# Men's Hair Loss > Men's Hair Loss: Start Your Own Topic >  Buzzing your hair is the worst idea ever

## Assemblage23

Hey guys, which style do you consider as the best to look your best and as young as possible when you are a norwood 3? I buzzed my hair and I felt like I just went completly bald instantly? I keep it short and buzz the sides and I defintly look better

I used to wear them longer and straightened, I felt amazing but it would increase the shed.

What are you guy's recommendations and do you agree that buzzing is really a terrible idea?

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## BigThinker

This is what I'm afraid will happen.

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## NotBelievingIt

LOL lumpy head is great

thats not majority of people issue, its the alien egg head thing.

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## ravegrover

buzz cut can lead to drastic change. but, i think its best option for NW3. i.e. for ur mental peace. u dont have to worry abt styling or covering up or wind blowing. my advise is to buzz it & try to treat it (with Big 3). once they improve u can keep it longer.

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## Dan26

Go mohawk, or shave the sides very short and leave more on the top, it will make the hairloss appear less than it is!

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## BigThinker

> Go mohawk, or shave the sides very short and leave more on the top, it will make the hairloss appear less than it is!


 Lol.  [Not to be facetious or anything, but...]I work with a dude with extreme diffusion, and he keeps his hair like 4 inches long on top.  It's parted down the middle and their is like 1/2 inch wide "part" where there is no hair running down the middle.  If he tried this tactic it would be like 5 spiked hairs. 

Basically what I'm saying is, I will go super short if I hit NW4 (and gradually shorter leading up to that point).  I've seen enough balding guys with various styles to feel that is the best option for me.  There is just no way in helll I will ever rock the horse-shoe.

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## elnino

i buzz mine once every 16 months anyway regardless of thinning. blade 1 all over, its good for the scalp i think and your roots...i let the mane grow back then so i have it back again in 3 months :Smile:  also since ive been using the treatments minox its a damn site easier to use with shaved head!

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## Dan26

> Lol.  [Not to be facetious or anything, but...]I work with a dude with extreme diffusion, and he keeps his hair like 4 inches long on top.  It's parted down the middle and their is like 1/2 inch wide "part" where there is no hair running down the middle.  If he tried this tactic it would be like 5 spiked hairs. 
> 
> Basically what I'm saying is, I will go super short if I hit NW4 (and gradually shorter leading up to that point).  I've seen enough balding guys with various styles to feel that is the best option for me.  There is just no way in helll I will ever rock the horse-shoe.


 oo ya it depends on the person i guess, my bro is a NW3 goin on NW 4 and it looks great when he shaves it, once it gets past 2 inches though, it looks bad

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## Assemblage23

the only good thing is I wish I had done that five years ago when I was still in denial and my hair wasn't really thicker actually. I went from norwood 2.5 to 3 but if I had buzzed my hair when I was denying the thinning I would have realized and treated it sooner.

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## Exodus

Im leaning to buzzing more out of I cba with thin hair etc. Ill admit its a big step to make and Ive been avoiding it all month so far.

On the plus side, if you're tanned and toned and smooth, it will rock.

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## BigThinker

> Im leaning to buzzing more out of I cba with thin hair etc. Ill admit its a big step to make and Ive been avoiding it all month so far.
> 
> On the plus side, if you're tanned and toned and smooth, it will rock.


 Totally..  That's the difference between people who are permanently crippled by hair loss and those who triumph over it; making _controllable_ changes in your life.  My dad actually has the same pointy head as me and he is NW7 since like age 25, but the old man (56 now) works out first thing in the morning an in the afternoon everyday.  Needless to say, the old boy looks pretty damn good with or without hair.  (Plus, he has the grown man Tom Selleck mustache going).

I think my thinning is worse than I give it credit for.  I might buzz my head to see.  I'm thinking that might alarm me enough to get on fin, as opposed to waiting until Feb (which is when I see my derm again).

Regards.

