Benji goes Bald by Jon

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For several years I thought about Shaving My Head, but I never had the nerve to do it. I must have been about ten or eleven years old when I first started to think about Bald. Why, I don`t know, but this idea started to interested me.

When I was a kid I liked the Bald look of some swimmers and runners, particularly one swimmer whose name I cannot remember; his HeadShaved smooth. This HairLess look was something completely different and particular, and I really liked it. At this time (in middle `80s) the Shaved look was totally uncommon on ordinary guys; and only few sportsmen seem to give up to Hair during important championship or Olympic games. And, anyway Bald was not like usual a variation of a `Hairstyle`. There was a kind of `mystic aura` around this cut. Apart from these few sportsman only Buddhist monks, and the actor Telly Savalas (do you remember Kojak?) was Shaved Bald but, for the rest of world this look was much too extreme. Nobody else knew about my intrigue, I kept it to myself, but by now I also wanted to try the ShavedHead on myself. Even though there was several kids with short Hair I thought that I was much too young for this kind of HairCut and besides there was nobody else Balded.

Some years later, when I was an adolescent, ShavedHeads became just a bit more popular (for example Michael Jordan and several other basketball players, the soccer player Gianluca Vialli and also some actors). Then several boys and young men started to sport very short crewcuts, butchcuts and just occasionally, ShavedHeads.

Still I was fascinated by this look but I was too embarrassed even now to speak about it, perhaps because most of my friends, like me, had BowlCuts. I liked my BowlCut, especially the UnderCut, and started to get my Hair buzzed closer on my nape and sides every time I had a HairCut.

My style of BowlCut was quite long on top, so the shorn UnderCut was not visible. It was about as close to Bald as I could allow myself to get, and still keep the idea to myself.

I was anxious and nervous when I thought of the scene in which I`d go to the barbershop and ask to be Shaved Bald; but at some time this heightened my fascination and excitement to be completely HairLess.

This continued until summer 1997 when actually I got my inaugural HairShave. I was on holiday with some friends really far from home and I thought that this was a great chance for me to get my first HairShave.

During the first day of the holiday I screwed up my courage and told my cousin Tom that I was thinking about having my HeadShaved. Up till now I just didn`t have the guts, but this holiday might be the chance to try it. I was on the verge of my first HeadShave.

The conversation went something like this:-

Me: `Tom ….. What would you think if I Shaved my head Bald?`

Tom: `You are joking Benji!`

Me: `No, I`m serious: Look, I`ve been thinking about this for quite a while. I reckon it`s really cool and I like it a lot. What do you think? I don`t know if it`d look good on me.`

Tom walked around me having a close look at me head. I felt like a zoo exhibit.

Tom: `Are you serious about this?` I nodded. My long Hair flopped all over my head, showing some of the shorn UnderCut. `Really? You`re considering being shorn? Do you really considering to be shorn? Hey Benji, you`ve got quite long Hair: That BowlCut looks like it`s over seven inches!`

I ran my fingers through this long Hair and felt up under the UnderCut.

Tom: `If you decide to cut all your Hair off you`ll need about six months before it grows back to another BowlCut and then maybe a year to get to that length.`

I had already calculated that, knowing that Hair grows about an inch every two months.

Me: `Yeah! You`re right I suppose. It`d be a big deal for me to go Bald. I like my BowlCut and I like my long Hair but ... I don`t know.... I like the Bald look too... But I`d like to try something totally different. After all I`ve had this BowlCut since I was a kid.`

Tom: `Yes, of course, but a buzzed head it`s something of very radical. With your actual length of Hair I think that your look will change totally. Are you ready for that?`

Me: `Well, I think so. Anyway I`m not thinking about BuzzCut. I`m sort of set on a totally ShavedHead, smooth and clean like a cueball. `

Tom: `You mean completely Bald? Man that would be something to see.`

Me: `A buzzed look is real cool but, if do decide to cut my Hair short, it would have to be Shaved.`

Tom: `Benji, think about it! You`re crazy. A buzzed head is bad enough. That would be a very big change for you. But a ShavedHead ….. totally HairLess and smooth, that`s what you mean, isn`t it? Shaved will be something mega severe! Benji, think about it!` he repeated.

