If you're bald on top and shave your head, why?

[CCS]

I know this has been the fashion for many bald guys for some years now but I've never understood the why of the maintenance of shaving your whole head. Cutting it close vs. the godawful combover is one thing but when I see all that's required to taking it all off and having to shave your head every few days, I'm at a loss to understand the why of it. Maybe it's just my age/generation (72).

I'm genuinely curious why men suddenly started doing this. Fashion or?

 

[silverlifter]

 

[ERS4]

My head hair is still growing normally, but I still maintain the habit of shaving my head.
Because I live in a subtropical island country (Taiwan), it is quite humid and hot, and sweat in my hair is very sticky and uncomfortable in summer. I'm also used to wearing hats in winter, and shaving my hair won't have the problem of my hair being squashed by the hat.

I'm a graphic designer, one of the few professions where people aren't despised because you shave your head, and shaved head styling even enhances the professional impression.

Keeping my head shaved is also a big reason why I convince my wife "I need more good razors"

 

[CCS]

My head hair is still growing normally, but I still maintain the habit of shaving my head.
Because I live in a subtropical island country (Taiwan), it is quite humid and hot, and sweat in my hair is very sticky and uncomfortable in summer. I'm also used to wearing hats in winter, and shaving my hair won't have the problem of my hair being squashed by the hat.

I'm a graphic designer, one of the few professions where people aren't despised because you shave your head, and shaved head styling even enhances the professional impression.

Keeping my head shaved is also a big reason why I convince my wife "I need more good razors"

Appreciate it, thank you.

 

[Tanuki]

One of my sons, not yet 30, shaves his head. He came early to a receding hairline and thin all over. That makes a young guy appear middle-aged. A full head shave removes that cue and restores 'youth'. Lifting, running, and biking help too.

 

[Multum in parvo]

If the dome starts to shine through and that somewhat unevenly then even short stubble looks patchy and weird. I regularly shave my head every 48 hours. Catching COVID I was down for 5 days and positively felt like a Hippie when I looked into the mirror

The FOCS remedied this quickly.

 

[CCS]

Thanks for the additional responses.

 

[Space_Cadet]

Better nothing than leftovers, IMO.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

It makes you look tough. You get more respect. And bald on top with hair around the sides and back isn’t a good look these days - it accentuates the baldness and makes the person look older than they are - people usually prefer to take it all off. Then you get to look like Jean Luc Picard.

And baldness doesn’t mean you don’t have any hair - it means you don’t have much - and the hairs you do have continue growing as normal, so it feels a bit silly and wasteful of time and money to go to the barber for so little hair when you can easily cut or shave it yourself.

I don’t shave my head. I use a hair trimmer without the comb to trim it very short all over. My hair isn’t dark so that’s enough. I never liked the feeling of a shaved head - it feels a bit rubbery, like wearing a swimming cap. But that’s me.

 

[CANES]

I grew up in Florida and always had a flattop haircut. Went to the beach all the time and as most young and dumb kids, didn't remember sunscreen until it was too late. In my 30's, I started getting bumps zapped off of my head. I still had hair and kept it buzz cut at the time. The lazer thing they used to cut off the bad spots left no hair in those spots- think about 3 spots the size of a half dollar. To not look ridiculous, shaving my head was the only option- and still is today- but my hair has noticeably thinned out over the last 17 years. I would have probably started shaving it by now regardless.

Plus, how else am I supposed to use up those 3 lifetimes of soap and creams I've hoarded?

 

[Eric_75]

I'm a head shaver and thinning on top, but I started shaving my head years before I started thinning. I can honestly say I like the way it looks. I started out with a trimmer, then started using a Gillette Sensor Excel.

I really enjoy the whole head shaving process. The Claymore Evolution with a KAI Protouch MG did a fantastic job on the dome yesterday.

 

[NorthernSoul]

It just looks neater in case your hair grows very thin and wispy on top. You avoid the dreaded horseshoe head look.

I don't regularly shave my head now, but one day I just might.

 

[ewk]

The smooth cue ball just feels great. Taking a blade to the dome with nice soaps is much more comfortable than the clippers, and cleaner (no flying clippings.)

 

[Eric_75]

The smooth cue ball just feels great. Taking a blade to the dome with nice soaps is much more comfortable than the clippers, and cleaner (no flying clippings.)

Agree, sir.

 

[CCS]

Thanks for the further comments. It's an interesting cultural thing to me as are tattoos (NTTAWWT) but I rarely run into people with shaved heads or lots of tats that I can converse with. The blessing and curse of an isolated rural life.

 

[CCS]

Covid changed everything, so I now cut my own hair with Wahl clippers to a mix of 3/8" on the back and side fading to 1/2" on top. High forehead but that's due to the big brain...

 

[ERS4]

By the way, shaving my head also cured my scalp redness, itching, dandruff... problems caused by the hot and humid weather.

 

[simon1]

I just don't worry about it...I always said I'd grow old gracefully.

I don't think I'll ever look like Kojak or Yul Brynner.

 

[Neil Jones]

I bought a set of clippers during Covid and gave my balding head a buzz cut and found myself opting for a shorter grade over time. In the end I was going for a grade 1 but hated the cleanup, and tidying up the neckline so decided to shave it all off and it was the best thing I ever did. I love the feeling of a freshly shaved head especially during the warmer months. The Leaf razor does the job fantastically well.

 

[luvmysuper]

I don't think it's a particularly new fad, folks have been doing it for a long long time.

I know that when I shave my head in the summer it is because I think it looks better than with stubble.
But some guys do sport the "let the hair grow out to stubble before you shave again" like Jason Statham.