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Article in the Houston Chronicle:
May 16, 2007, 6:19PM
FASHION
Yeah, it's beautiful
Here are some tips if you want to be a smooth operator
By CLIFFORD PUGH
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Since Carlos Beltran and most of his teammates impulsively shaved their heads last week, the New York Mets have been on a tear. They've won nearly every game since the buzz began; their stadium is peppered with signs that say, "Play Bald!''
Shadston Pittman already knows the power of going bald. The Houston personal trainer first shaved his head more than 15 years ago to avoid spending time and money at the barber shop. He's been doing it ever since.
"I was the `hair guy' in my family. I had the waves. Having hair was a big deal,'' says the 38-year-old fitness director for the city of Houston. "But from Day 1, I've never regretted it.''
Now Pittman is trying to get his "follicly challenged'' friends to join him.
"I tell them to come on over to the other side, baby,'' he says with the zeal of a television evangelist. "You're losing it. You might as well convert.''
A few years back, it seemed that only professional wrestlers went bald by choice. But now the look has gone mainstream. Whether it's a move to win ballgames, stave off advancing age or exude a hip and stylish look, a lot of men are sporting a smooth dome.
"It's past being a trend," says Todd Greene, founder and president of HeadBlade Inc. "It's an acceptable style."
Greene, who began losing his hair in his mid-20s, started shaving his head soon after he moved from Pennsylvania to Seattle in the early 1990s.
To help speed the shaving process, he invented a rolling razor that looks like a tiny yellow car and fits on a finger like a ring. It makes for a close shave. The HeadBlade ($12.99 at Walgreens and CVS) launched a business that now includes 10 head-shaving products.
On the East Coast, Howard Brauner began offering grooming products for the bald guy out of personal need, too. When he started losing his hair at age 18, he resorted to an elaborate "comb-over" involving two types of hair spray and a special comb. He spent a half-hour on it every morning.
He stuck to the comb-over for 18 years — "I was in denial," he says — until one hot day when his hair spray melted and dripped down his face. Mortified, he rushed to his barber and had his head buzzed.
"The most difficult day was that next day, going to work, because no one had seen me without hair," Brauner recalls. To his surprise, his co-workers loved his new look.
Brauner has kept his hair closely cropped for a decade now. About five years ago, he noticed the trend had gone mainstream on celebrities like Bruce Willis, Vin Diesel and Star Trek's Patrick Stewart. Two years ago Brauner created a line of head-care products called Bald Guyz, now available at CVS, Walgreens, Wal-Mart and Kroger.
"If you've accepted you're a bald guy, why not create a name that speaks directly to the market?" he asks.
With all the new products, ranging from head wipes to a head balm with sunscreen, shaving the pate is not as simple as it seems. The low-maintenance look can be high-maintenance because no two heads are alike.
Curtis Brown, a 34-year-old Houston model and real estate investor, has been shaving his head for four years. The result: "I spend less money but more time on my hair," he says.
He decided to go bald after his barber pointed out that his hair was starting to go. When his head broke out in bumps, he switched from a razor and gel to an electric trimmer. He now experiences fewer problems, although his skin is so sensitive that he shaves only about every three or four days.
Dry and flaky heads can be an issue, too.
"The skin on the top of the head is no different from the face," Brauner says. "If you use a regular soap product on your face, it is going to dry your skin. If your head is too oily, you're probably using your spouse's shampoo for dry hair."
A good cleanser or pre-shave oil to prepare the skin can usually solve such problems. Finish off with a moisturizing after-shave balm, remember to use a sunblock, and you're set.
Pittman begins his daily shaving routine by running hot water over his head. Then he applies a thin layer of Edge Advanced shaving gel with aloe for sensitive skin. Using a hand-held mirror, he shaves with a Gillette Mach3 razor, covering one quarter of the head at a time, starting from the left front to back.
He then lathers and shaves again, this time in an opposite direction (back to front). Afterward, he applies 99 percent isopropyl alcohol to alleviate bumps.
"It will make you scream, but I'm used to it now," he says.
(Another option is to use 71 percent isopropyl alcohol, which is not as concentrated.)
He applies Neutrogena after-shave gel and Carrol's Daughter face butter before adding one last touch: a dab of Carolina Herrera cologne "so when I hug someone, they can smell it," he says.
His routine sounds involved, but Pittman says it takes about five minutes. "And that's on a slow day," he says.
Beginners might opt to visit a barber for their first head shave, particularly if their hair is longer than an inch. John Grodin at Roosters Men Grooming Center in Pasadena has several new customers a week who are seeking a shaved head. The cost: $24.
"More than half are men who are going bald," he says. "But some young kids will get their head shaved because their dad does."
The biggest impediment to a smooth pate: an oddly shaped head or skin imperfections. In such cases, a man is better off going for a closely cropped cut than a full shave.
"Not everyone has a head for shaving," Brauner admits.