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## Assemblage23

Normal hair vs buzz cut, pictures:

*In which galaxy could a buzz cut be a good idea?*
 before



after




a few days after, when I started going out of my house a little bit and received constant teasing about my balding





and a very recent picture, I can accept this look




LESSON LEARNED

I will always keep my hair short on top and the longuest buzz on the side. But going really short is the worst advice ever

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## drybone

Hey assemblage. 

I too just buzzed my hair, almost down to bone i might add. I just had a hair transplant and felt my transplant would be better if I shaved my hair down to the same length as the transplanted hairs. 

Except now they all fell out and so my hair is about 1/4 inch long and looks worse. 

I will show you if you can tell me how you got the round white oval on your face to hide your identity.

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## unk

Strong forelock man. If you can deal with the effort of cuts and styles, jude law usually rocks your identical hairline with a layered cut about 5cm long max. Wow, i've never felt so feminine writing something.

Personally I'm not as lucky as you to have such a forelock, so my 2A and diffuse thinning is way less aesthetic imo. I personally give myself a grade 1-2 on the back and sides every couple of weeks, and 2-4cm on top.

Remember, when it's growing out that you are going to want to cut the back and sides pretty regularly, i'm not sure anyone can grow out their hair equal length all over, it looks ridiculous.

Oh, and I buzz my hair every several months. It's pretty liberating I must admit, but very cold and not as attractive for me personally. I like your hair by the way, no homo

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## Assemblage23

@drybone: It is very easy just right click modify the picture!

@unk thanks for the comments I still feel my forelock is falling apart since I discontinued minox for a while, now I have learned my lesson and I will add Nizoral to the mix and be consistent, but you need a prescritption where I live what a pain in the ass.

How would you make the most of a Jude Law forelock? I think I'm going to keep it at medium length and I'll part it to one side. I like my hair straightened but apparently it is also devastating on your density if you do it often.

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## BigThinker

Assemblege-
I agree with unk.  The hair style you are rocking now looks way better than the buzz cut; I'm basically eating my words about the buzzing thing.  Yeah, I think you might like the part thing (it was the hair I rocked this time last year before I started thinning/receding).  But beware it'll expose your hairline, which is why I had to quit slicking it back aggressively.

Unk-
How do you buzz the back and sides and have it "fade" into longer hair up top?  My back and sides definitely grow faster than my top now.  Not only that, but a sharp trip back/neck line is paramount.

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## NotBelievingIt

I know a random dozen or so balding or bald guys and those that its obvious on I have not heard one peep from anyone regarding teasing.

How damn old are the people you are around? And I mean mentally, not physically.

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## clandestine

> I know a random dozen or so balding or bald guys and those that its obvious on I have not heard one peep from anyone regarding teasing.
> 
> How damn old are the people you are around? And I mean mentally, not physically.


 Around 19, 20 years old.

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## clandestine

OP; I don't understand how the ****** you're a NW1 no buzzcut, and suddenly a NW3 with buzzcut. This is beyond me. Entirely.

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## unk

Well from what i've seen over the past decade, he's pulled off this haircut even when he's a NW3. I'm not a hairdresser but I guess it's a medium length, longer at the front, layered and swept forward. He does have professionals cutting and colouring it though. Worth a try I think.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Okg-Ei-59N...7d08e3c932.jpg

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/200...ET_468x330.jpghttp://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/200...ET_468x330.jpg


Bigthinker: I got my foundational ideas from this loon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pht0v-HGBZs

I think the length depends on your hair thickness, and your hair loss. I guess my hair is reasonably thin naturally, compared to the dude in the video. So at a grade 2 back and sides (or a few mm shorter with my beard trimmer sometimes) it takes off like 75% of the normal hair density because you can see some scalp everywhere. Then at any length above 1cm on the top it looks thicker than the sides and back, a nifty optical illusion.  The guy in this video hasn't reduced his hair density appearance at grade 2, I guess he would need a grade 1 for example. 

