Your hair, or lack of it, is a major part of how you present yourself. Deciding to shave your head is, understandably, daunting.
The good news is that shaved heads are incredibly fashionable. A shaved head can help you make a strong first impression, boost your confidence, and step up your look.
If you’re thinking about shaving your head there are lots of questions you need answered. That’s what this guide is for. We’ll talk about the reasons many people shave, some tips and tricks to help make that first experience easy and painless, along with some personal grooming tips and things to consider before you get out the clippers and take that first big step.
- Top Reasons to Shave Your Head
- How to Get Your Best Shaved Look
- How to Shave
- Protect Your Skin, Look Your Best
- Quality Product
Top Reasons to Shave Your Head
You Have Male Pattern Baldness
Male pattern baldness is a big reason men shave their heads. The progressive spread of thinning hair can be a major hit to your confidence. Hair boosting shampoo and other over the counter products may buy you a few extra years of great looking hair, but most men with male pattern baldness will eventually struggle even with the extra product.
Besides the limited effectiveness of hair-boosting products, they are outright expensive. You’ll keep more money in your wallet by ditching the product, and the hair, and going with a shaved look.
Psychologically a shaved head also presents a stronger image than a head of thinning hair. Especially if you already have a bald spot or a receding hairline you can get a fresher, more confident look by switching to a smooth scalp.
Confidence
Of course, male pattern baldness isn’t the only reason men shave their heads. Shaved looks are a bold choice. A shaved head draws eyes and says good things about the wearer. Shaving does require good grooming practices and creates a polished look everyone will notice.
All that attention naturally has a great effect on your internal confidence. As a bonus, you don’t have to worry about bad hair days, hat hair, or weather, your head will look pretty much the same regardless of the situation.
Taking the time to maintain the look of your shaved head every couple of days will also naturally boost confidence. That time and dedication is an internal signal that taking care of yourself is important to you.
Moisturizing, bathing, and yes, even shaving, feels good. It’s a little treat every couple of days that will help you feel relaxed and in control. It’s only natural that your confidence will grow.
Looking Younger
This one may seem a little counter-intuitive but trust us. Shaving your head will make you look younger.
Part of the effect of shaving your head is drawing attention away from your hair and toward your eyes and face. The skin on the top of your head is smooth, and that will draw attention away from any wrinkles and will make crow’s feet and smile lines more emotive and less a signal of age.
A shaved head also eliminates any signs of baldness or balding. Even if you are balding going bare looks intentional. People won’t assume you’re hiding your hair loss, instead, they’ll think you’re making a deliberate choice.
The result is a younger, more intense, and highly masculine appearance that will take years off your look.
Added Maturity
I know, we were just talking about how shaving will make you look younger. How will it make you look younger and make you look more mature? Maturity isn’t just about age. Maturity is more about how you carry yourself and what your behaviors say than it is about how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.
A big reason shaving your head can make you look more mature is the added confidence we talked about earlier. However, that is far from the only factor. Shaving is a deliberate choice and a bold one. A well-groomed shaved head says that you’re willing to stand out and be yourself.
A shaved head also makes you look genuine. Taking all that focus away from your hair means people can see more of the emotion on your face. It signals that you don’t need to hide and that you’re open enough to be real with the people around you.
Low Maintenance
You will need a grooming routine to maintain your shaved look. But that grooming routine will still take less time, product, and money to maintain than a head full of hair.
The most obvious time saving is not having to brush and style your hair every morning. You will also be able to skip going to get your hair cut. You’ll still want to go to a barber once in a while, but a close shave will need their attention much less often than your hair.
You’ll also need fewer products to create a great look. Mouse, gel, and hairspray can all go right in the trash.
Showing and other hygiene routines will also take less time since the top of your head needs less care and attention than hair.
But you may linger in the shower just to enjoy the feeling on the water hitting your scalp a little longer!
Comfort
Everyone knows how important comfort is through your day. Shaving your head can help keep you comfortable, especially if you work outside in a warm climate.
Hair absorbs moisture, which gets in the way of the evaporative action of sweat. Sweat cools you off by evaporating into the air, taking some of your body heat with it. But sweat that absorbs into your hair can’t evaporate as quickly and isn’t in direct contact with your skin. All that trapped moisture acts as additional thermal mass, keeping you warm instead of cooling you off.
Your scalp also has a lot of surface area and a lot of blood capillaries, making it a good surface for temperature regulation.
Shaving your head frees your scalp as an effective surface to help you cool off, keeping you comfortable in the summer heat.
When heat isn’t an issue, in the office or the winter, it’s easy to reach for a hat to help you stay warm.
Safety
Hair may not seem like a safety issue for most of us, but there are many professions where it can be.
Shaving is a good way to prevent accidents for men who work with open flame in particular. Human hair is highly flammable, melts as much as it burns, and isn’t very easy to put out.
