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No one article can teach a person how to be happy. Below are some ways to help you focus on ways to feel better. If you suffer depression you should seek professional help.

• Be generous.
• Don’t be lazy.
• Learn to forgive.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Enjoy simple pleasures.
• Take time out for yourself.
• Don’t focus on material things.
• De-clutter your house and office.
• Don’t worry about what others think of you.
• Make time for the people who need you most.
• Don’t expect too much from yourself or others.
• Never stop learning and always remain curious.
• Never allow yourself to feel rushed or in a hurry.
• Forget about always being right, even if you are!
• Don’t take things, people, or yourself too seriously.
• Maintain a regular schedule, even on the weekends.
• Accept criticism as a favor, even if it is undeserved.
• Learn from your mistakes and then forget about them.
• Don’t get involved in others’ problems unless you must.
• Exercise on a regular basis and eat a well-balanced diet.
• Never say anything bad or negative about someone else.
• Decide who you want to be in life, and focus on that goal.
• Almost everything can happen for a positive reason if you look for it.
• Be grateful for what you do have and don’t dwell on what you don’t have.
• Do your tasks completely, one at a time, and only focus at the task at hand.
• Know that no matter how bad the past has been, the future can be different.
• Play devil’s advocate to your own negative feelings and look at the bright side.
• You choose to be happy and you choose to be unhappy. Make the right choice!
• Don’t rely on others to make you happy - it’s your responsibilty and your choice!

Whether you want to look younger or just want to make sure you don’t age prematurely, below is a list of some common as well as lesser known ways to shed the years.

• Apply a Retin-A or EGF-based product.
• Always apply a moisturizer to your face (but does not contain mineral oil)
• Use sunscreen (SPF 15+) 365 days a year AND wear a wide-brimmed hat
• Try to keep yourself from squinting, puckering, or making other faces that can cause wrinkling over the years.
• Stay out of the sun
• When you get out off the shower, pat your face to dry it - don’t rub or scrub it!
• Wear sunglasses when outside to prevent squinting which leads to wrinkles
• Avoid smoking and cigarette smoke
• Try not to sleep face-down
• Exfoliate your face at least twice a month
• Run a humidifier when you sleep
• Lose extra pounds and keep them off (This could be one of the biggest factors!)
• Get plenty of sleep every night, even on the weekends
• Keep allergies under control
• Be sure to get plenty of vitamins A, E, and C, preferably through vegetable and fruit juicing for best absorption
• Eat fish several times a week
• Avoid alcohol
• Massage your face thoroughly every week to increase circulation to the area
• Eat lots of fruits and vegetables
• Don’t chew on your lips
• Don’t forget to apply SPF-factor lip balm
• Drink lots of water. Not other drinks. Water.
• Avoid stress
• Use very mild soaps
• Consider taking acetyl-L-carnitine and alpha-lipoic together

Can’t see the forest for the trees? Spent countless hours looking for a simple and free weight loss plan? Here is a brief summary of a sensible plan that will ensure weight loss if you follow it, and still provide enough nutrition and calories to keep you satisfied and energetic.

How much to eat
Find out how many calories you need in a day. Unfortunately this is different for everyone, so it will take some time for you to discover the actual number. Use my chart as a starting guide, but eventually you’ll have to tweak the numbers to fit you. It’s OK to take an educated guess and go with it for a week or two, then re-evaluate. After you’ve determined how many calories you need in a day to maintain your weight, you then need to keep that number higher than the amount of calories you consume minus the calories you burn every day. I suggest a moderate decrease in food and a moderate increase in exercise to make up the difference. Let’s say you need 2000 calories a day to maintain your weight. If you want to lose a pound a week (which is optimal and healthy), you need to burn off 500 calories a day. This 500 deficiency would be best achieved by exercising off 250 calories via exercise and also eating 250 calories less than you need.

You can certainly set loftier goals than that, but remember that the more you exercise, the more you will need to eat.

How often to eat
Once you have determined how many calories you will be taking in every day, you will then divide that number by how many meals you plan to eat per day, between 4 and 6 meals a day. The answer you get will be the amount of calories you will try to consume per meal. Eating more meals throughout the day keeps your body burning fuel on a regular basis. This helps increase your metabolism as well. I’ve known people to lose weight merely by making this change in habit.