May 16, 2007, 6:19PM
FASHION
Yeah, it's beautiful
Here are some tips if you want to be a smooth operator
By CLIFFORD PUGH
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Since Carlos Beltran and most of his teammates impulsively shaved their heads last week, the New York Mets have been on a tear. They've won nearly every game since the buzz began; their stadium is peppered with signs that say, "Play Bald!''
Shadston Pittman already knows the power of going bald. The Houston personal trainer first shaved his head more than 15 years ago to avoid spending time and money at the barber shop. He's been doing it ever since.
"I was the `hair guy' in my family. I had the waves. Having hair was a big deal,'' says the 38-year-old fitness director for the city of Houston. "But from Day 1, I've never regretted it.''
Now Pittman is trying to get his "follicly challenged'' friends to join him.
"I tell them to come on over to the other side, baby,'' he says with the zeal of a television evangelist. "You're losing it. You might as well convert.''
A few years back, it seemed that only professional wrestlers went bald by choice. But now the look has gone mainstream. Whether it's a move to win ballgames, stave off advancing age or exude a hip and stylish look, a lot of men are sporting a smooth dome.
"It's past being a trend," says Todd Greene, founder and president of HeadBlade Inc. "It's an acceptable style."
Greene, who began losing his hair in his mid-20s, started shaving his head soon after he moved from Pennsylvania to Seattle in the early 1990s.
To help speed the shaving process, he invented a rolling razor that looks like a tiny yellow car and fits on a finger like a ring. It makes for a close shave. The HeadBlade ($12.99 at Walgreens and CVS) launched a business that now includes 10 head-shaving products.
On the East Coast, Howard Brauner began offering grooming products for the bald guy out of personal need, too. When he started losing his hair at age 18, he resorted to an elaborate "comb-over" involving two types of hair spray and a special comb. He spent a half-hour on it every morning.
He stuck to the comb-over for 18 years — "I was in denial," he says — until one hot day when his hair spray melted and dripped down his face. Mortified, he rushed to his barber and had his head buzzed.
"The most difficult day was that next day, going to work, because no one had seen me without hair," Brauner recalls. To his surprise, his co-workers loved his new look.
Brauner has kept his hair closely cropped for a decade now. About five years ago, he noticed the trend had gone mainstream on celebrities like Bruce Willis, Vin Diesel and Star Trek's Patrick Stewart. Two years ago Brauner created a line of head-care products called Bald Guyz, now available at CVS, Walgreens, Wal-Mart and Kroger.
"If you've accepted you're a bald guy, why not create a name that speaks directly to the market?" he asks.
With all the new products, ranging from head wipes to a head balm with sunscreen, shaving the pate is not as simple as it seems. The low-maintenance look can be high-maintenance because no two heads are alike.
Curtis Brown, a 34-year-old Houston model and real estate investor, has been shaving his head for four years. The result: "I spend less money but more time on my hair," he says.
He decided to go bald after his barber pointed out that his hair was starting to go. When his head broke out in bumps, he switched from a razor and gel to an electric trimmer. He now experiences fewer problems, although his skin is so sensitive that he shaves only about every three or four days.
Dry and flaky heads can be an issue, too.
"The skin on the top of the head is no different from the face," Brauner says. "If you use a regular soap product on your face, it is going to dry your skin. If your head is too oily, you're probably using your spouse's shampoo for dry hair."
A good cleanser or pre-shave oil to prepare the skin can usually solve such problems. Finish off with a moisturizing after-shave balm, remember to use a sunblock, and you're set.
Pittman begins his daily shaving routine by running hot water over his head. Then he applies a thin layer of Edge Advanced shaving gel with aloe for sensitive skin. Using a hand-held mirror, he shaves with a Gillette Mach3 razor, covering one quarter of the head at a time, starting from the left front to back.
He then lathers and shaves again, this time in an opposite direction (back to front). Afterward, he applies 99 percent isopropyl alcohol to alleviate bumps.
"It will make you scream, but I'm used to it now," he says.
(Another option is to use 71 percent isopropyl alcohol, which is not as concentrated.)
He applies Neutrogena after-shave gel and Carrol's Daughter face butter before adding one last touch: a dab of Carolina Herrera cologne "so when I hug someone, they can smell it," he says.
His routine sounds involved, but Pittman says it takes about five minutes. "And that's on a slow day," he says.
Beginners might opt to visit a barber for their first head shave, particularly if their hair is longer than an inch. John Grodin at Roosters Men Grooming Center in Pasadena has several new customers a week who are seeking a shaved head. The cost: $24.
"More than half are men who are going bald," he says. "But some young kids will get their head shaved because their dad does."
The biggest impediment to a smooth pate: an oddly shaped head or skin imperfections. In such cases, a man is better off going for a closely cropped cut than a full shave.
"Not everyone has a head for shaving," Brauner admits.
