Thinking of buzzing it off, advice? (pics)

[Spiff]

I've been lurking on here for about a year, figured it was about time to just join up So over the past 5 years my hair's been getting thinner and thinner up top, and I think I'm at the point where it's better to just buzz it down to a 1 or 2 guard all over and be done with it. I'm at that stage where I'm looking at other balding guys and going "wow, I hope I'm not that thin", when I know I'm thinner. Especially when that noonday sun blares down and the wife figures now's the best time for a new facebook couple pic of us...

I want to buzz it all off, but I'm not sure if it would suit me or if I'm going to look like I'm fresh off of Schindler's list. Wife says it won't look good, but she said that every time I cut it shorter and loved it in the end. Either way, it's more about just getting it gone so I can just stop thinking about it. It's not like it looks so great now that keeping it is a dramatic improvement over getting rid of it, but I just wanted to get some outside opinions before deciding whether or not to take that plunge :woot:

From the front



From the top, with the flash on it's pretty bad

 

[Nashville Hairline]

It looks OK the length it is in your pic, IMO. No need to be going "sly" just yet.

 

[s.a.f]

:agree: I dont know why guys shave it off in the early stages.

 

[optimus prime]

:agree: I dont know why guys shave it off in the early stages.

I do, when my crown thinned i shaved it off even though i still had lots of hair because I wanted neat clean look and I was tired of this thin pathetic hair on my head that looked like it was slowly dying (which I guess it is).

Anyway, with regards to the poster, looks fine now. You could crop it down a few mm, and if you like it, go a bit more, and keep going until you feel comfortable or don't like it. When you don't like it, leave it and it will take a week or 2 to grow back a few mm to your previous length you liked.

 

[follicle84]

:agree: I dont know why guys shave it off in the early stages.

Its to eliminate the fear of hairloss by gettin use to your future look. It helped me deal with this fear.

If this be the case with you then shave it and see how you feel. Apart from that you look alright. You can pull off growing your hair for now.

 

[jd_uk]

You look good and it's pretty short already so I'd keep it that length. You probably won't look much worse with it shorter though either but for now I'd keep the bit of colour that you have.

 

[bigentries]

:agree: I dont know why guys shave it off in the early stages.

For me, it was the ease of mind
I have let it grown in the past 2 months and I feel way more self-conscious with it. I feel way more relaxed with a very short buzz cut

Your current haircut looks fine Spiff. You could try it a little shorter, but your hairline really suits you and I don't think the thinning ruins your image

 

[baldinglikeamofo]

when you dont shave it off and you have this chip chop hair growth on top, it makes you look diseased.

Thats why I would shave it off, it looks neater and healthier.

 

[Spiff]

I do, when my crown thinned i shaved it off even though i still had lots of hair because I wanted neat clean look and I was tired of this thin pathetic hair on my head that looked like it was slowly dying (which I guess it is).

Its to eliminate the fear of hairloss by gettin use to your future look. It helped me deal with this fear.

For me, it was the ease of mind
I have let it grown in the past 2 months and I feel way more self-conscious with it. I feel way more relaxed with a very short buzz cut

Exactly, I think it's just calling to me for the peace of mind. I know it's not too bad yet, but it's been speeding up a lot the past few months. If I'm somewhere that's brightly lit it throws me off my game as well which is a feeling I'm not too big on. I think I'm going to give it a shot just to see if I've got a wonky head shape, better to find out now than later, might motivate me to put on a few pounds again.

Thanks very much for the replies everyone, much appreciated!

 

[Spiff]

when you dont shave it off and you have this chip chop hair growth on top, it makes you look diseased.

Thats why I would shave it off, it looks neater and healthier.

Great way of putting it.

 

[Nene]

I also buzzed my hair to a 0 for years even though I had plenty of hair. Currently I grew it back b/c I work at a law firm and I think bald might be considered an unprofessional look on someone who isn't naturally bald. Anyway, I don't think you need to shave it yet. You can use some toppik and it'll look perfect. Of course if you think you'll feel more comfortable shaving it you can give it a try and see how you like it.

 

[s.a.f]

I dont think so plenty of guys can pull off the balding look just by keeping it short. Look at Bruce Willis in the 90's he was clearly balding but it still looked ok and better than it does now. Same with Callum Best. Like Nene put one you buzz it off people often see you as a thug or just think that you're totally bald. I'd definatly keep hair if I was anything above NW4.

 

[IronLionZion]

You look good as is. You are overthinking this.

 

[Spiff]

I wanted to update this thread, I'd come across so many of these and wondered if they did it and if so how they went.

So a few days after I posted this thread I figured ok, I'll go down to a 1/4" 2 guard and see how it goes. I'm not going to lie, it looked awful. I'm 30 and all of a sudden looked 40, was just too thin up top and had never admitted it to myself until it was undeniably right there in the mirror in front of me. We're talking full on horseshoe. I wish I could've gotten a flash "before" picture of the first ones in this thread because realistically it was just as bad then.

Here's a picture, with no flash

[attachment=4:1kx7x2po]2 guard buzzed no flash.JPG[/attachment:1kx7x2po]

With flash, it was even worse than it looked.

[attachment=3:1kx7x2po]2 guard buzzed.JPG[/attachment:1kx7x2po]

I was miserable. All week. Just stared at my hair (or lack thereof), catching a glimpse of it in storefront windows as I'd walk by in direct sun and it would look like there was nothing there. Finally today I said screw it, and went down to the barbershop for a 1 guard. And OMG! I look and feel fantastic. There is no sign of thinning, like at all. None. I look about 5 years younger than I have for the last few years, it's really unbelievable.

All of that worrying, all of that loss of self confidence just evaporated as I was looking at myself in the barbershop mirror while the guy buzzed it off. I can honestly say I've never been this happy with my appearance, even back before my hair started thinning out in my early 20's. There's a world of difference between a 1 guard and a 2 guard, if you're reading this and still mulling it over like I did please do yourself a favor and try the 1 guard. Neat and clean, I only wish I'd done it years and years ago. Here's some pics...

Flash

[attachment=1:1kx7x2po]1 guard buzz cut flash.JPG[/attachment:1kx7x2po]

No flash, going around the sides to show the evenness now, really just unbelievable.

[attachment=0:1kx7x2po]1 guard buzz cut again.JPG[/attachment:1kx7x2po]

[attachment=2:1kx7x2po]1 guard buzz cut.JPG[/attachment:1kx7x2po]

Thanks again to everyone for your replies, they were all immeasurably appreciated!