Slow down hairgrowth

GT_TDI_150

Ive recently started shaving my head due to very obvious patches of alopiecia(?spelling?) Being visable when my hair used to be cut at a zero or one blade and re cut every few weeks.

Growing outmy hair to cover the patches isnt an option. Ive always had 1 or 0 blade cuts.

My issue now is that i have to shave my head every 2 days, if i leave it a 3rd day it becomes difficult for a mach3(ive very thick hair, the electric cutters used to struggle when i went to hairdressers ) to cut it and its back at the 0-1 blade teretorry the with patches obvious again.

Is there anything that can be done to slow hairgrowth? I dont mind the shaving and love the smooth head feel. I just hate that i HAVE to do it every 2 days ... no skipping or the clippers have to come out and im super concsious of the patches.

Thanks

beardybrewer

I'm not sure that anything can be done to slow down nature. Its often occurred to me we spend a lot of our lives mucking about with hair be it on our head, beard, or elsewhere.

I would recommend you consult with your specialist to see if there is any options. Perhaps there exists hair removal creams safe for your head. Maybe even electrolysis could be an option but you really need to seek professional help.

rubadub

You said hairdressers, was this a proper barbers? if just a hairdresser they might have have a bog standard trimmer. Also was your hair long when it had trouble cutting it? as it gets much easier when already short.

I have a wahl professional "balding" razor and would highly recommend it. It is so close I shave my face with it too, it gives like a days growth or less. I think it cuts at twice the speed of regular Wahl trimmers. It has more cutting edges on the blade too. Its a beast and a joy to use, once you are careful.

balding on is on the left

beardybrewer

Well if we're talking about fast clippers I recommend the Remington HC4250 Quick Cut Clipper

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Remington-HC4250-Quick-Cut-Clipper/dp/B012F8MS9A/ref=sr_1_6_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1467034268&sr=8-6&keywords=remington+hair+clippers

It has clippers like the left except they are even wider. I'm more than twice as fast giving myself a haircut with these clippers compared to the last.

GT_TDI_150

Oh no ... im wet shaving and im ok with doing that.... but my hair grows wicked fast.... trying to slow it down.

GT_TDI_150

So, just to clarify ... I used to trim my own hair or get it done at a barbers ( hairdressers was a slip of the tongue ... honest ) ... I used to get a zero blade.

In the last few months tho I've been noticing spots where no hair was growing ... doctor confirmed it was alopecia

So because I've got my hair super short (and have had it wet shaved for a while in the past) I decided to go down the wet shaving route....

So I'm not looking for the best clippers to get a hair cut ... but rather looking for any way of slowing down hair growth as mine grows fast and is very thick.

As an aside ... I'm using the disposable 'mach3' razors ( not the ones where you get the heads but keep the handle if that makes sense) at €9 for a pack of 5 which last for 3 shaves (1 week).

Are the razors where you buy the double edgeed blades 50 in a pack better than these razors?

colly10

They're better without question but using a safety razor is a skill you learn and shaving your head is considered more difficult than shaving your face with one (never shaved my head myself but heard, others may feel differently).
Canned gels don't offer great protection either so with all included it would take you quite a bit longer to shave.
Certainly cheaper and a better shave though

GT_TDI_150

What is the longevity of these blades? ie. something like a mach3 or mach3 disposable does me for 3 headshaves ... how much would you expect to get from the safety razor blades?

hitemfrank

Even if a safety razor blade only lasts 1 headshave - it should last a couple I would guess - the blades are so much cheaper than disposables. 100 DE blades can be had for as little as €10 depending on the brand.

GT_TDI_150

Sounds like I need to make an investment

hitemfrank

It's buying the razor itself and the brushes and soaps and aftershaves that make it expensive.

If you can just buy a DE razor and some blades - a sample pack to begin with as blades vary from person to person - and still use the gel/foam in the can you should (or whatever you currently use) save a fair bit of money.

rubadub

GT_TDI_150 wrote: »

So I'm not looking for the best clippers to get a hair cut ... but rather looking for any way of slowing down hair growth as mine grows fast and is very thick.

I got that, I should have said I do not think anything will significantly reduce the rate of growth, bar actual hair removal cream or laser treatment type stuff for permanent hair removal.

The speed of the "balding wahl" is secondary, its how close it shaves that I thought might appeal to you. I have used many clippers over the years, but this is a whole new level. I was annoyed as I had bought a decent braun face razor around the same time too, which now lies unused as the wahl is such a joy to use, quick and a close shave.

You said you were shaving every 2 days with machs. The wahl will give a look of 1 days growth or less. There is no hassle or expense of new blades or cream etc. I reckon it would take me far less time to shave my head with it every single day overall than shaving with mach 3's every second day.

