Shaving One's Head - Monetary, Political, Health, Sexual and Mental Considerations - More than You Ever Wanted to Know

I think the decision to shave ones' head is a big deal to a lot of people, and I mean with a razor directly on skin, not simply to "buzz if off." It's true that for a lot of white guys, it just doesn't fit them. I got lucky and my head has a decent shape to it.

First let me say that the only reason I originally shaved my head is that my hair was thinning out. I took the plunge in May of 2003. Before this I had long hair, believe it or not. I considered hair replacement for a brief period, but the deeper I looked into it the more complicated it was and the less it really offered. Finally I just stood in front of a mirror and covered my hair with my hands and had an epiphany, it looked good. I still hesitated for a few weeks but finally went through with it. Honestly, there are times when I wish that I still had hair so I could do stuff with it, but for the most part I doubt I will ever want hair again.

Shaving one's head is often something that, once you do it you are likely to keep it that way. That's the general rule, I am not sure why, perhaps because it is a hassle growing it back and being unable to do anything with it for weeks or perhaps months.

The Politics of a Shaved Head

There are political implications to shaving one's head that you have no control over. Where an afro is often considered "political hair" which has had implications for those who decide to don it, for a white guy shaving one's head can draw other, darker suspicions. It's not that everyone thinks you're a skinhead Nazi, but some might assume this, and others might assume that you at least do not care if you are mistaken for one. If this is the case, I'm not sure which would be worse, being mistaken for a real skinhead or some dumb knuckle-head who thinks he's one.

There are even groups out there who try to dispel such fears such as S.H.A.R.P. (Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice). I don't get the opportunity to explain to everyone I come across as to WHY I shaved my head, and I can't dispel people's suspicions or fears, I just have to go along with life and after a while you don't think about it as often. I will say that fortunately it is more common than it was ten or twenty years ago, fewer people still see it as a political statement.

There's a skinhead subculture within the gay leather scene, which has a fetish for a certain "look" which is very popular in the UK and Germany. I don't understand it and I'm not interested in it, but I know some guys who are. It tends to be quite popular among the younger guys I understand.

Cheaper Than Going to a Barber?

First off, let me say I NEVER liked going to the barber, I hated it in fact. Sitting in a chair paying someone to cut my hair, which usually I didn't want cut but needed to because of a job. And depending where you went it could be expensive too.

I use MACH 3 or MACH 3-Turbo razors with Edge Pro-Gel. I can get a pack of 16 razors at Sam's for around $30~, the Pro-Gel is cheap too. I use a razor at least twice, often more. It's hard to say how often I shave, it varies. If I am going somewhere important and I haven't shaven for 3 days I will shave again, if not it can go for nearly a week at times.

So if I did shave every 3 days, which I don't usually, 16 razors used twice would last about 96 days, for $30~. Pretty cheap huh?

Is It A Hassle?

On the other hand it is a hassle at times. You can't just comb and be ready to go in a few seconds, if you're going out and haven't shaven in a while you have to plan out 15-20 minutes to get ready. Shaving my head and face generally takes about 15 minutes in the shower. But then again most people take 10 minutes to shower, and they have to shave anyway, I am able to do both at the same time. I would say it's a trade off that you get use to.

Health Considerations - A Hat Is Your Best Friend



It's true that getting a sunburn on your scalp is a damn awful thing. I am surprised that it has only happened to me one time when I was at an outdoor event all day in summer. The thing is, I tend to be naturally pale and it's hard for me to get a suntan, much less a sunburn. But this is something that you have to be aware of regardless of the season.

Another thing is the cold of winter. A toboggan is essential, some people (often non-Southern) insist you call it a beanie, skullcap or ski cap, whatever, fuck them. As for other types of hats, I've never liked baseball caps before, they wouldn't cut it anyway. You will know the meaning of cold if you forget it on a cold day, and you'll get a headache probably too. I would say that hair protects your head from heat as well as cold; I've found that harsh, direct sunlight on your head (for an extended period) can cause a headache as well as extreme cold.

Another thing a hat can help you with is bugs, this isn't always an issue, but if you are outside exercising and getting sweaty there's nothing worse than biting flies. I discovered this soon after I shaved my head and started walking and jogging on the Silver Comet Trail, which is a very wooded area. Bug spray helps too, just spray it all over your head and neck.

Is It Sexy?

It's a matter of opinion of course. I will say that when I went to a bar with hair I got little attention, but after shaving my head I got more attention than I wanted. Personally I rarely find a guy with a shaved head to be sexy, on some it is.

Speaking of bars, another thing, you might as well get use to drunk people coming up to you and asking if they can "rub your head," I don't mind people doing it but I don't understand why they want to. I've never had a desire to rub a strangers' head. You can say no but this is likely to happen so often that you will get a bad reputation around the bar which can be worse. Usually they just rub your head a little and move on.

A final note about this is that you can actually look younger without hair than with it, it depends a lot on your face. I think this is without a doubt true and especially if your hair is thinning. If it doesn't make you look younger it often does cause you to acquire a sort of "ageless" quality, and over time you don't look older at the rate you would with hair, dealing with things like thinning, receding or gray.

The Mental Side

So it has its pluses and minuses. I can tell you this, there is nothing worse than thinking about your hair thinning all of the time. I don't care who you are, if you're a guy and it's thinning out, it bothers you. I know it does, I don't care if you're the least metro-sexual man in the world. I heard a person put it this way one time; he had a choice, he had to take a razor to his head or to his wrist. I wasn't at that extreme, but it does depress and worry you after a while. After 5+ years of shaving it, those days seem so long ago. It's not for everyone but this post is meant to help you think of the implications of the choice.

The Party's Over, Assessing the Future...

