Buzz or shave your head? When to do which.

To buzz or shave your head, decisions, decisions..

I stood there in front of the mirror, clippers in hand before finally taking the plunge and I asked myself, “Should I just buzz or shave my head entirely?”

If you’ve never shaved your head before, it could be one of the most nerve-racking moments of your life, no kidding. The decision to buzz or shave your head depends on whether you want to ease into your pending baldness or you want to “hide your baldness” in plain sight and go all in. Let’s look into the pros and cons of both decisions so you can decide which path is best for you.

What’s the difference between a buzz cut and a shaved head?

A buzz cut is basically taking a pair of clippers and using the various clipper guards to get you the size and type of buzz cut that you want. 

Whereas, a shaved head is one step beyond a buzz cut. It’s actually taking a razor or an electric shaver and shaving off the remaining bit of hair lower than even the lowest of buzz cuts.

Why can’t I try a buzz cut and a shaved head?

There’s no reason why you can’t try both. In fact, there’s no better way to transition to a shaved head than to run the gamut of the various buzz cuts first. Actually, you still may be a little skittish about going all the way down and just shave your head. 

That’s why buzz cuts are such a great intermediary alternative. The halfway point between a regular haircut and an all out shaved head. So my advice would be to start with a buzz cut and work your way down to a shaved head.

Which buzz cut to start with is maybe another question altogether. There are various buzz cuts and lengths that you might want to try.

Some guys, myself included, just skipped buzz cuts all together and went with a shaved head. 

But the option of adjusting down towards a shaved head through shorter and shorter buzz cuts is definitely something you may want to look at if you’ve been thinking about shaving your head and aren’t quite up to the challenge.

When should you buzz your head and when should you shave it?

Everyone of course has their own decision-making processes. Personally, I’ve never had a buzz cut.

After years of putting up with all the frustration and anxiety of my ever increasing thinning hair and trying to come to terms with my own male pattern baldness, by the time I was ready to pull the trigger, I skipped the adjustment phases of the buzz cuts and went all in and just shaved my head. 

In fact, I wanted to shave my head skin smooth from the start, not even wanting to leave a shadow of stubble behind on my head.

However, balding doesn’t need to be the main reason why you should get a buzz cut or even shave your head. 

Many men sport thick full heads of hair decide to get a buzz cut, many even decide to just shave their heads all together.

If I had to do it all over again though, I would have used buzz cuts as a way to slowly adjust and get used to my thinning head of hair. 

I think what most men have difficulties with is getting used to seeing themselves without hair. Most men aren’t used to seeing the shape of their skulls in their entirety.

I think this also keeps a lot of men from either getting a buzz cut or shaving their heads. 

They may even prefer the thinning hair on top to the fear of the world seeing what they look like without their comb overs or other hairstyle tricks to cover up their balding. 

On most popular questions in relation to balding is, “what’s the best head shape for balding?” I have rarely seen a bald guy, meaning a guy who shaves his head with a bad head shape.

Unless you were born with some kind of birth defect or genetics had given you some bizzare looking head shape, you probably have a great head shape. 

However, you’d be surprised how much weight and carrying some extra fat can do to the shape of your head and face.

If you don’t believe me, here’s a link to men’s faces who have lost a lot of weight and their before and after photos. Practically different people, wouldn’t you agree?

That’s because your head can also carry a lot of extra fat on it. Ever noticed some bald guys who got a few you rolls on the backs of their necks up to their heads.

Also, the amount of fat on your face affects your chin, jaw bone as well as your cheekbones and even your eyes. 

You know so many guys who have lost a lot of weight even look younger. Their eyes look more alive. There’s more definition on their faces after they lost that weight and fat in particular. 

When you lose fat, you lose it all over your body, not just your stomach but you lose it all over and especially the face and neck, which can totally change your appearance. 

So whether you decide to get a buzz cut or shave your head, your weight should be something you need to really consider first before deciding if a buzz cut or shaved head is right for you.

How do I make the most of both a buzz cut and a shaved head?

Whether you get a buzz cut or decide to shave your head it’s going to give you a bit of a tougher edge. You’ll look a lot tougher with a buzz cut or shaved head than with hair.

So the key to making either a buzz cut for a shaved head look good and make the most out of it will be to harden up the other edges of your appearance. 