The "fade" is much simpler than you would think. I've been cutting my hair for several months now, and i'm so glad I never have to go to the hairdressers again. (see video) I usually do a 2 back and sides, 1 at the bottom of the back. Something longer (grade 3) to fade the top and sides, and any longer grade on top for 2-3cm, or scissors like the guy in the video. 

The hairline at the back is however weirdly hard to do yourself, so I haven't been bothered to learn it. Grade 1 at the back and my neck hair is just normal buzzed head look I think. It's almost like neck hair is more acceptable for buzzed heads from what i've seen!

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## Assemblage23

> OP; I don't understand how the ****** you're a NW1 no buzzcut, and suddenly a NW3 with buzzcut. This is beyond me. Entirely.


 
A lot of us with longer hair are delusional, a buzz cut can tell you exactly where you stand. When I started to admit I was going bald, I thought I was on my way to norwood 2 but I clearly was closer to NW3, because I had longer hair that I would comb forward.

I have masculine features, a dark skin complexion, I can grow a 5 o'clock shadow stubble in no time, my skull shape is fine, I'm athletic and tall. How does a buzz cut look on me? HORRIBLE. Let's face it it looks like shit on everyone some people are better looking than others with it but even Statham would look 100 times better with a nice head of hair. I'll never buy the "rock a stubble and you'll feel like a milion bucks" crap we hear all the time. Hair is precious, it must be kept and styled.

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## Dan26

the longer my hair gets the worse it looks, when i get it cut i go really short on the sides and just trim the top, and it looks decent for 2 weeeks, then i need another haircut lol

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## unk

> the longer my hair gets the worse it looks, when i get it cut i go really short on the sides and just trim the top, and it looks decent for 2 weeeks, then i need another haircut lol


 Exactly, every couple of weeks I have a 10 minute trim and it instantly looks better!that's why you should seriously consider investment in a pair of clippers. You make your money back within a few months!

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## dex89

I usually cut it every 3 weeks, 3 on the side and 8 on top.

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## BigThinker

Unk-
Thanks for the reply.  I'll check that out if I get the guts to cut my own hair.  My back is super thick like my top used to be once upon a time.  What's weird with my density is that my sides  all the way back to my ears is really thin (beyond and more extensive than my temples).  Back has got to be the hardest.  Might have to get a chick to try and cut the back for me best she can.

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## Morbo

> the longer my hair gets the worse it looks, when i get it cut i go really short on the sides and just trim the top, and it looks decent for 2 weeeks, then i need another haircut lol


 


> Exactly, every couple of weeks I have a 10 minute trim and it instantly looks better!that's why you should seriously consider investment in a pair of clippers. You make your money back within a few months!


 This.

I'm a diffuse thinner and after a certain length it just looks damn awful with bald spots poking out everywhere. I get it trimmed every 2-3 weeks and it looks better, plus I feel better. Last summer I had a barbecue with some friends I hadn't seen in 2 years and got lots of comments of people saying with a laugh "you trimmed your hair down well short", apparently not noticing I was going bald.

I prefer to be seen a guy with really short hair, than a balding guy with long.

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## BigThinker

> This.
> 
> I'm a diffuse thinner and after a certain length it just looks damn awful with bald spots poking out everywhere. I get it trimmed every 2-3 weeks and it looks better, plus I feel better. Last summer I had a barbecue with some friends I hadn't seen in 2 years and got lots of comments of people saying with a laugh "you trimmed your hair down well short", apparently not noticing I was going bald.
> 
> I prefer to be seen a guy with really short hair, than a balding guy with long.


 Couldn't agree more.  People with extreme diffusion who try to keep their hair long confuse me.  I'm already going shorter and shorter and this progresses...

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## unk

Though I am with the OP that a buzzcut is an over-prescribed remedy for the balding guy, and should be reserved for the NW4+ for example.

Too short and my pattern is way more obvious, and hairline is simply exagerated. I shaved my head maybe 6 weeks ago, and I can say with absolute certainty that it looks less obvious now (1.5cm on top, grade 2  back and sides) than it has the past 6 weeks. Once it starts to look worse, maybe at 3cm, i'll optimise! But everyones different.