The balding wahl is really like no other clipper I have used, and the negative reviews show it! if you search amazon you will see most negative reviews are from people complaining it is too sharp and have cut them selves up using it. I got a few cuts myself the first few times as I was so used to using the regular style of clippers. Now I know to respect it and check it before each use to see if it is aligned right, have not had a cut in over a year at least. Other clippers allow very wreckless use, as you are used to using blades you would probably be fine as you would already be cautious

https://www.amazon.com/Wahl-Professional-785110-Balding-Clipper/product-reviews/B000VVT94G/ref=cm_cr_dp_qt_hist_one?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=one_star&showViewpoints=0

the co.uk site shows a guy with a photo after shaving his head
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wahl-Europe-8110-017-Balding-Clipper/dp/B000ICLLMQ/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1467238961&sr=8-1&keywords=wahl+balding

GT_TDI_150

rubadub wrote: »

I got that, I should have said I do not think anything will significantly reduce the rate of growth, bar actual hair removal cream or laser treatment type stuff for permanent hair removal.

The speed of the "balding wahl" is secondary, its how close it shaves that I thought might appeal to you. I have used many clippers over the years, but this is a whole new level. I was annoyed as I had bought a decent braun face razor around the same time too, which now lies unused as the wahl is such a joy to use, quick and a close shave.

You said you were shaving every 2 days with machs. The wahl will give a look of 1 days growth or less. There is no hassle or expense of new blades or cream etc. I reckon it would take me far less time to shave my head with it every single day overall than shaving with mach 3's every second day.

The balding wahl is really like no other clipper I have used, and the negative reviews show it! if you search amazon you will see most negative reviews are from people complaining it is too sharp and have cut them selves up using it. I got a few cuts myself the first few times as I was so used to using the regular style of clippers. Now I know to respect it and check it before each use to see if it is aligned right, have not had a cut in over a year at least. Other clippers allow very wreckless use, as you are used to using blades you would probably be fine as you would already be cautious

https://www.amazon.com/Wahl-Professional-785110-Balding-Clipper/product-reviews/B000VVT94G/ref=cm_cr_dp_qt_hist_one?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=one_star&showViewpoints=0

the co.uk site shows a guy with a photo after shaving his head
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wahl-Europe-8110-017-Balding-Clipper/dp/B000ICLLMQ/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1467238961&sr=8-1&keywords=wahl+balding

much appreciated.

but I think I'm going to stick with the wet shave ... I love that smooth as a bowling ball (that hasnt been dropped a 100 times and has a load of pits in it :P) feel.

GT_TDI_150

So maybe I could do with some pointers ...

when shaving my face, I'll I ever used to do is ... splash of water,g et shaving gel and get it foaming in my hands, rub it on and start shaving with a mach3 or similar...

other than changing to different shaving soap and a safety razor ... anything else I should/could be doing/using to get that glass like finish?

colly10

GT_TDI_150 wrote: »

So maybe I could do with some pointers ...

when shaving my face, I'll I ever used to do is ... splash of water,g et shaving gel and get it foaming in my hands, rub it on and start shaving with a mach3 or similar...

other than changing to different shaving soap and a safety razor ... anything else I should/could be doing/using to get that glass like finish?

Most people shave straight out of the shower, I put on a small bit of shaving oil then create a bowl later, do 1 pass with the grain, rinse and relather, another pass with the grain, rinse, rub on alum block, rinse with cold water after a min then apply aftershave.

Thats close enough for me but some do one pass with the grain, one pass across the grain then 1 pass against the grain. After the pass against the grain it's extreamly close.

Wouldn't say I'd recommend it on your head though, there's alot of angles, probably harder to work out what way it'd be growing and very time consuming i'd imagine

dev100

GT_TDI_150 wrote:

Are the razors where you buy the double edgeed blades 50 in a pack better than these razors?

Requires lots patience and skill and lots of time , it's not a rush to the shower and shave head before you head off to work in the morning you certainly can't rush it .... I gave up using it as it leaves a nasty cut if you gone wrong....

I shave maybe everyday 3 days or so but gets expensive though . Generally shave once a week and use an electrical razor to take off excess and wet shave then

Unless you are going down road of laser treatment you may suffer on

hitemfrank

They really don't require that much patience or skill to use. Just use less pressure than you do with a cartridge razor and your fine.

The only way to cut yourself with a DE razor is by using too much pressure or by moving the razor on your skin parallel to the blade (perpendicular being the normal way to go). Do either of those things with a cartridge razor and you'll cut yourself too. The cut I've found are the same as a cartridge.

As for time, to begin with you will be slower as but with practice it can be just as quick as a cartridge. I can do a three pass shave with a DE in the same time it takes me to do a three pass shave with a cartridge.