What to eat
Try to eat a well-balanced meal when possible. No matter what you eat, be sure to eat lots of fruits and vegetables (especially raw, uncooked ones), and if possible try replacing or supplementing occasional meals with juice fresh from a juicer. Adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet will make you feel better, help you lose weight, have more energy, and even help you look better. Avoid “hidden” calories such as soft drinks, mayonnaise, breaded foods, etc. Stay away from greasy foods, breaded foods, and non-lean meats.

Exercise
Exercise as many days as you can, and as many ways as you can. Lift weights, walk, play sports, jump rope, go bowling, play with your kids or grandkids, take a stroll through the mall - do whatever it takes to keep yourself moving. A little bit every day can add up to huge gains over time. Fitness and weight loss aren’t sprints, they’re marathons. Just stick to it and over time you’ll see results. Don’t forget to eat a high-protein meal immediately after exercising.

Additional Tips

• Choose a larger quantity of low-calorie foods and you will never be hungry.
• Only cut carbs when it’s refined sugar (not the natural sugar in fruit!) and only cut fat when it’s saturated or transfat.
• Planning is the key. If you can plan out your meals for a week, you will probably succeed!
• Keep your mind focused on weight loss throughout the day.
• Tell others about your weight loss goals, and ask them for their support! You won’t feel alone in your quest.
• Rid your cabinets of almost all junk food, except for one or two small treats as a reward to yourself.
• Remember you are not eliminating anything. You are simply making smarter choices.

Below is a chart to show how many calories the average, low-activity person should need per day to maintain their weight. To reduce your weight, you will need to reduce your calories.

Everyone is different and these numbers should only be used as a guide. If you are a more active or muscular person, you will need to increase your calories.

Have you ever been pushed into a fight? Has someone ever just pushed your buttons to the point that you couldn’t help but fight with them? Most of us have. Well, I know I have. But if you stop and think about it, that’s really a sign of weakness on our part, and a symbol of control on the other person’s part - even if that other person is a child. We’re letting someone else control our emotions and our actions. And even though many of us think we’re strong people, when it comes to confrontation, all bets are off. I have news for you… if you allow someone to make you mad just by the things they say to you, at that moment you’re the weaker person. Words are just words, and I can’t believe people let them hurt so much. If a person wants to be mean and hurtful by the things they say, the worst thing you can do is let those words affect you. What they’re really doing is fishing for ways to get you to react the way they want… or they could be just unable to control their own anger. But that doesn’t mean you should lose control of your anger, too. I’ve told many people that I only saw my mother get really angry a few times my entire life. As a kid, no matter how much I screamed and yelled at her, she would never lose her cool or let me get to her. She remained calm, let me say what I had to say, and dealt with it in her own manner. Looking back, I applaud her for her self-control. Too many parents don’t exercise such restraint.

Remember: If you allow someone to push you into a shouting match, you’ve just handed them the keys to your self control…

Let me put it to you this way… What if I were to bring in your arch enemy - a person that really gets under your skin… and I was going to let this guy scream and yell at you for 10 minutes… And if you didn’t lose your temper during that time, I’d give you a million dollars. Could you do it? Of course you could! Even if your family and friends were there and this guy was lying through his teeth and you weren’t able to respond? Sure! You’d be able to find the self control to get the prize. You might even find the humor in this guy’s words while you kept calm. Well, if you can exercise that kind of self control for money, why not for yourself. Your happiness? Isn’t that worth something too?

I should mention that I’m certainly not talking about physical violence, as that’s a different story altogether. If someone is physically abusing you, you must get out of that situation and seek help immediately. But the issue at hand here is a verbal confrontation - between husbands and wives, co-workers, or friends. The kinds of arguments that normally civil people engage in.

Don’t allow someone to take the keys to your self-control, your emotions, your feelings. The next time you’re confronted with a verbal assault, don’t get defensive and don’t yell back. Keep calm and tell yourself, “I’m not going to let this person control me!” The angrier that person gets, the more reserved and calm you must get. Eventually that person will give up because he couldn’t crack your shell. If you don’t crack, you win. You will exit with your dignity and a stronger person because of it.