I had thought about it; a lot. He went on. But he seemed to be interested in the idea, though he continued with is argument.

Tom: `A buzz cut is still a HairCut, kind of. But a ShavedHead! It`s not a HairCut. It`s not a Hairstyle. It`s a `no-Hairstyle`. Simply because of the fact that you`ll be without Hair ..... Do you understand me? If you do decide to give up to your Hair and be BALD …..a 22 years old young man .... BALD! Are you ready for this? Do you think to have the guts to do it?`

I had a knot in my stomach. What Tom had just said was true, I realized. If I decided to Shave myself Bald, my look would change drastically and I didn`t know what the reaction of others would be. In any case it was my choice and I had to do what I wanted, without thinking too munch to other`s reaction. It was my choice but what a choice! As our conversation became more serious I started thinking again about all the changes I would have to experience if I decided to go for it. Me: `You`re right Tom. I`ve never had the nerve to go Bald up till now. You`re right; it`s a big step. But I`d really like to do it! You know, I think about it all the time, for several years. Up till now I never had the courage! But now... `

Tom: `You feel man enough to do it?`

Again I figured that Tom was more than a little interested in my Bald choice. He seemed to be looking forward to it. We are fairly close as cousins and I had an instinct that he understood my off-the-wall plan. He knew what I was feeling. That made me make up my mind. Right then I had grown from an unsure adolescent to a purposeful adult. I was ready to do what I wanted, even if this did include some risk and a drastic change. Now there was no turning back. I knew that if I had decided to keep my long Hair I would only look on myself as being weak with no courage of my convictions.

From that moment I knew I`d have the guts to go Bald by Choice. Whether it was right or not, it didn`t matter. I knew if I hadn`t taken control of my courage and started this conversation I would have still been undecided. But I had. Tom snapped me out of my daydream.

Tom: `Anyway the only way to see if you look good or bad, and if you feel comfortable or a not with a BaldHead, is to be brave and give it a try.`

I knew all this, but it was good to hear someone else speak the words

Tom: `There`s no other alternative. Of course you have to accept all this includes a very big change in your old look.`

Me: `You`re right Tom.`

Tom: `Now listen me and be sincere: are you ready to give up to your long Hair knowing the time it will take if you decide to let it grow again?`

Me: `Y .. Yesss … `

Tom: `Are you ready to suffer a lot of questions from people who ask you why you have decided to Shave Your Head and be a `rare beast` for some time?`

Me: `Yes.`

Tom: `Are you ready for such a big change in your image without any immediate chance to turning back?`

Me: `Well … yes.`

Tom: `Finally: do you really want to be Shaved Bald, smooth, slick and clean like a turnip?`

Me: `Yes Tom. Yes I am!`

Tom: `OK man! Then my best advice is go for it! And if you don`t like it after all, it will be an experience to build your character.`

In the beginning I wasn`t at all sure that I would go through with it, but as we started to talk more about being Bald I relaxed and made up my mind. Tom still wasn`t convinced that I was doing the right thing, but by now he was supporting me, and I think, having as good time.

Tom: `We have got to get organised. I`m taking over this operation. If you`ve got the valor, I`ll help you become a perfect Baldie. But you`ve got to follow my instructions. OK? It seems to be a bit drastic but, believe me, stop thinking about it and get stuck into it.`

Me: ` What? Now?`

I hadn`t really decided how or by whom I was going to have my HeadShaved, but Tom was offering his help and I thought it would be a good thing for me accept a bit of help from him. I had to follow his orders, and that intrigued me.

Tom: `It`s too late now. First thing in the morning. No going back, Shake on the deal.`

With a lump in my throat, breathless and after an interminable minute I accepted. We shook hands.