Minimizing the amount of hair that can catch fire makes working with open flame that much safer.
How to Get Your Best Shaved Look
Just like different hairstyles can complement or detract from your face and appearance, there are different ways of rocking a shaved head, and some may look better than others.
Before you shave your hair, take the time to consider these factors so you know you’ll get the best results right away.
Face Shape
Your face shape makes a big difference in the appearance of your shaved head. A strong square or diamond-shaped face may look best with a shaved head and no facial hair, but a very round face will benefit from some facial hair to add definition.
Similarly, if you have a very pointed chin you may want to consider a goatee or short beard to add some width to the bottom of your face and balance your forehead and scalp.
If you already have a beard and want to keep it, you should think about how you maintain and shape it. A scraggly beard will distract from the clean lines of your face and scalp. You should aim for clean lines and healthy-looking hair.
Weight
Let’s be clear. Anyone can look good with a shaved head.
However, if you are very slim or overweight, you should consider how to get your best shaved look.
In either case, adding facial hair will add some strength and definition to your face.
In the case of being overweight, a beard will create the illusion of a chiseled jawline and slim your cheeks.
If you’re very slim, a goatee or other facial hair will add masculine flair to your look and highlight the definition in your face.
In either case, you should make sure you leave space to highlight your best features. Show off your eyes, show off your jawline, show off your smile. Pick which parts of your face you would consider the best features and make sure to leave room for people to notice those features.
If you aren’t sure what facial hair best suits your features and personality you can consult with a barber or stylist for suggestions. You can even spend some time with photo filters to get some idea of what styles look best on you.
Skin Tone
Men with darker skin tones, on average, have an easier time rocking a shaved look, but even the palest skin can look good.
The first thing to consider with skin tone is how different the skin on your scalp is from the skin on your face.
Especially if you have thick hair or tend to wear hats you may notice a significant difference between your scalp and your face. Even skin tone is important to getting a great shaved look, so you may want to make the transition more gradually if your scalp is noticeably paler.
Start by taking off the hat and cutting your hair shorter. Spend some time in the sun to help your skin even out. Pale skin will gain color faster than tanned skin, so it should even out fairly quickly.
Remember not to shave your head immediately before a big event, a date, or even an important business meeting. Plan at least a couple days, and preferably 1-2 weeks, for your skin to even out. That way you’ll look your best when you need to.
How to Shave
Shaving your scalp isn’t the same as shaving your face. Even if you have years of facial grooming under your belt, you’ll still want to treat your scalp a little differently. For one thing, your scalp has thinner more delicate skin than your face, all that smooth skin will show every nick and accident.
Barber and Stylists
Many men go to a barber or stylist the first time they shave their hair. A barber will make sure it’s done right and will get a particularly close shave, all while offering advice for maintaining your look. Those grooming tips are invaluable, so if you have the opportunity a barber is a great option the first time around.
Barbers are also a good resource for the occasional touch-up. A good barber is just as concerned with your skin and scalp as they are will cleaning up your hair. They will help you identify any problem spots and give you advice for fixing the problem.
A professional shave is also a treat. Barbers work to make sure their service feels as good as it makes you look. Even if you can maintain your head at home it’s worth the occasional appointment to destress and feel good.
Shaving at Home
Barbers and stylists aren’t always an option, and unless you want to be in the salon every few days, you’ll need to know how to shave your head yourself.
If you’re starting with hair and not maintaining an already shaved head, the first step is cutting your hair. It should be no longer than ¼ inch before you shave. If you have longer hair, cut it short with scissors before switching to clippers to get down to ¼ inch.
Clippers are an efficient option for shaving and maintaining your scalp. Most clippers will get close enough to the skin to achieve a smooth surface without risking nicks and scratches. They’re also a faster option than a manual shaver like a disposable razor or straight razor.
It is undeniable that a manual shaver will get closer to the skin and give you a smoother shave. If you have especially thick or dark hair you may want to use the clippers first and then go over your head with a manual shaver for a more polished look.
Shaving Prep
Anytime you shave you should exfoliate and moisturize your scalp first. Exfoliating your scalp will help prevent ingrown hairs and other blemishes from forming on the skin. Moisturizing will give you a closer overall shave, as well as help your skin appear healthier. It also just feels good.
The last tip for getting a great shave at home is to shave with the grain of your hair. Just like the hair on your face, arms, and legs, the hair on your scalp grows in a particular direction. Shaving against the grain irritates your skin and hair follicles. Not only does irritated skin look worse than healthy skin, it is also more likely to develop ingrown hairs and acne.
Protect Your Skin, Look Your Best
You’ve shaved your head, you’ve decided on facial hair, you’ve either already cut your hair or started the process of getting there. Now it’s time to think about your new grooming routine and how to look your best every day.
