for my head, as it's the most protective lather I've experienced, but if it doesn't work as planned, I'll know what to fall back on. I hope I'll be similar in being less oily with the shaved head, you've got my hopes up on that. I'm not a big fan of the bullfrog, so I'll wait for more suggestions on that front. Finally, I won't wait longer than late March, so no worries about having a dark tan first (not gonna happen anyway, I'm pasty until August most years).
I just shaved my head for the first time about a month ago, I am by no means an expert but I'll relay what worked for me and what was recommended that worked. At the end of the day my hair if long and scalp was always oily not an issue at all with a shaved head. I started off with a 39c slant sledgehammer, yeah I am a glutton for punishment but I took it slow the first few times and it was not that bad just a couple nicks in the back, I did find if you got any cartridge razors you no longer use on your face laying around they make head shaving a breeze no nicks at all, it's the only positive thing I can say about them. I took it down most of the was with an electric barber clippers first then applied proraso pre/post shave cream which while I am not a big fan of for my face it works wonders for the scalp, after the shave I put on some Osage rub for a real cooling effect but another great item was Trumpes skin food I actually applied that a few times a day, initially my dome was hypersensitive to touch, cold etc but that went away after a couple days and the Trumpers skin food softens the dome real nice. I agree unless it is subzero where you live now is a good time to do it if you plan on keeping it. One thing though to keep it looking good you need to shave it every day I was surprised how fast it grew back. good luck
Talked about it with the wife tonight and when I told her about the concern with a bright white head and a tan face, she encouraged me to go ahead and shave it now. As such, I now have a clean-shaven scalp. I have some red spots that appear to have been there before I shaved. I think they're related to the oil in my head, so I actually think shaving will help clear them up. Anyway, here's what I did: Clipper reduction to a shavable length T&H preshave oil (don't plan to use it regularily) MWF applied with my C&E BBB 2-passes (WTG and ATG as best I could not know my grain really well) using a Mach 3 Alum In the shower, I still felt too much stubble. So after the shower along with my face shave I did another ATG pass using my Superspeed with an Astra Superior. Cleaned everything up decently. Alum again Trumpers Sandalwood Skinfood No nics, No weepers, No irritation (just the spots I saw after the clippers). Presentable but not totally smooth, but that will take learning the grain on my head better. I'm happy with it for a first shave. When the red spots go away I think I'll really like the look (they aren't really dark or bright so it's not terrible now).
1) Your oily head can actually be utilized: Just wipe it off with your hand and apply it to your strop. Keeps the strop in good shape! (No, I'm not kidding!) Don't use a str8? Time to start now! 2) Why don't you wear a hat? Protects against any weather. BTW, I found a Weishi to be the best tool for this task loaded with a middle-of-the-road blade like Dorco or Astra Platinum.
The redness on your scalp will likely clear up. I had dry scalp for years and special shampoos only worked occasionally. First time I shaved my head, I was concerned to see that I had several red patches on my scalp. However, they cleared up in a day or two, and dryness hasn't been a problem since. (As a matter of fact, I had some dry, red patches on my face that went away when I started wet shaving.)
Ive been shaving my head for a few years now, and I either use the headblade sport or a normal mach 3. I personally shave my head in the shower with antifog mirror. I get my head nice and hot, massage in a few drops of shave oil and then normal shaving cream, 1 pass usually get a silky smooth head for me, you will have to experiment with direction, took me a few weeks to get my head down. Sides of my head I shave bottom to top, then from my forehead back to my crown and then from the back of my neck up to the crown. For me the hardest part to shave, is the little fold of skin JUST behind the ears, i need to pull it farily tight to get it flat so I can shave it. I always finish with aloe, feels good and leaves the dome nice and shiny. I dont have much more advice, other than the first time you shave your head its going to feel really weird with each pass, after that it will feel pretty normal!
Headblade is my weapon of choice for the noggin. If you tend to get irritation easily on your head, you can try Headclear from Headblade. I also use Aubrey Organics Green Tea shampoo which has helped reduce irritation on my scalp.
I've been shaving my head for almost 2 months now. I've found cartridge systems all clog way to fast for me. I like a mild DE razor better, my favorite so far being a Fat Boy on 3 with a Crystal or Dorco 301. Seems like I'm in the minority here, but it works for me. The spots have mostly cleared up, though I get a mild one occasionally. Seems to be less every day and at the current rate it I'm guessing it will be completely finished in another month. The alum really helps just like on my face. I also use TSD aftershave splash on my head. It's the only thing I've tried that moisturizes my head without it feeling oily. I want to try a splash from SCS also; based on reviews it looks like it would work for me.
Nice one!! And how is the tan coming on? I would not be in too much of a rush to get a nut brown head - it can catch up with you in the end, or at least it does over here. The last time I saw my father he had to get 3 spots burnt off his head, and one biopsied for malignancy testing. Make sure you have a good hat or sunblock coming into summer. James.
Thanks Jimbo. The tan is coming along, no obvious glaring white head. I purchased a really nice fedora for wearing to work and any other time I need to be somewhat dressy. I will wear a cap when doing yard work, hiking, etc. I also have a decent sunblock (Nivea or Neutrogena or something like that) with SPF 30. Less greasy than most as it's a facial moisturizer/sunblock, but I can't use it every day.
Excellent! I have a nice Akubra that I wear when I am out and about nowadays. Now, when are you going to throw away those safety razors and start using a straight? James.
