Editorial

Advice, perspectives and care for bald men. Written by those who live it.

A man shaving his head in a round mirror
01 · Technique

The Basics of Shaving a Bald Head

Shaving your head is not just about removing hair. It is about owning a look that signals confidence.

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A lit bathroom cabinet of grooming objects
02 · Routine The Perfect AM to PM Routine for Bald Men
Pills spilling from a glass bottle
03 · Essay Embrace Baldness or Medicate?
Two men in a 1950s studio, hands on their heads
04 · Personal Holding On The story of my Sisyphean pursuit to preserve my hairline. Follicle by follicle.
Technique · May 2025

The Basics of Shaving a Bald Head

Shaving your head is not just about removing hair. It is about owning a look that signals confidence. Consistency and care make all the difference.

A man shaving his head in a round mirror

A clean shave is a clear statement. Follow these five steps for your best-looking head.

Prepare properly

Start with a clean scalp. A warm shower softens the hair and opens the pores, making the shave smoother and less abrasive. If your hair is longer, trim it to stubble with clippers first. Clean skin. Short hair. Open pores.

Choose the right tools

Use a razor that suits your routine and skin. Cartridge razors offer speed and convenience. Safety razors provide precision. Choose what fits your hand.

I use the Pitbull Gold PRO. It delivers a close, even shave in the shower with almost no risk of nicks. Pair your razor with a cream or gel that offers real glide. It should reduce friction and protect the skin throughout.

Get the technique right

Shave with the grain to reduce irritation. Go slowly. Use light strokes. Let the blade do the work. Rinse the blade often. A clean blade is a sharp blade. Use a mirror to check for missed spots. If you wear a beard, blend the sideburns cleanly. They should end at the ear.

Know your aftercare

If shaving in the morning: rinse with cool water to close the pores, pat dry, and apply a lightweight moisturiser with broad-spectrum SPF. Shaving increases sun sensitivity. Protect your skin before leaving the house.

If shaving at night: rinse, pat dry, then apply a serum with active ingredients that support overnight recovery. Niacinamide to reduce redness, panthenol to hydrate and strengthen the barrier, copper peptides to go further.

Keep it consistent

Shave every one to three days, depending on your hair growth. A regular schedule prevents rough patches and keeps your appearance polished.

A shaved head makes a statement. Make it count.

Mark Cronje, FounderMay 17, 2025
Next · Routine

The Perfect AM to PM Routine for Bald Men

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Routine · May 2025

The Perfect AM to PM Routine for Bald Men

Without hair, your scalp is fully exposed. Every detail shows. What matters is how you look after it.

A lit bathroom cabinet of grooming objects

Being bald doesn't mean doing less. Without hair, your scalp is fully exposed. Every detail shows. What matters is how you look after it.

You need a headcare system. A few simple steps, day and night, will outperform anything complicated and inconsistent.

Morning: hydrate and defend

Start the day with purpose. Your morning routine should do two things: protect and prepare. Apply a lightweight moisturiser with broad-spectrum SPF. This covers hydration and sun defence in one step. Look for:

White streaks on a bald scalp are hard to ignore. Choose a formula that absorbs quickly and disappears cleanly. If you shave in the morning, begin with a gentle, pH-balanced cleanser. Then hydrate and protect. If you're not shaving, a rinse with cool water is enough.

Evening: cleanse and rebuild

Evening is about recovery. Wash away the day and give your scalp what it needs to restore itself overnight. Use a mild cleanser designed for exposed skin. Avoid scrubs. Physical exfoliants are too harsh and often trigger excess oil or irritation.

After cleansing, apply a serum that restores and strengthens. Look for:

Massage until absorbed. Skin works hardest at night. Give it what it needs.

Weekly: maintain the edges

Once or twice a week, tighten things up. Whether you shave or buzz, keep it consistent. Clean your lines. Clean your clippers. If you shave, finish with something calming: aloe to cool the skin, allantoin to support healing, bisabolol to reduce irritation.

Check your sideburns. Your beard should end where your ear does. No lower.

This isn't skincare. It's headcare. Fewer steps. Better results. A clearer head.

Mark Cronje, FounderMay 19, 2025
Next · Essay

Embrace Baldness or Medicate?

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Essay · June 2025

Embrace Baldness or Medicate?

Before you take Propecia, understand the risks no one's talking about: sexual dysfunction, depression, and a culture that still treats baldness as disease.

