Let’s make one thing clear – shaving the head isn't just for Michael Jordan or Pitbull anymore. It's for the rebels, the rule-breakers, the ones who say "screw it" to the convention by adding another feather on their styling hat. You could be tired of your daily comb-over struggle, maybe your receding hairline has gone way past its limit, or maybe you were not genetically gifted to flaunt long locks like your neighbour. So what? The reason could be any of the above, but whatever it is, if you're here, it’s clear that you’re considering embracing the BALDER life. And THIS is your guide to rock it.

Is It Your First Time?

Before we get into the HOW of shaving your head at home, let’s first look at the options at hand. If you’re doing it for the first time, going to a barber would be the smartest bet, because your hands are not accustomed to shaving something which is not directly in front of your eye line. Once you observe someone else doing it and feel the strokes on your head, you will instinctively develop a method of your own and can do it easily at home with more confidence. So, we recommend, let your first time be at a salon, and all the follow-ups can be at home.

WET OR DRY SHAVING?

The second important part is WHAT do you want to shave your head with. You could go for a traditional razor and follow the whole lather-shave-aftershave regimen, or simply go for an electric HeadShaver and shave dry. The traditional method needs some time to master and with practice you’ll develop the muscle memory to achieve close shaves like how you once did on your face. With a dry headshave, it will be easier and safer.

Below, we’ve explained the whole process of wet shaving in 6 steps. But if you choose to dry shave, you could skip the highlighted parts. Just one word of caution, don’t use a beard shaver on your head. The skin on your scalp is not the same as on your face and you need a specific electric razor to shave it. OK, let’s begin.

6 Steps To Shaving Your Head

• Trim Your Head To Its Shortest Length

• Take a Warm Shower 

• Lather Up Your Head (Or Not)

• Shave Your Head

• Post-Shave Care

• Maintain Your Look

Tools Needed: Trimmer, Shaving Foam or Shaving Cream, Shaving Razor or an electric Head Shaver, post-shave balm

STEP 1: Trim Your Head To Its Shortest Length

Before anything else, you need to shorten the length of your hair to a zero trim, so that shaving it becomes extremely safe and easy. Just grab a trimmer or a hair clipper designed to tackle the scalp hair and run it all over your head. You don’t need to attach a trimmer comb on it because we need to trim it to zero. This is an important step as you don’t want to get in that uncomfortable tugging and pulling zone while shaving, so get everything off your head before moving any further. Make sure to not rush the process and take it slow. Keep a consistent pace to avoid any discomfort while buzzing your hair off. The goal here is to trim down the hair to any length below 0.5 cm.

STEP 2: Take a Warm Shower (Not required with electric HeadShaver)

Now that you’ve trimmed your head completely, you already have a near bald appearance. But trust us, you need to go all the way to a clean-shave to get rid of any flakiness and dead skin for the sake of your scalp’s health. The second step here is to wash your head under a warm shower. This will remove any build-up and tiny hair particles after the trim. 

A warm shower also preps you for the next step of shaving, as it helps expand the pores on your skin, just like before shaving your facial hair. Warm water also helps relax your skin, expand the pores and soften the hair follicles for an easy tug-free head shaving experience. Doing this makes sure that the shaving process is smooth, effortless and close. Once you’re done with the shower, dry your scalp by patting with a soft towel. 

STEP 3: Lather Up (Not Required With Electric HeadShaver)

If you’ve decided to go all traditional by shaving your head with a razor, you need to once again wet your scalp and apply a lubricating foam or cream on it. There are plenty of options available for this, but using a Shaving Foam is the most convenient. Cover your entire crown gently with the foam. Don’t go overboard and apply too much of it otherwise your razor will get clogged too often with all the lather and make the shaving uncomfortable. 

STEP 4: Shave Your Head 

This is what we’ve prepared for all this while. The princess at the end of the tunnel, the main act. Shaving. And shaving is incomplete without a high-quality product. 

Wet Shave with a razor

So if you’ve decided to do traditional wet shaving, make sure you razor checks these 4 points:

• The blades are sharp 

• The grip on your razor is good

• Your razor has a rich lubricating strip

• Your razor has a flexible pivot head to allow easy maneuvres

Once you’ve narrowed down on a good razor, here is how to shave your head. Start at the front of your head with gentle but sturdy strokes, and start moving in the direction of your hair growth. Now it’s not as easy to figure out the direction of your hair growth on your head like your beard, especially because it is covered in foam and you can’t move your hand to check. So, you’ll take some time getting accustomed to this as you keep the glides on. This problem goes away if you’re a HeadShaver, which can be used in any direction safely. But more on this later.

Keep rinsing the razor to remove any foam and hair build-up in the blades and continue on the sides and the back of your head. Once you’re done shaving the entire head, feel the skin on your scalp to see if you missed out on any part. Reapply some water and foam on that area and work with the razor again.

Word of Caution

Your scalp has a more spread out area which makes it easy to glide your razor, but it doesn’t have flesh like your face, so there’s no cushion against pressure. That’s why it’s easier to get cuts on the head. Be extremely cautious and gentle with your strokes.

Dry Shave with HeadShaver Pro

Now this makes it extremely easy. All you have to do is make sure that you’ve completed Step 1 properly, and you can directly move to Step 4. Dry shaving with a HeadShaver works on the concept of 5 floating blades mounted on a hand-held device that fits perfectly in your wrist for complete control. All you have to do is push the ON/OFF button and directly start gliding it on your head. 

In the process you can take your following hand to check if there’s some hair left at places that are otherwise hard to see, like the back of your head. You will literally feel that your skin is going from stubble to smooth with minimal glides. 

Here’s a glimpse of HeadShaver Pro from Bombay Shaving Company

STEP 5: POST-SHAVE CARE 

Once you’re done shaving your head, the next step is to moisturize and disinfect it, in case there’s any inflammation because of the blades. So, follow the shaving with washing your scalp with regular water or simply use a wet towel to wipe it properly. 

Then, follow it with a post-shave balm. A good post-shave balm soothes the skin and prevents skin irritation and burns. Use an alcohol-free post-shave balm to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Bombay Shaving Company’s Post Shave Balm with witch hazel.

STEP 6: MAINTAIN THE LOOK

Once you’ve shaved your head, you’ll notice that the hair starts to grow back very quickly. Repeat the process of shaving in 2-3 days to maintain the great bald you just unveiled. If you allow your hair to grow any longer than a 2-3 day long stubble, you’ll have to once again go to step 1 and trim down the longer strands. Even appearance-wise a stubble on the head feels like an uncomfortable transition, which is neither here nor there.

With the HeadShaver Pro, you can maintain your bald look by spending just 2 minutes, without worrying about making a mess or hurting yourself with a cut. It is so safe that you can’t cut yourself even if you want to. 

THAT’S A WRAP

Before wrapping this up, let’s make one thing clear that getting rid of your hair is only one side of the picture, the other side is the maintenance part. You have to put in the work on a regular basis to keep your look the way you like it. Thankfully, scalp maintenance isn’t a difficult task once you are comfortable with shaving. So, follow the above steps and as you grow accustomed to the while process you’ll be able to fine tune it as per your comfort. That’s how you rock the bald look.