Me: `OK Tom, I accept. Make perfect a Baldie. You have my word, friend!`

Tom: `Good choice. Relax. Leave it all to me.`

Done! At this point I couldn`t chicken out! Very soon I was be a Bald man! It was decided or, better, I had decided it! I felt elated and apprehensive at the same time. Even though Tom had said it was too late to do the job, it wasn`t really. He was just trying to drag out the event. Our other friends were out for dinner in a restaurant so only Tom and I were at home that evening in our holiday flat. He was on a roll. He couldn`t help himself. It was me who was going to have a ShavedHead; not him; but the excitement had infected him too. He put his hands on my shoulder and made my sit in an armchair. He was walking all around while he was speaking.

Tom: `Well young man, the goal is make of you a Baldie. So point number one is make the first Shave. Tomorrow morning I`ll Shave you Bald. I`ll use first my beard clippers to cut off all your Hair, and after that, soap and razor. Point number two is about your beard. Clean ShavedHead and consequently clean Shaved face to suit the look. Forget your goatee and get a good face Shave too. Point number three is to plan a schedule for your Shaves. Hair will grow fast after first being Shaved so you`ll have to use the razor on your head and be Shaved smooth every morning. This is the best way to get used to being Bald. Yes. Every morning a good Shave with lather and razor. Point number four is about your look. You need some image change to fit your Bald head. You`ll be Bald like a Buddhist monk from tomorrow so you need some new trendy shirts, the right color to fit with your white head. You also need proper footwear; a pair of leather sandals will be perfect with your BaldHead. Some Australian boardie shorts, and some new sandals. Yeah! Right. Sandals with a BaldHead. At least for the summer. Look. Like mine. A couple of pairs. Sports Sandals. You can afford it, with all that money you won in the casino this afternoon.

Now it`s better if we get some sleep. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow.

Off to bed. I was a bit tense thinking about the next day. I tried to imagine myself Bald, beardless, with a new shirt and a pair of leather sandals on bare feet, like Tom`s. I won`t be myself! I considered that I never worn sandals before, only shoes and trainers and thongs. How come I had never worn sandals, I wondered. Oh well, I had also never had a ShavedHead before too, so there was nothing strange about that!

Next day I got up very early and shampooed my hair for the last time. All the group went to beach except Tom and I. He told them he wanted to do some urgent shopping. I said I had to get a HairCut that was comfortable for swimming. Little did they know.

After they had gone Tom made ready to play my barber. We went into bathroom and he told me to sit down on the stool and remove my shirt. It was starting, and it was a thrill.

Tom: `OK Benji. It`s time for a Baldie isn`t it?`

Just to prolong the agony he fussed with his beard trimmer, a razor and shaving cream, something else I couldn`t quite see that he had taken from his pocket, and couple of combs, arranging them in several different ways on the vanity unit. He ruffled my BowlCut with his both hands so that it flopped all over the place; took up the biggest comb and started to work my Hair straight up, so that all the tight, very long Hair was gripped in his fist showing the grown-out Hair of the UnderCut, now nearly an inch long. I had not had my HairCut purposely for a couple of months planning for this occasion. Then he leaned over and picked up a strong elastic band and twisted it around the long Hair like some cascading topknot. It was the elastic band he had taken from his pocket.

He then he bent my head forward, turned the clippers on and put it at the base of my nape. I was breathless but determined to go on. The buzz of the clipper reduced when the blades reached the mass of my Hair on the neck. I felt the vibrating teeth cut my Hair very close, every pass higher and higher right up to the long Hair of the UnderCut. This was a feeling I had enjoyed many times, and later having the barber go just a bit higher at each HairCut, so that the shape was now kind of a high`n`tight with the seven inches of thick blond Hair falling over the shorn back&sides. So far nothing was new, but I enjoying it anyway. Well it was a bit new; because the beard trimmer was cutting a lot closer than the #2 I always had for the UnderCut.