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## BigThinker

Right.  I think the prescription of buzzing isn't just for looks, but to make someone basically face baldness head-on.  

I've changed how I style my hair monthly for the past 8-9 months since my hairline got weak and I started thinning.  It isn't getting better, so I am continually having to shift or re-invent how I go about prepping my hair for the day.  Really frustrating when less than a year ago I was parting my hair at the cowlick and slicking it back, and now parting shows my diffusion at the part (my cowlick side is worse than the other side anyways) while slicking it back shows diffusion at the hairline and frontal lob and a weak/shaky hairline.  I mean, it's _really_ frustrating for someone who identified themself by their dark thick hair less than a year ago.  [my hair loss is moderately aggressive]

Sometimes I get so frustrated I want to grab the clipper and shave it all off.  Two things hold me back: 1) My days of being able to hide my hair loss are numbered, I may as well squeeze whatever I can out of it, 2) I'm afraid the diffusion will be so much more obvious with a buzzed head that the shock will be devastating.  I typically have a cool mind on all this stuff, but damn it's tough sometimes.

If my diffusion ever gets so bad I can see my scalp when my hair is dry, I will be buzzing my head.  Even if it's after my start fin and I can prospectively attribute shedding to the effectiveness of the drug, I'll still do it.

This is probably the closest I'll ever get to ranting.  :Cool:

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## Exodus

Hey BT (I know you're BigThinker, but I like BT...), anyway, that day is fast approaching me. Im not yet on Fin...seriously considering it though. My aim is Fin, short haircut and just get the hell on with life. 

Although, I see your point, getting the cut done is a bloody big step!!

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## BigThinker

> Hey BT (I know you're BigThinker, but I like BT...), anyway, that day is fast approaching me. Im not yet on Fin...seriously considering it though. My aim is Fin, short haircut and just get the hell on with life. 
> 
> Although, I see your point, getting the cut done is a bloody big step!!


 Yeah, I'm giving it until late Feb (when I see the derm again) for my hair to have naturally bounced back.  If it's still deteriorating at that time it will have been the better part of a year, and I will start fin.  The derm actually offered it as an option last month when I saw her, but I decided to take the conservative approach and give it a bit more time.  If I do fin, I'm going to do it right.

I'm definitely getting sick of having to be concerned with my hair.  Finals week in grad school right now, and I really don't need any other distractions.

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## Dan26

> .  If I do fin, I'm going to do it right.


 Buddy! Get some blood + hormone tests done, and start at a low dose! That is my $0.02.

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## BigThinker

> Buddy! Get some blood + hormone tests done, and start at a low dose! That is my $0.02.


 Got blood and hormone tests done last month.  Vit-D was negligibly low and everything else checked out.  I was thinking 0.5mg EOD, for the first 1-2 months.  It will be a conservative and patient approach.

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## Dan26

> Got blood and hormone tests done last month.  Vit-D was negligibly low and everything else checked out.  I was thinking 0.5mg EOD, for the first 1-2 months.  It will be a conservative and patient approach.


 How was your free testosterone?
That sounds good man! You could even go lower or every third day IMO, but you should see good results with that, and hopefully no sides!

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## Exodus

Yeah BigThinker, Im like you. Got my blood and hormones checked, everything checked out ok in the end.

Fin is on my mind and Im sure I could get a private prescription from my GP...but I'd be chopping those pills too.

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## sausage

Norwood 3 - you probably could just about get away with keeping your hair short on sides, medium on top.

Once it hits Norwood 4 it is time to shave it off.

Face is you will end up a Norwood 4 at some point and at some point you will have to shave your head and keep it shaved as Norwood 4 is not a good look, some older men may get away with it, but if your under 40 I would shave it.

It takes a while to get used to having a shaved head. I hated myself with a shaved head when I had a full head of hair, so I am not going to like a shaved bald head either....which I now have and have had for 3 years.