Ditch the Dockers and the pink striped shirts. Go for dark denim, blacks, greys, blues and browns. Extreme perhaps, but darker colors are tougher.

Also don’t forget to get yourself a great pair of shoes, etc.

You can also adopt a more athletic look, with tracksuits and trainers etc. like some European Soccer Stars. You can also go for a mod look of the 1960s.

Get yourself a Fred Perry Polo shirt, button it up all the way to the top, combine it with a pair of great fitting trousers or jeans, summer dress trainers and top it off with a Harrington Baracuta style jacket or a bomber.

These are also some great looks, if you’re not into the real tough guy look get a leather jacket or coat.

Don’t forget to get in shape, regardless if you have hair or not everybody looks much better when they are in great shape.

However, if you are in great shape, but you are still trying to come over your baldness with the little hair you have left, it’s already detracting from all that hard work you may have put in at the gym or doing other kinds of physical training etc. 

If you’re already in great shape, a buzz cut or shave head will just accentuate. So keeping any longer strands of hair on your head will actually distract from all that hard work you’ve put into your health and fitness. 

If you still want to make the most out of a buzz cut and haven’t yet decided to shave your head, you can use pomades, even thickening products with pomades to add more volume to your newly buzzed hair.

Don’t forget the shorter that you keep your hair the less of a contrast it will be with your scalp. Most people notice thinning hair because of that contrast. They see more scalp than hair covering it when it’s longer. 

That’s why getting very short haircuts like buzz cuts or even totally shaving your head will do wonders in lessening that contrast which draws people’s attention away from your eyes and other physical attributes. 

So remember guys whether you shave your head or get a buzz cut, the number one thing to do is to own it.

By owning your buzz cut or your shaved head demonstrates confidence and confidence my friends is probably the most attractive attribute a man can have.

Buzz or shave your head FAQs.

Should I buzz my balding head?

Absolutely! there’s no better way to adjust to your own inevitable male pattern baldness and the lack of hair left behind than buzzing your head.

So, as I’ve mentioned above buzz cuts are a great way to transition by not only letting yourself see what you’d look like with less hair, the true shape of your head shape as well. 

In addition, it’ll also let the world slowly get used to seeing you in a hairless state. Buzz cuts are a great transition for that.

Don’t forget to visit my post on buzz cuts, where I go through all the different styles and lengths of buzz cuts so you can choose which one is best for you.

Do buzz cuts make hair thicker?

Buzz cuts do not make your hair thicker, but they can make it look thicker. As I’ve mentioned in this post “To buzz or shave your head? The best style for men with thinning hair.” as well some others, the shorter your hair the less of a contrast it has with your scalp. 

Also, shaving your head shows the world that you’ve accepted your male pattern baldness and couldn’t care less.

All those guys who try to grow their thinning hair long, making into different styles even comb overs, trying to hide the fact they’re going bald are doing the exact opposite. 

They’re showing their insecurities about their male pattern baldness to the world and would do anything to hide it. Ironically this has the opposite effect of its intended effect. They come off insecure and lacking confidence. 

Buzz cuts lessen the appearance of balding by lessening the contrast. It can even have the opposite effect and make your hair look a little thicker.

There are also products that you can use from thickening shampoos and conditioners to hair fillers for some extra volume.

Are shaved heads attractive?

Shaved heads are very attractive. Then again I am biased because I’ve been shaving my head for years. Don’t just take my word for it. 

Over the last 25 years many celebrities, athletes and business tycoons have finally wised up and rejected all the potions, hair transplants, wigs and hair systems.

They have taken blade to scalp and have “come home” as Charles Barkley says and shaved their heads. You should too.

Some of the sexiest men in the world according to women have shaved heads. Check out the images for yourself. From Bruce Willis to Jason Statham, Vin Diesel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Then there are athletes like Andre Agassi, Zinedine Zidane, Mike Tyson.

Of course, let’s not forget the world’s richest man Jeff Bezos. There are plenty of good looking bald guys to take inspiration from. Even Pitbull talked John Travolta into finally shaving his head.

Ask some of the women in your life if shaved heads are attractive. However, before you do, please note that some women just don’t like bald guys, but others find shaved heads sexy as hell. 

So don’t let any negative opinions sway you in your decision to shave your head or get a buzz cut, because even Brad Pitt isn’t attractive to all women just remember that.