Tom: `How`s that for starters? Still a long way to go. You still want it all off Benji?`

Me: `Yeah! Keep going. What about the top?`

Tom didn`t reply but tightened the elastic band around my topknot so that I thought he was going to pull my Hair out, not Shave it. He reshaped the topknot into a severely brushed back ponytail. Next he trimmed an exact like around the BowlCut and cut the line right to the scalp with trimmer teeth. Now this was starting to look like a CoolCut. If I hadn`t spent so much agro deciding to have it all removed I would have settled for this cut. But we pressed on.

I expected Tom to now start cutting the long Hair off. But he had another surprise for me. Before I could make any comment he spread ShaveCream on the shorn part of my head and started to Shave the back&sides. This was better. The shaving had begun, but only up to the HairLine. Ten minutes later he was finished and I had a Shaved high`n`tight, with a very long TieBack.

We took some time to examine it. The feel for me of the Shaved sides was sensational. I knew that it would be even better over the whole head. It was a completely radical cut, and I liked it a lot; but it wasn`t Bald. And Tom had another ploy to delay the inevitable. Somehow I didn`t mind. The longer it took, the longer I could enjoy the process. Again he grabbed the top Hair and pulled it even tighter if that were possible. Then he started to plait the long Hair as taut as he could drag it into a PigTail. This looked and felt fantastic. I was tempted to stop Tom from cutting any further and adopt this TieBack PigTail Shaved high`n`tight.

We stopped for a leisurely beer even though the sun was not yet over the yardarm. I couldn`t stop looking in the mirror and feeling the newly Shaved back&sides. Fantastic.

Me: `What do you think Tom? Should I leave it like that?`

He took some photos.

Tom: `No way! You have contracted to go totally Bald. Finish your beer and let`s get back to it.`

I did as I was told. What did Tom have in mind this time, I wondered?

As I had settled into the chair Tom took a pair of barber`s scissors. Where had he got those from? He inserted the sharp points right into the front of my Hair just where the centre part of the BowlCut had been, and snipped. OK. Now we were under way. But nothing seemed to happen. No Hair fell off. Of course. It was all tied into the PigTail. This was interesting. Tom continued to snip away carefully right across the front of my head from side to sidel little by little. He did lift it up for me to see. About an inch wide was cut down to the scalp, even though it was a bit uneven, the PigTail still held all the severed Hair. Because he was so careful this process took more than a half an hour. Now, the more he cut the more it fell off the top of my head, even still tied into the Plait.

This was a lot more than I had bargained for. I had expected the clippers to plough straight through my Hair and make me Bald - stubble Bald - in just a few minutes. To say the least, this was a lot more interesting. I had to admire Tom`s patience. No word was spoken through this labour.

At last he arrived at the roots of the PigTail and very carefully snipped all around until the whole Head of Hair came off in his hand. I stared at myself in the mirror. My head looked like it had been attacked by some miniature lawn mower. All my long Hair was gone, but the stubble was a little uneven. Even so, I couldn`t help running my hands back and forth over my half BaldHead. Now I knew I had made the right decision.

I had been too distracted to see that Tom was holding up all my ex-Hair, still attached to the PigTail. What a souvenir? He then placed it carefully in a large grip seal plastic bag, which he had also taken from his pocket. We stopped for another beer.

Tom: `Well, have you made the right decision?`

Me: `Absolutely.`

Again I checked in the mirror and rubbed my hands all over my new stubble. Good riddance to the BowlCut. Welcome Bald. Back to the bathroom where Tom ran the beard trimmer all over the top of my head. This felt, and looked better and better. Now I could call myself Bald. I couldn`t believe I had gone this far. But I had, with Tom`s help. When it was finished Tom wouldn`t call time-out for another beer, saying that he needed a steady hand for the final stage. The beer had to wait as I surveyed my semi-hairless image in the bathroom mirror. Even at this eneven stage I knew that I was going to like the final product. Then the beer.