I have got a bit used to it. I hate being bald but I think I look ok bald. luckily I don't have big ears, a spotty, dimpled, lumpy head, or stupid shaped 'alien head'.

So shaved is better than old man, bobby charlton look.

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## Exodus

It's gonna take a while to get used to, it's a major change. But I think tackling the issue head on, taking what treatments you can and ensuring you look and FEEL (the key word here) good will resonate.

I sometimes feel with hair it dictates our lives, buzz, short cut, shaving etc, sends out a message of "Im in control".

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## rdawg

I'm around a NW3.

I find when it gets too long(say 1.5inches or so) it just looks stupid with obvious thinning and almost like a combover.

But if I buzz it too short saya #0-3, I look even more bald! It doesn't look bad as I can pull it off with my face shape, but it makes me look OLDER. so I usually shave down to a #4 or #6(half inch-3/4ths inch) gives me a little more coverage so you dont have as much of a skinhead look.

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## custards

Same as you OP.  My hair looked even worse than yours when I buzzed it.  But with a bit of length and a toussled haircut it looks normal, even good.  

I think buzzing is the best option once it gets thin and scraggly over the rest of the top.  Until then it only looks bad if you part it on the thin spot, whereas a buzz cut just looks like that all the time.

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## Kayman

> A lot of us with longer hair are delusional, a buzz cut can tell you exactly where you stand. When I started to admit I was going bald, I thought I was on my way to norwood 2 but I clearly was closer to NW3, because I had longer hair that I would comb forward.
> 
> I have masculine features, a dark skin complexion, I can grow a 5 o'clock shadow stubble in no time, my skull shape is fine, I'm athletic and tall. How does a buzz cut look on me? HORRIBLE. Let's face it it looks like shit on everyone some people are better looking than others with it but even Statham would look 100 times better with a nice head of hair. I'll never buy the "rock a stubble and you'll feel like a milion bucks" crap we hear all the time. Hair is precious, it must be kept and styled.


 I think the only reason you're saying this is because you buzzed your hair, went into panic because it wasn't what you were used to and grew it back out. The buzz cut looks perfectly fine on you. I rock the buzz cut and it doesn't look shit on me. You need to give yourself time to adjust and accept the look, once you do its all good and lets face it sooner or later those meds are going to pack in and you're going to shave it off again. My advice is do it now and let yourself and others become accustomed to it sooner rather than later so you can move on, because at some point down the road you're going to have to cross that bridge again and all the self doubt is going to be waiting there again when you do.

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## Kayman

> It's gonna take a while to get used to, it's a major change. But I think tackling the issue head on, taking what treatments you can and ensuring you look and FEEL (the key word here) good will resonate.
> 
> I sometimes feel with hair it dictates our lives, buzz, short cut, shaving etc, sends out a message of "Im in control".


 What this guy said

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## DAVE52

I had a HT 12 yrs ago
I get my head buzzed every 2 weeks using a 1.5 guard
The scar in the back is barely noticeabale  - it doesn't run from ear to ear , it's not anywhere near some of the scars Ive seen here and no one has ever said anything 

http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=8147

Best thing I ever did 
Wake up, shower, towel dry and off I go .
No more worries

I may suggest when you have a week off buzz it with a # 2 . 
See how you feel about it .
If you like it keep it like that or go shorter
If you don't like it , in a week it ;ll grow back and you can deal with it however you best see fit

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## Kayman

> I had a HT 12 yrs ago
> I get my head buzzed every 2 weeks using a 1.5 guard
> The scar in the back is barely noticeabale  - it doesn't run from ear to ear , it's not anywhere near some of the scars Ive seen here and no one has ever said anything 
> 
> http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=8147
> 
> Best thing I ever did 
> Wake up, shower, towel dry and off I go .
> No more worries
> ...


 Sound advice, for some people its easier to go down in increments, that way when you do take it down to the scalp its not quite such an impact when people see you for the first time with buzzed hair. I went grade 3 -2 -1 .

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