Considering buzz cut - need advice!! (with PICS)

[virtua_]

Hi guys!

So, it's probably been like 2-3 years since I first discovered my hair loss. It seems to have stopped pretty much for the past year, allthough it hasn't regrown either. I'm trying different things for like 6 months at the time, and will not stop, but I'm becoming a little sick of having to do a combover and hide my hair loss. A couple of weeks ago the ex of a friend of mine took off a hat I was wearing while I was sitting and she was above me (don't usually wear hats to hide my hair loss or anything, I was just wearing one that night), and upong seeing my sweaty head exclaimed with schadenfreude (or so it seemed, as I hadn't been giving her much attention that night) "Oh my, are you loosing your hair?! So that's why you're wearing a hat??". I was able to stay cool and brush it off, as I've become a bit more relaxed towards it lately, I think due to meditation. But it still sucks of course. I don't really want to care, but if I have longer hair I kind of have to fix it to hide it, as I don't want to just show off a full bald spot.

So, I've come to consider a buzz cut. My family don't really think it would look good on me, but I think it might just be because it's different, and my mother always pictured me as the good boy with a lot of nice hair or something... Haha I cut my hair short once, when I had little hair loss (except for the widows peaks, which I've had since I was like 15), and I kind of liked it, made me look more "rough", and when thinking about it, I actually got more interest from the ladies back then, so maybe it was good... You can see the pictures below to check out my head shape etc.





Oh well, my first question: do you think a buzz cut would suit me and my head shape? I've been kinda afraid that the ridge I have on the top of my head would make it seem weird, but I think I might have exaggerated this fear a bit, as I feel the pictures above seem to suggest it wouldn't be so bad anyway... What do you think?



My next question is this: In the photo above you can see the condition of my crown today (looks perhaps a bit worse than usual because of the hair bleached by sun and ocean and the tan of the scalp). I don't really want the hair loss to be to apparant if I buzz cut, as I feel that a bit of the reason why I'm buzz cutting, so I don't have to worry about whether or not people can notice it too much. I also don't really want to shave it all off, I would like to have a medium buzz cut if possible. Any idea how much hair I can keep without making the balding spot too apparant? If possible, I would like to to seem like I don't have a balding spot in the back at all, but I don't know if that is possible without going really low, like only 3mm or something?

Please give me suggestions and thoughts, anything is appreaciated!!

Thanks you guys!

 

[Fanjio]

Bro you should go for it. You have masculine enough features and you'll be able it off with as much ease as Wentworth Miller.

 

[Hans Gruber]

honestly,i think you still have a good amount of hair and it looks good that length.Maybe just try the buzz cut to see if you like it.If you dont then you have zero worries about growing it a little longer like in those pics

 

[virtua_]

Thanks for the encouring words guys!

- But what length would hide my balding crown the best? If I can avoid it, I don't want the shortest buzz cut, but perhaps a #3 or #4? Any suggestions? Any guys who buzz out there, what length do you get, and how well does it "hide" your hair loss?

 

[Avery]

Shorter hair, lighter color, and tanner skin all reduce contrast. The theory is that you make your hair loss less noticeable by exposing more scalp all over your head, like hiding in a crowd. =p

 

[Shawnab]

I think you should stick with that look.

 

[virtua_]

I think you should stick with that look.

This isn't my current look, I have a bit longer hair. I just showed those pictures to show my head shape, as it's the shortest I've had my hair. That was three years ago. If I were to cut it that way again, I think my balding crown would be all too obvious...?

 

[ghg]

Actually I guessed that you're from Norway just by looking at those pics... there's something very Norwegian in your features, probably reminds me of some Norwegian cross-country skiier from the past or something. Anyway, just buzz it and see if you like it. It's not a big deal anymore to anyone else but yourself. Your head shape also looks very similar to mine, oval shaped etc. Here are my pics of another thread, they might give you an idea what your head shape is like:

 

[Norsk]

I think your hair is a little too long to tell for sure how your head shape is, but I'd say a buzz cut would suit your facial features. Since you have tried it before with success, I don't see any need to worry about how you will look.

I have a thin crown, too, but not quite as bad as yours, and when I tried buzzing down to about 7 mm, it didn't look as good as I had hoped. Because it revealed that I wasn't only thinning on the crown, but all over the top (you could see the "horseshoe" outline). The longer hair hid that my front was thinning, too, but not quite as badly. I hope you won't get a nasty surprise like that.

When I buzzed down to 3 mm, it looked pretty good, but thinning was still noticeable if I looked for it. Then I tried buzzing with no guard (something like 0.5-1 mm), and then I basically looked like I only had some recession.

Your hair is blonder than mine, I suppose that will help minimize the contrast with the scalp (as long your skin isn't very tan), so hopefully medium length buzz cuts will work better for you than me. I do think any buzz cut will look better than the length in the pics, though.

 

[songer]

get the buzz cut, the crown is showing to much. try using some provillus, it has been very successful for people.

 

[OverMachoGrande]

Hi Songer!!! (removed spam comment due to PM I received stating he was not spam) The product you use is crap though.



Now back to the original poster!

virtua_


If you are going to try anything, use the Big 3 (Rogaine, Propecia, Nizoral) they are the only proven treatments. But honestly you could pull off the buzz cut Bro, go for it!

 

[virtua_]

Hi again guys!

Thanks for all the answers and encouragement!

I've ordered myself an appointment at my hair dresser for Friday! It feels weird and sort of sad to know that in a few days my blonde locks will be gone, but then again, if I hate it I can just regrow and do what I do now (mess up hair to cover bald spot).

Thanks for the help you guys, I'll be sure to post a picture of the cut when it's done!

 

[OverMachoGrande]

Good luck to you Virtua!

 

[virtua_]

Hi guys!

Cut done!

My hair dresser insisted that it would be nicer with a very short but not buzzed look on top, and buzzed on the sides (crew cut I guess), so I went with that. Feels sort of weird to have so much of my scalp showing I guess, but it's only visible from direct above. I was thinking I could just put on a bit of Toppik for going out on Saturdays and stuff to cover up the balding crown. She said if I wanted it shorter I could just pop by one of these days and she would take it further down.

I'll trim the beard down too of course.

What do you guys think?

 

[Norsk]

Looks alright to me, better from the front than the top, obviously. I personally think it would look better if you cut it even shorter, though. Your head shape seems to be no problem.

I have asked my hairdresser to buzz my hair reall short two times (one of them before I was balding) and both of the times I ended up with longer hair than I had intended. Either hairdressers don't like really short hair, or maybe they are just afraid you'll like it so much that you buy clippers and start cutting your own hair. If you intend to wear your hair really short for a good while, I'd definitely recommend that. It's very easy to buzz your hair yourself to one length all over. If you must have your hair faded/tapered or something you might be better off paying someone to do it, though.

If you want to try concealers, I recommend experimenting with different kinds. The people on this site seem to have different favorites. I suggest getting Dermmatch and Toppik. You might get better results if you use both of them (first Dermmatch, then Toppik). There is also a third kind of concealer called hair thickening sprays (e.g. Prothik). I haven't tried thickening sprays yet, but those who have, seem to have only nice things to say about it.