First time posting

[Ban-one77]

Hey guys,

I've lurked for a bit and decided to finally post to get up the courage to do something about my thinning hair. Im 23 and thought that people my age didnt have this problem, but coming here i see I'm not alone. Last weekend I saw some pictures of myself that really showed me how bad it was. I want to stop worrying about my hair or lack of it all the time. I'm also a little nervous about shaving because of my big my ears and two knots on my head from hitting my head on things when I was younger.

[steven3444]

Welcome.  Yes it does happen to people your age (I am 24).  I thought it was pretty rare until my work had an intern lunch and I saw quite a few young guys with hair loss.  I can't lie that I am very nervous about shaving it all off myself, even to the point of feeling a bit sick, but the only one stopping me from doing it is myself.  This weekend may finally be the time to shave it off and move on.  Good luck to you.

[steven3444]

Ohh by the way your ears look perfectly normal size to me.  Can't speak for bumps though.

[mrzed]

The lumps, bumps, and ears, are just you.  Shave the head, or give it a very short buzz. It minimizes the 'bald' effect.  i.e. rather than seeing a guy and thinking " Oh, look, his hair is really thinning. He's going bald".  Shave your head. Then the response is " Nice bald head. Looks good. I bet that's just a hairstyle choice for him! He's too young to be balding." You know better, but the impression is good.

Take your time reviewing the posts here.  Check out the profile pictures. There are lots of young men who shave their heads, whether they need to or not.  Also look around your community.  I'll be you see more bald heads when you watch for it.  I do around here.  Hardly a day goes by that I don't meet several fellow bald guys. 

Keep the beard. You'll rock the Sly look.

[reddog]

I know it's a hard decision, but thinking about it was consuming me. I am not balding at all, so I was pretty shakey while shaving my head. I must say, people were surprised, but I had all positive comments after shaving, and I love being bald, I have a whole new confident attitude. So many friends say they wish they had the balls to do it! I'll include a before photo. I'm glad I did it, but you have to decide. It's been almost 6 weeks for me, and everyone is just used to my new look.

[gadgetwizard]

Reddog. Excellent before and after photo.

If I might say you look so much younger with the bald look.

[reddog]

Thanks GW, I agree. I started getting grey at 21, and now am 59. One of the greatest pleasures about being sly, is not seeing all that grey hair on my head for the first time in decades.

[Focus]

Welcome here. Don't worry too much about your physical flaws : you are probably the only one to notice them.

When I watch your pictures, I do not see anything ungraceful.

As Mr Zed said : try cutting your hair progressively, until you reach the shortest buzz you can. And you can see if it works for you. Then just a little step separates the very short buzz from the shaving.

See you.

[Sir Harry]

Welcome man! I say why don't you try a shorter buzz first just to see what you look like with shorter hair....then if you like it, you can then go all the way. You'd be surprised how many members have bumps, scars, etc. on their heads...but they are what make our heads unique. Good luck to you.

[Ihor]

Welcome to the forum! I agree with the guys: you could try a buzz cut or a shaved head and judging by the pictures, your ears are of normal size. I started thinning from medical prescriptions and my hair might even be all right now (I don't know, haven't tried to grow it in the last 3 months:-)) but I prefer to keep the sly look regardless of the scar at the back of my head and confidence issues. Just give it a try, it's just hair.

[bennett11]

just buzz it short and shorter and soon will be bald and you will be happy.

[bigstosh]

Your ears are fine.  Don't worry about the bumps, they add character.

[Cave Dweller]

Welcome Ban-one.

Nope, You certainly are not alone. A majority of men who lose their hair start to do so in their twenties and early thirties. Mine started when I was 17, and by the time I was your age, I had far less hair than you currently do.

Losing your hair will be a problem only if you allow it to be - and remember that you are your worst critic when it comes to your appearance. Most people are not even aware of the imperfections on which we fixate about ourselves.

I am going to go against the flow of advice the the other gentlemen have given. My opinion is that if you want to know what being smooth is like, the only true way to find out is just to shave it off rather than trying to ease into it. The hair you are so worried about losing is gone. It really is incredibly liberating.

If you are like most of us, you will wonder why you hesitated.

Glad you are with us, sir.

[wpruitt]

Welcome Ban-One