Pills spilling from a glass bottle

You saw it one morning. A bit more scalp than yesterday. The temples giving way, the crown not holding. Then came the quiet panic, the frantic search: how do I stop this?

Everywhere you turn, one name keeps appearing: Propecia. Just take it, they say. It works.

But before you reach for the prescription, ask yourself: what exactly are you trying to fix? And at what cost?

Because for many men, Propecia hasn't just taken away hair loss. It's taken away much more.

The side effects no one leads with

Finasteride, marketed as Propecia, was approved to treat male pattern baldness in 1997. It works by lowering DHT, the hormone that shrinks hair follicles. That part's well understood.

What's less understood, or less admitted, is what else happens when you start interfering with your hormones. Loss of libido. Erectile dysfunction. Genital numbness. Brain fog. Depression. Anxiety. A creeping sense of unreality. For some, the damage doesn't stop when the pills do.

Dr. Michael Irwig, one of the few researchers willing to challenge the mainstream narrative, found that otherwise healthy men experienced persistent sexual dysfunction long after discontinuing the drug. The FDA has since added warnings. But the marketing machine hasn't slowed.

Most men start taking Propecia to feel better about themselves. What they get is disconnection from their bodies, their minds, their relationships.

The bigger problem isn't chemical. It's cultural.

We've quietly rebranded baldness as illness. As a flaw. As a failure of upkeep. And that's the deeper poison. Because baldness isn't a pathology. But treating it like one has created an entire ecosystem of shame.

There are clinics for it. Telehealth prescriptions. Instagram influencers normalising it. The implication is clear: if you're balding and doing nothing, you're giving up.

You're not. You're opting out of a racket.

This isn't anti-science. It's pro-sovereignty.

We're not here to shame anyone who chooses treatment. But let's stop pretending the pressure is purely aesthetic. This is social conditioning disguised as health.

At March, we don't push restoration. Because your scalp doesn't need to be fixed. It needs to be cared for. And your confidence shouldn't come with side effects.

Some men lose their hair. Others lose themselves trying not to.

Mark Cronje, FounderJune 21, 2025
Next · Personal

Holding On

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Personal · May 2024

Holding On

The story of my Sisyphean pursuit to preserve my hairline. Follicle by follicle.

Two men in a 1950s studio, hands on their heads

I remember it clearly: "You're starting to thin."

I was sixteen. Twenty years ago now. But for years, those words never felt more than a day old.

Ask any bald man, and they'll likely remember their moment. We're raised to see hair as status. Losing it? Weakness. Exposure. Something to fear.

And I did fear it. Quietly. Constantly. I waited for the comments. The glances. The validation of my worst suspicions. My hat collection ballooned. Caps. Beanies. Anything to throw a shadow over the retreat.

"Why are you always wearing a hat? Are you going bald?"

You can't win.

Then came the toolkit: the thickening shampoos, the $50 volume-enhancing gels, the $100-a-month finasteride, prescribed in a five-minute GP appointment. Why? Because I was afraid. Because I believed what I had been sold.

The fear is manufactured

The fear of baldness is not organic. It's conditioned. And that conditioning is profitable. The hair loss industry is worth over $9 billion globally. And much of that rests on convincing men that they're broken. That a vanishing hairline is a medical emergency. But it's not. For most of us, there's nothing physiologically wrong.

I've worked in advertising. I know how this works. Bald men are cast in shadow, heads bowed. The full-haired foil, tanned and grinning, appears in perfect light. One is to be pitied. The other, envied. It's nonsense.

Put Stanley Tucci next to any one of their glow-up actors and the illusion falls apart. We are not broken.

The decade I lost

I spent ten years in that headspace. Waiting for comments. Wondering if I should wear a hat on a first date. Choosing Hinge photos based on how forgiving the lighting was. Losing libido from the meds. Joking with friends that I needed to fall in love before it was "too late". Before I was bald.

The stretch sucked. It shouldn't take a decade to let go.

The day I shaved it

I sat down for my usual cut. Tired. Not of the hair itself, but of everything around it. The camouflage. The maintenance. The pretending.

"Take it all off," I said. Stephen, my barber, paused. But he already knew. It was time.

I was nervous. I left the salon and went straight to the pub. The feedback was good. The next day, I went to work. Same thing. Nothing collapsed. Life went on. In fact, it got easier. Simpler. More mine.

No more camouflage. No more tricks. Just skin and clarity. I was free.