Tom: `Ok Benji! Totally smooth! Hold still as I do the Shave.`

So without delay he lathered the whiskery Hair, spreading a generous amount of shaving foam on his hands and started to deeply massage my skull. I felt the softness of foam on my rough sandpaper like scalp. When me head was covered with a layer of white foam I looked in the mirror and thought about what a strange thing was happening. I was actually being ShavedBald! I was happy and, anyway, at that point I hadn`t any choice to turn back. Tom moved my head forward and started to pass the razor on my lathered scalp. I felt his fingertips massaging the first Shaved stroke to check it was perfectly smooth. Stroke after stroke he Shaved me Bald. It was a fantastic, an indescribable feeling. The razor removing the last vestige of hair. I could hear it as well as feel it. I wanted to touch the shaved part of my head, but I resisted, and experienced the path of the razor plying its trade on my own head, exciting me and making me a new man.Carefully Tom removed the last vestige of hair from my head. The sensation of razor on scalp was sensational. If I had thought the preceding processes were a thrill, this was ten out of ten.

At the end all foam had disappeared leaving a pink smooth scalp. For the first time I was ShavedBald.

I knew I would enjoy shaving myself every morning. No risk. He rinsed my head and applied a generous amount of after-shave lotion. Boy, did that have a kick in it.

I looked at me in the mirror: I really liked what I saw. It was still me, but not the usual me, me Bald! I passed my hands over my slick and smooth scalp and I known that this was what I had wanted for years. I was happy. All tension was gone! I didn`t recognize myself. But this was my new self. Tom grinned at his handiwork

Tom: `Now your goatee!`

With a couple of quick passes of clippers he erased completely my blond goatee. Shorn and goateeless! It was all so quick! Then the razor on my face. My head was now something totally unimaginable.

Tom: `How do you feel without your mop?`

Me: `Outlandish! Yeah! I`m speechless! Thanks Tommy! Thanks a lot for your help.`

Tom: `You`ll need a bit of time to get used to it, but your daily Shave will fix that. Remember the contract - ever morning a fresh HeadShave.`

Me: `Of course boss, you can bet on it!`

We spent the rest of morning in a men`s wear shop buying several new shirts, polo and silk. The casino money came in handy. After we went in a footwear shop and I bought the sandals Tom advised me The first pair was made with several leather parallel strips that left my toes free; the second pair, more dressy, was made about the same but only with two bigger strips and brass buckles. Tom was right: about the new shirts and sandals. They fitted perfectly with my Bald head. This shopping spree was the first time I had felt the hot sun on by BareScalp. I liked it. While I was in the shop, I couldn`t help looking in the changing mirror at my Baldness.

Our friends were surprised when they arrived back from the beach and saw my new `swimming HairCut`. But they all made me a lot of compliments about my new look. Nobody told me that I looked better before! Baldness on Benji was a big hit. The interesting thing is that, two days later, Tom decided to try the HairLess look on himself and asked me to Shave him Bald! I was happy to do it, naturally.

We Shaved Our Heads every day during the holidays, so I went home smooth Bald. After the summer, Tom decided to let his Hair re-grew.

But not me! For years I had thought about it, and now I know. This is the best Hairstyle (non-Hairstyle) for me. I was literally delighted the first time I rubbed my hand on my bare scalp and since then I Shave My Head daily. My parents didn`t stress about my new HairLess style and most people, especially girls, liked my BareHead. I became `the Baldie` to all my friends and relatives; I felt myself really good without Hair, BaldByChoice, and can`t imagine at this stage, ever letting it grow gain.

Actually to be Bald is now an important part of my image. If I let my Hair re-grew my image will be changed in the negative. I`m a Baldie! People expect that my head to be HairLess, and it is!

There are several points about my naked scalp: to be Bald, to Shave Your Own Head every day, in it`s deepest sense, is sign of self-discipline and character and, it is very practical, particularly in summer. I keep My Head Bald because I really like the look, the best `Hairstyle` for me. Most people I know are in agreement with me. This is a wonderful indescribable and incompressible feeling (Hairy people can never understand the sensation of experiencing their own sleek HairLessBaldScalp). Even if I looked bad as a Baldie, and I believe that I don`t, I would Shave My Head anyway, for this fantastic feeling of smoothness. I like too all the shaving process: it`s a true luxury and relaxation for me. When one is used to it, it is impossible to give up being BALD!

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