If you were to ask my wife, my last bad haircut has been lasting for roughly a decade. It's been about that long since I decided I would keep my hair cropped short. I'm talking shorter than a crew cut but longer than being shaved totally bald smooth. My thinning hair prompted this decision. I investigated hair replacement solutions like implants or hairpieces, but they were just not for me. Too much maintenance or risk (in regard to implants). And I was afraid it might lead to other vanity-based decisions --like hair implants being the gateway to facelifts. Horrific mages in my mind of Micheal Jackson's disappearing nose and immobile, taut features became associated with implant surgery for me however unjustified.
Comb over hair styles, which is what my wife would rather have me try, are not an option. I had already been using carefully combed and placed hair along with copious amounts of hair spray to compensate for thinning hair in the beginning stages. It was already getting to be too much trouble. And I've seen how guys with comb overs look when they venture out into a stiff wind. The strands of long hair catch the wind like a flag. And the flag's meaning is hardly as inspirational as Old Glory.
I also tried Rogaine which was proven to grow hair in a majority of men who used it in clinical trials. But I had a bad reaction to it. It appears I'm one of the small percentage of men for whom the side-effects of dizziness, rapid heart beat and fainting were severe enough to put me off of the medication.
So, the buzz cut look is the one I've adopted. I trim my hair once a week with electric clippers and wash the negligible clippings down the sink. I admit at first I got some strange reactions. The youth pastor at the church I was attending at the time discretely inquired if I was undergoing chemo-therapy. That was probably the most extreme reaction. But now, after so many years, it's just my look. And I see a multitude of other guys using the same strategy. In fact, so many men around my age crop their balding pates like I do that I'm often mistaken for other middle-aged, short, trim, balding white guys. That doesn't bother me. I'm not the kind of person who likes to stand out in a crowd so that suits me just fine.
Comb over hair styles, which is what my wife would rather have me try, are not an option. I had already been using carefully combed and placed hair along with copious amounts of hair spray to compensate for thinning hair in the beginning stages. It was already getting to be too much trouble. And I've seen how guys with comb overs look when they venture out into a stiff wind. The strands of long hair catch the wind like a flag. And the flag's meaning is hardly as inspirational as Old Glory.
I also tried Rogaine which was proven to grow hair in a majority of men who used it in clinical trials. But I had a bad reaction to it. It appears I'm one of the small percentage of men for whom the side-effects of dizziness, rapid heart beat and fainting were severe enough to put me off of the medication.
So, the buzz cut look is the one I've adopted. I trim my hair once a week with electric clippers and wash the negligible clippings down the sink. I admit at first I got some strange reactions. The youth pastor at the church I was attending at the time discretely inquired if I was undergoing chemo-therapy. That was probably the most extreme reaction. But now, after so many years, it's just my look. And I see a multitude of other guys using the same strategy. In fact, so many men around my age crop their balding pates like I do that I'm often mistaken for other middle-aged, short, trim, balding white guys. That doesn't bother me. I'm not the kind of person who likes to stand out in a crowd so that suits me just fine.
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