Gotta Try it Once (My True Story, pt.4) by InnocentKink

---

I’d been a regular at the Eagle’s Nest Barbershop for nearly a year when the urge to shave my head started to kick in. Similar to my initial urge that brought me here, a flattop, I had never given much thought to having a shaved head until I saw a few others do it. After seeing the transformation other men underwent upon having their heads shaved, and their varied reactions, it set in that it was something that had to happen to myself!

First, I had an instructor in college who shaved his full head of hair mid-semester. One day he came in, and his new style immediately caught my attention. He went from dud to full on stud! To my knowledge, I had never seen anyone with a full head of hair intentionally shave it. I don’t remember how much reaction there was from the class, but I do remember him saying he felt much cooler with it, literally and figuratively.

Second, being a regular at the Eagle’s Nest, seeing guys getting buzzed down to nubs was quite common. I would say it was a rarity to see a man leave without seeing some scalp at least poking through the back and sides. Along with the classic flattop, buzzes and burrs were the most popular cuts. I remember the noise of the clippers that would fill the small shop that on weekends would be packed to the gills!

Ironically, out of the dozen or so barbers, only two of them had close cropped hair that looked like they’d be regulars at their own shop. I had grown fond of the older men that cut there as they did the best flattops and made the best conversation. By coincidence, they were also responsible for my biggest transformations in the shop. After a time of hopping into the first chair available, I became more selective and would wait for one of the old guys with full heads of gray hair and full beards, Harold, George, or Clyde.

I remember one specific customer while I was waiting, a middle aged man with nearly shoulder length hair was in Harold’s chair discussing his upcoming cut. I couldn’t hear much because of all the commotion, but I remember Harold saying "you gotta try it once, huh?" and the client nervously laughed and nodded in agreement.

I turned to watch another guy get sheared like a sheep, and by the time I glanced over at Harold’s chair again, the top of the client’s head was reduced to mere stubble, with the back and sides not far behind. He must’ve knocked six inches of hair off the top! I can’t believe how fast it was happening, and how little fanfare was in the shop over this. Granted, this probably happens multiple times per day at a hair butchery like this, and multiple times per hour during the summer, but my interest had been piqued.

Finally, Harold finished with the near complete obliteration of this man’s hair. As soon as the hand mirror came into the client’s focus, he nearly jumped out of his seat! He laughed out of disbelief and needed a few glances and head rubs before his transformation sank in. It was quite a transformation, I would not have recognized that he was the same guy. The contrast between his tanned face and pale white scalp fascinated me. After the client paid, he continued looking in the mirrors on the wall and feeling his newly denuded scalp. What an intense experience he must’ve had.
The final experience I had with a man choosing to be bald by choice was my Uncle Jim. For years he kept a buzzcut of some length, but this last Easter, he came with a fully shaven head! Although he only lost a half inch of hair at most, he looked like a whole new man. Seeing someone I share blood with choose to have all his hair removed was very inspiring as well.

I made sure to tell him that I thought it looked cool. He told me that he thought about it for years, but was worried that it wouldn’t look good, and he wished he would’ve gotten the guts to do it much sooner. I was then shocked when he told me that I should shave my head! I was more than a little surprised, yet intrigued, and replied "really?" He responded by saying he thinks all guys should shave their heads, especially if they think the look is cool.

I got one more ultra-tight flattop, and decided no more. The next time I went into a barbershop, I had to walk out bald! Unfortunately, I was gripped by anxiety and fear; fear that I wouldn’t like it, fear of what others would say or think, just plain silly fear. It took over two months from my last flattop to get the gusto to return to the Eagle’s Nest.

I walked in and Clyde’s chair was open and I was warmly welcomed to it. He threw the cape over me and said "Flattop?".

I energetically replied, "No, bald."

Clyde gave me a bit of a surprising look and said, "Tired of having hair, I see."

I nodded in confirmation, and he continued to ask for further confirmation to make sure that’s what I really wanted.

"So how bald are we talking, buzzcut, stubble, smooth?"

I responded, "As short as it gets."

"Oh, you’re serious aren’t you?" He responded, as he got his clippers fired up! He then held them inches from the front of my scalp, looked in my eyes, and said "Locked and loaded, are you sure? This is the point of no return…"

Today was the day. My hair was the longest it had been in nearly a year, and I was determined to leave the Eagle’s Nest with the shortest hair I had in my life! After months of deliberation, it was finally happening. This far in, there’s no way I could, or would, chicken out. I smiled and the cold bare blade of the clipper plowed down the middle of my scalp!

This was absolutely insane and intense! The bare blade of the clippers was being thrusted into my entire scalp. The soothing vibration of the clippers felt all the more extreme when its ran all across the dome! Clyde didn’t take any breaks to check alignment or restyle, this was no flattop. My brain was shaking in my skull from all the repeat passes of my head in quick succession!
Clyde made sure to remind me to use ample sunscreen on my scalp and wear lots of hats, since I was so young, I shouldn’t be developing liver spots.

It was all over so quickly. I was transformed into a bald man in a few minutes. Clyde had another trick up his sleeve; a foil shaver. He ran that repeatedly over my head, while inspecting to ensure there wasn’t a trace of stubble left. I definitely felt the air on my scalp, and Clyde’s hands felt heavier than ever. Clyde ran the foil shaver against the grain until I could no longer hear it snipping off little bits of stubble. Likely because I had no trace of stubble left. My scalp must’ve been totally raw.

After a final dusting, Clyde is ready to reveal the damage to me. He held up the mirror, and I saw the new bald me for the first time. It was quite the shock to say the least. I kept my cool as I felt my newly denuded scalp for the first time. It was so smooth, soft, and neverending. If it wasn’t for the tanline, you couldn’t tell I ever had hair.

"Good enough for you, baldie?" was Clyde’s comment. It definitely was!

He then rubbed some aftershave lotion all over my newly bare scalp. The smell and feeling was intense! The cape was removed and it was time to pay. Seeing my new self in the mirror startled me as I looked very different. What a difference a half inch of hair can make! I thanked Clyde and tipped him handsomely.

I passed another barber on my way out who chuckled and commented on my shaved head. He said "I don’t know why you young guns want to be so bald, most of you seem to love it though, seems to be the cool style that you all want to try every summer."

For the first couple of days after having my head shaved, I couldn’t stop looking at myself in the mirror. I couldn’t stop rubbing my head. I was unrecognizable. Going to bed, I’d feel the pillow all over my scalp. Feeling the lightest bit of stubble come back, and then shortly having a full head of sandpaper gave me even more reasons to keep rubbing it.

I realized a shaved head was not a hairstyle; it was an absence of a hairstyle. For those few short days after Clyde removed all of my hair, I didn’t have a hairstyle, I had a baldie, chrome dome, a nude noggin, skinhead, Mr. Clean, bald by choice! After much fear and trepidation, it was a choice that I made.

---