I originally wrote a similar article detailing my 15-year life with a meth user. I have yet to post it. While I still plan to post that at some point, I found it too difficult to publish at this point. If you’ve lived with a meth user, you know how emotionally, physically, and mentally draining it can be. So for the time being, I will compromise with myself and post a more objective description of meth use.I’ve read other sites, and sometimes I get the idea these “experts” have never lived with a meth user through the worst of it. I don’t write this with the expertise of a doctor who has studied patients and run tests.

I lived with a user. For well over a decade. I was married into a family of them. I saw her family and friends all doing it. Through my ordeal I learned to hate the drug, but I also became quite familiar with the signs and the cycle that follows meth use. I may not be an expert at treating it, but I am definitely an expert at spotting it.

If you feel like someone you love may be using meth, I will describe what you might be seeing.

One common denominator of meth use is secrecy. If you’re not a fellow user or supplier, you won’t be privy to the truth of their world. They’ll lie to your face and assume you believe everything they say. Users hide their addictions, deny it, and sometimes even ridicule others for doing it (perhaps to throw us off the scent?).

Just before using, you might sense something is going on. You’ll see unusual behavior, such as disappearing into another room to take a call, going into the bathroom for 20 minutes, running a sudden “errand” that would normally wait (such as running out for milk at 1am when you still have half a gallon in the fridge). You might also see certain “friends” show up for very brief visits, sometimes not even getting out of their car.

If you haven’t been able to translate the above issues - wow you’re slow! No, just kidding. Haha.. They simply mean the meth user is looking for some drugs.

The Deal
A meth user will often go on the hunt for their drug. They’ll disappear to make phone calls, or even drive to their dealer’s house if the can’t contact him. Those are the “errands” they usually run. Or sometimes their dealer might even show up, either having been called or maybe just making a courtesy call to see if the user needs anything.

How thoughtful.

Using
After the deal, the meth user will then go do the deed. It could be in the bathroom or in their car in a nearby field. They might also do it somewhere that is more “meth friendly” than around you, such as at another user’s house. The actual use is very brief - only a few moments.

You might see remnants of the use, such as straws, pieces of tin foil, small bags or pieces of plastic wrap, razor blades, lighters - you get the idea. These things are all standard meth-related items. If the user snorted it, he could be touching his nose often because of the sensation/irritation of sucking it up his nose.

Hey we’re just getting started. This is where you enter the picture and start to see things.

The High
After doing meth, the user will display some very obvious and animated signs. The pupils will be dilated. To me that was always the tip-off. Dilated eyes, even in a bright room, were always immediate and obvious. The skin is warm to the touch and heart is pounding. You will see a mood that is a little bit too happy. And lots of energy. Meth users often get little or no sleep for days after using. They will also display exaggerated or semi-uncontrolled mannerisms, such as constant cleaning, preening, talking, etc., along with uncontrolled twitching or facial tics. During the high, the meth user often lacks an appetite and may go an entire day eating virtually nothing. It’s not uncommon to see them overly productive, such as cleaning or doing repetitive tasks, even in the middle of the night. They might pick at their hair or skin repeatedly. Almost obsessively. When they do sleep, it might be agitated and filled with movement, sweating, talking, laughing, or gibberish. The user may exhibit a heightened sexual arousal. You may even notice that the person has an unusual odor.

So why do meth users want to be this way? They don’t. Those are only the things being externalized. Inside, they are experiencing a sense of euphoria, confidence, and well-being that is far beyond what they feel when sober. They live for the high, and deal with everything else.

Those of us on the outside can’t imagine how it becomes worth it. But it does.

The Plateau
There is a brief period between the high and the crash in which the user begins to shift behavior patters. I call this the Plateau. The high is coming to and end and the user begins to display new symptoms. He begins to slow down. He might still be animated, but in a less energetic state. If he can’t get more meth, he will start to head quickly into the crash.

The Crash (aka “Coming Down”)
When a meth user has exhausted his supply and what he ingested has worked its way through his system, we have the crash. A crashing user might spend several days in bed. He might be asleep the entire time, or is awake but lethargic. He might only getting up to use the restroom or have a quick snack. The worst part of the crash is that it’s typically accompanied by a very agitated and foul demeanor. The user can get violent and display psychotic traits and huge mood swings. Lethargic, irrational, angry, moody, and confused - these are all signs of the crash.

