Kevin D. Hendricks

2 Weeks After Shaving the Head

Two weeks ago I shaved my head. I just let everything grow back, but after a week I had to shave my neck and face for a wedding. So the mustache, goatee and the rest of my head are two weeks post shaving. We’ll see if the beard comes back.

What have I learned from shaving my head?

• It comes back quickly, which I’m thankful for (as is my wife). I expected to be bald long ago, so every day I still have hair is a surprise. That’s actually why I grew my hair out in the first place–grow it while you got it.
• I think the hair on the top of my head grows the fastest. Initially I thought it was my chin, but I think my goatee slowed down and my head caught up. The slowest growing hair? My sideburns. When I shaved my face I kept some short sideburns, but they’re barely there. (I suppose technically it grows the slowest on my cheeks which is why I’ve always shaved those and just kept a slim beard. Seems I’ll never have a mountain-man beard.)
• While I’m not going prematurely bald, I do have quite a bit of gray starting to poke in. And I think my hairline is crooked too.
• When you shave your head there’s an incredible velcro effect. When you put on a shirt it just sticks to your bald head. I expected a greater sensitivity to temperature and I knew I’d have to rub sunscreen into my head (which feels weird), but I wasn’t expecting the velcro effect.
• I do love the benefits of having little to no hair: I spend less time in the shower, no time fixing my hair–and nothing messes it up. I can change shirts as many times as I like, drive with the windows down, enjoy being outside on a windy day without a hat, and the list goes on. It all sounds incredibly stupid, but it is a noticeable difference.

So that’s the great head shaving experiment of 2008. My wife pointed out to me that I’ve changed hair styles quite a bit throughout my life, so we’ll see what happens this time.