Shaving your head means taking care of your skin is more important than ever. This is how you get it done.
Sunscreen
Yes, you need to use sunscreen. Especially right after you shave your hair for the first time your scalp will need extra protection from the sun. Your hair, even if it was thinning, protected your scalp from the sun. Now that it’s gone, your scalp needs something else protecting it.
Not only are sunburns annoying and inconvenient, they can seriously affect your health and appearance. Sunburns on your scalp are also especially painful. It’s better to avoid getting them altogether than to learn from experience. Trust me.
Sunburns never look good. Even mild ones will redden your skin and at best make you look sunburned and silly and at worst you’ll look upset and angry until the sunburn heals. More serious burns can blister and peel and will make wearing a hat uncomfortable.
If you get burned consistently, you’ll also develop discolored skin and sunspots. Neither of those looks good, but more importantly, that skin damage increases your risk of skin cancer.
Sunscreen protects from all those unpleasant realities. If you really can’t stand sunscreen on your skin or are allergic, plan on wearing a hat whenever you’re out in the sun.
Hats
Even if you wear sunscreen regularly, it’s still a good idea to add a couple of hats to your wardrobe after you shave your head.
Hats will help protect your skin from the weather, rain or shine. A beanie or stocking cap will help keep you warm in the winter, a wide brim hat will keep you cool in the summer, and adding a stylish cap to your outfit can make a bold statement.
You’ll also notice that you look great in hats you would never wear when you had hair. A hat on a shaved scalp makes for a more dramatic look and doesn’t detract from your face as much when it’s not competing with your hair.
Wearing a cap will protect your skin from the sun, prevent it from getting too cold, and will help your scalp stay moisturized and healthy.
Controlling Dandruff
If you have dandruff it may seem like a better idea to skip shaving your head altogether. After all, treating and hiding dandruff if hard enough when you have hair, so it’s only natural to assume it will be even harder to deal with on a shaved head.
Fortunately, it can be easy to care for dandruff on a shaved head.
Stick to whichever shampoo helped with your dandruff when you had hair. You don’t need as much of it for a shaved head since it’s cleaning less surface area, but shampoo is still better for your scalp than hand or body soap.
For many men, the shampoo will be enough. However, you can dab apple cider vinegar on to your head once a day, morning or night, if you need some extra dandruff fighting power. A good moisturizer and scalp wax can also help by preventing your scalp from drying out.
You also want to exfoliate every day to help control your dandruff. Scalp massagers are a good option, but a dry or damp washcloth or a face scrub will also get the job done. Go with whatever feels best to you since you’re more likely to follow through if you enjoy exfoliating.
Quality Product
Shaving your head means ditching a lot of the products you needed to keep your hair stylish and healthy. It doesn’t mean getting rid of all your products entirely. You’ll still need some things to keep your skin healthy and looking it’s best.
Since you’ll be using fewer products on average, it’s a good idea to increase the quality of what you use. You’ll use less of each product at a time, and overall, you’ll still save money. Some products you’ll want to consider are:
Shampoo
Anti-dandruff shampoo is a good option for anyone with a shaved scalp, even if you hadn’t previously needed it. The main reason is that you don’t have hair to hide dandruff, and even the mildest dry flaky patches will stand out.
Liquid shampoo is perfectly fine for a shaved head. We’ve already mentioned that body and hand soaps aren’t a good idea, but if you don’t want to use shampoo at least stick to products meant to be used on your face.
Bar shampoo may be easier to use than liquid shampoos since it won’t run off your fingers and scalp as easily. Look for moisturizing formulations and make sure you have a dry place to store the bar to make it last.
Moisturizer
This may be the same moisturizer you’d use on your face or you can buy a product specifically made for your scalp. Either way, this is a product you really should invest in since there are huge quality differences between low- and high-end moisturizers.
If you can’t afford a high-quality moisturizer or don’t want to take the time to seek one out, coconut oil and olive oil are both great for your skin and can be bought at your grocery store. A little goes a long way. Try to moisturize at least once every day.
Scalp Wax
You don’t need wax to rock a shaved scalp, but it can be a good way to add some subtle flair to your look. We recommend it for special occasions since the wax adds vibrant shine to your scalp and will make you look younger, healthier, and more excited about the occasion.
Some men prefer to wear wax every day, especially if they otherwise have dull skin, or need an extra layer of protection, but that’s up to you.
Conclusion
That’s it, folks! You’re prepared now to shave your head with confidence, and more informed if you’re still deciding one way or another.
A shaved head isn’t for everyone, but it can be a masculine and attractive option. Taking care of your skin is critical for the Dwayne the Rock Johnson macho look as it is for emulating Patrick Stewart’s shaved head panache.
Take pride in your look, take care of it, and it’ll take care of you.