I've been trying to decide how I feel about all of this, I'm a liberal white person who is not as overwhelmed as many African American people are, but much more impacted than the average American that pays less attention to politics.

I think the best way to describe how I feel about Obama's election is that two weights have been lifted. One of them grew heavier as this current campaign dragged on and thoughts of a McCain and possibly Palin administration swirled in my head like a virus that evidentially was on many people's minds.

The other weight I was not completely aware of until it was lifted, then I realized that it had been there for much of the past eight years. Four years ago I thought Kerry was a terrible candidate, but I could also not imagine a Bush re-election, but it happened.

It feels like this vale of tears has been renewed. Literally the air smells better, sunlight feels warmer and I even feel like I have more energy. I can only imagine how good I would feel all the time if I could IGNORE politics, but I doubt that will happen.

I've got to emphasize, I was voting AGAINST more than FOR. I think McCain would lead us into another war and Palin is a half-wit fool who could possibly replace him, and that for me is the definition of being up shit creek without a paddle. No, I feel like I am in a nation of adults again, even if Obama can't bring about big "change," we elected a man with a brain for Gods sake and we did so for the right reasons, not because we were distracted by fear and loathing.

Obama Until 2012 or 2016?

I suspect Obama will be a 1-term president unfortunately. This economic mess is severe and when it gets worse under his watch the Republicans will be back in two years and then another four to blame a government controlled entirely by the Democrats. Combine that with a backlash that will come from an Obama term regardless what he does, and you likely see a Republican back in the white house.[1]

I guess what I am trying to say is that, if there were a GOOD time to be OUT of office and power, this would be it. I have to think that this train wreck wasn't entirely accidental; Republicans say government is inefficient and they ensure it is true while they are in power. This all assumes that Obama doesn't come in and just totally turn the economy around, I don't think it's totally under his or anyone else's control.

It's too far off to project much, but while the GOP does have problems adjusting it's ideals to a changing electorate and a new generation who has helped to put Obama into office, to count them out would be foolish. As Obama said, they may not know how to govern, but they know how to win elections.

Palin, Poor Palin...

A quick note on Palin, I find all of this Republican infighting incredibly entertaining of course, but I am still trying to understand what it's all about. Perhaps the aides from McCain's camp are really just pissed off and hate her. Keith Olbermann brought up the point that the Republicans are the ones that called her a "Wasilla hillbilly" (what an elitist thing to say!) and that perhaps Palin was the real deal "average American" and while they speak of being a party for that group this behavior toward Palin suggests they really are a party that just wants that as a facade.

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FOOTNOTES
1. I would like to send readers to the following link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gHIVt7MERGIbR6SEMaTMPoeCiuiwD94AB9280, since Obama whipped McCain gun sales have risen dramatically, a perfect example of the white, scared, knee-jerk reaction.

I'm Mostly Happy, But...

An Obama Victory and the "Sins of the Fathers"

We have come a long way in terms of diversity. We will have our first black president, and before that we had our first retarded president. I am proud we have come so far and are willing to be so diverse.

Nothing can "make up" for centuries of slavery, but I do think this is more than just symbolic. This country has been living under the "sins of the fathers" since it's founding, and it's hard to say what this will mean in the long-term for race relations. I am still taking it all in, and anyone who says they really understand how this will affect the American psyche is probably lying.

CA Bans Gay Marriage, With a BIG Help from the Black CA Population

For gay Americans this is a bittersweet time, Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage in California passed. Interesting how California overwhelmingly voted for Obama but still managed to pull this off too. I have always believed that a minority group gets very little if any help from other minority groups once the group they are seeking help from has risen to acceptance or power in society.

This is aimed squarely and without regret at the African American votes in California. Exit polls revealed 70% of African Americans who voted were FOR the ban, only about half of white voters voted for the ban. I really don't get it, and I have no regret pointing this FACT out.[1]

A Big "Fuck You" To Unity with Far-Right Republicans

On the MSNBC "Morning Joe" show Joe Scarborough went on a rant about how the "liberal elites" are saying that Americans were getting involved for the first time, but in fact, Joe says, there was just as much enthusiasm about Bush in 2004 when the Christian evangelicals came out to re-elect him. And shame on "closed-minded liberals" who dare to criticize the REASONS those Bush voters were energized.

I just can't let such a statement pass. First of all, those voters in 2004 were coming out to vote largely because a gay marriage ban was likely on the ballot in their state. They were voting out of fear about national security, two wars and a government that has taken advantage of a terrorist attack. I see no comparison between the election of Barack Obama and the re-election of George Bush in terms of the issues or the general spirit in which it was done.

Not all enthusiasm is equal, and frankly while America needs "unity;" division along racial, geographical, cultural and class lines has been the destructive Republican strategy for decades. I don't want to be unified with an extreme right-wing, and I don't even think it's possible.

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Footnotes
1. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hZmLBrL36NObNyMR0ghXN7vB5hYwD9493TBO0

Thoughts After Obama's Victory...

I'm writing this just minutes after Obama has been elected. I gotta admit, I can hardly believe it. That America has just elected a black man as president really is something that will take time to sink in.

I see the shots from Grant Park, the streets of Harlem and Ebenezer Church here in Atlanta and all the exuberant faces of the African Americans, many of them wet with tears. I know I can't understand how they feel but goddamn I feel happy for them.

It needs to remembered that this couldn't have happened without white America, that’s not meant to take away from black people but to say that this should be seen as a confirmation that this country is changing.

States are still coming in, they are projecting that Obama has also won Virginia and Florida. The popular vote is still being counted, but this seems to be a decisive victory which is important. And it makes me wonder if a deeper change is occurring for the Democratic Party, and if the Republicans have painted themselves into a corner and appeal to ever-shrinking segments of the population. Will the young voters who Obama was able to draw in stay Democratic? Time will tell.