If you're holding on, ask yourself: what exactly are you holding on to? The fear? The story? The lie?

You will wake up tomorrow. And the day after. And you'll still be you. Stronger. Cleaner. Bald. And free.

Mark Cronje, FounderMay 21, 2024
Next · Technique

The Basics of Shaving a Bald Head

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About March

Your Head Is Not an Afterthought

For decades, the hair loss industry has operated on one premise: that a bald man is a problem to be solved.

It built clinics for it. Subscription services. Telehealth portals that prescribe finasteride in four minutes without looking you in the eye.

It cast bald men in shadow and placed the full-haired man beside them, tanned, grinning, lit like a god. The message was never subtle. You are less. Here is the fix.

We built March because we rejected that.

Not because baldness is a trend. Not because it needs celebrating. But because the men we know were never broken. They were underserved.

A shaved scalp is not a face. It has more sebaceous glands, different exposure, and different needs. It takes the full force of the sun without protection. It is shaved, often daily, across skin that was never designed to be cut with a blade. It is the first thing the room sees when you walk in.

The industry's answer, for men who chose to embrace rather than reverse, was beard oil. Generic moisturiser. Aftershave designed for a jawline. We thought that was worth fixing.

March is building headcare. Not skincare for bald men. Not grooming. Headcare. A word that didn't exist before we needed it, for a need that has always been there.

If you've spent years not knowing what to use or how, reaching for products that almost work, this was built for you.

Not to fix you. To look after you.

Mark Cronje, Founder

Mark Cronje, founder of March, seated by a window
Mark Cronje Founder, March
Headcare 101

Questions, answered.

Common questions from men who shave their heads. Each answer is grounded in skin science and scalp-specific care, developed with a cosmetic physician.

Shaving technique

How often should I shave my head?

Most people shave every 2 to 3 days to maintain a smooth look without irritation. Daily shaving is possible if your skin tolerates it, but it increases the risk of razor burn and sensitivity.

What's the best razor for a bald head?

Use a razor designed for head shaving with a pivoting head and ergonomic grip. Rotary electric razors are convenient, while multi-blade cartridge razors give a closer shave.

Scalp care after shaving

What should I apply after shaving my head?

Use a lightweight, alcohol-free product that calms the skin, restores hydration, and supports the barrier. Look for ingredients like panthenol, niacinamide, or colloidal oat.

How do I prevent irritation or razor burn?

Avoid alcohol-based aftershaves. Rinse with cool water, pat your scalp dry, and apply a calming post-shave treatment or serum immediately. Shaving with clean blades and proper technique also reduces irritation.

Why does my scalp feel tight after shaving?

That tight feeling is often a sign of dehydration or barrier disruption. Shaving removes natural oils and can stress the skin. Use a product that replenishes moisture and soothes irritation.

Can I use face products on my scalp after shaving?

Some face products are safe to use, but not all are ideal. Scalp skin has different oil and sweat gland density, and it's often more exposed. Avoid anything too harsh or heavily fragranced.

Sun protection

Do bald heads really need sunscreen?

Absolutely. The scalp is one of the most sun-exposed areas of your body and burns easily. Apply a broad-spectrum SPF 15 or higher every day, even when it's overcast or cool. If you're spending time outdoors, wear a cap.

What kind of sunscreen is best for a shaved head?

Look for a broad-spectrum mineral sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher. Choose a lightweight, fast-absorbing formula that won't leave a greasy shine, white cast, or cause irritation. Fragrance-free is best for sensitive or freshly shaved skin.

How do I reapply sunscreen without making my scalp greasy?

Use a matte-finish mineral sunscreen or a sunscreen stick designed for oily skin. Blot your scalp first if it's sweaty, and reapply in thin layers.

Long-term head and scalp health

How do I keep my scalp healthy over time?

Keep your scalp clean, moisturised, and protected from the sun. Avoid harsh products, manage sweat buildup, and use ingredients that support the skin barrier: panthenol, niacinamide, and ceramides.

Why does my scalp get dry or flaky after shaving?

Shaving can strip away natural oils and disrupt the skin's barrier, leading to dryness or flaking. It can also expose underlying conditions like seborrheic dermatitis. Regular moisturising and gentle cleansing help prevent it.

Is it normal for my scalp to feel oily later in the day?

Yes. The scalp has a high density of sebaceous glands, and without hair to absorb oil, it can build up on the surface. Blotting, rinsing, or using a lightweight mattifying product can help manage shine.