From my perspective, this was by far the worst part. Whereas the user is mostly irritating during the high, he is more likely to focus his crashing ire directly at you. You will likely get sucked into absurd arguments or even find yourself dodging violent behavior.

It can last a few days. A few days of hell.

The Recovery
As the crash wears off, the meth user begins to revert back to his pre-high self. He might even exhibit better than normal behavior.

And just when you think life is back to normal, the cycle soon repeats and the roller coaster ride begins again. It is exhausting and frustrating for the loved ones enduring it.

Though I’ve focused on the short-term signs of meth use, I should point out that there are long-term signs of meth use as well. Weight loss, tooth decay, poor hygiene, increased acne, dry skin, hair loss, mental illness, memory loss, paranoia, depression, and psychosis are all possible. Not all of these are necessarily reversible.

If you suspect someone you love is using meth, you need to get help. If you can’t get help, you need to get out.

Though I am no expert, if you would like to contact me directly about this, feel free to comment or email me at waffles@wafflesatnoon.com.

For other articles on addiction, see Overcoming Myspace Addiction and Overcoming Addiction to the World of Warcraft.

Two years ago if someone had told me I’d ever write about this topic, I would have laughed in their face. I can almost understand the addictive nature of certain video games, such as I discussed in my article about overcoming addiction to the World of Warcraft. Certainly I understand the physiological nature of other addictions such as drugs, alcohol or even sex.

But Myspace?

There are obviously many reasons why people like Myspace, but just as many reasons why people don’t like it. It can be a place to keep your friends and family connected, or it can be a breeding ground for juvenile drama. And pretty much everything in between. What’s most odd about Myspace addiction is that it seems to manifest itself in many wildly different forms. I’ll take a look at a few prominent types.

Romance trolling addiction
Looking to meet that certain someone? Why pay $30 a month to some corporate dating site when you can go Myspace and meet people for free? A lot of people have turned to Myspace instead traditional dating websites. It’s free, and the largest social network out there (And yes I know - Facebook is closing the gap fast). If there’s a date to be found online, there’s no better place to look. The problem is, Myspace is beyond huge and not everyone on there is looking for a date. So it’s a lot of work. I’ve known guys to spend hours upon hours sifting through the hundreds of women that show up in the search results. They’ll go to each woman’s page, look at her pictures, read her profile, and contact the ones he feels are good prospects. Remember that not all of them are even interested in being contacted. So unlike a dating site, where at least the people on there have shown an interest in meeting people, you just never know with Myspace. And often a person is just being nice by responding to their correspondence, and not really interested. But that takes a while to figure out for a lot of people.

It can be a full time job.

So back to our guy trolling for women… Once a few ladies accept his friend requests, he’ll spend even more time attempting to forge some sort of friendship with them while still searching for more ladies to contact.

What’s the problem? First, there’s no guarantee that the woman you see in the pictures is the person you’re actually emailing or talking to. It’s not uncommon for a less attractive woman to “borrow” pictures from a random pretty girl’s page to increase her friend requests. It happens far more than you might think. Second, women are inundated by male friend requests and often give little attention to these guys. There are also concerns about the “creepiness” of meeting someone online. If a girl tells her friends she’s going on a date with a guy she met online, she’ll be pelted with warnings and stories of how every guy meeting women online is a rapist, murderer, or loser.

And the sad news is… if you’ve spent that much time on Myspace, you just might be a loser.

But you’re not alone. At least not online.

Profile Pimping Addiction
Some hardcore Myspace addicts spend countless hours “pimping” their page, which means constantly updating the look and layout of their page. They’ll search for hours for that “perfect” template to apply to their page, then more hours looking for that perfect song. Next, they’ll post a bulletin telling all their friends to see their new layout. Then they’ll focus on posting dozens of pictures, or filling out inane surveys. By the time they’ve done all that, it’s time to find a new look and start the cycle all over again.

The dating scenario above is typical of slightly older guys. This particular scenario leans towards the younger Myspace crowd. A teen’s Myspace page is an extension of their real life social status. They’re concerned with what everyone thinks of their clothes, hair, and of course Myspace page. Nothing gets a profile pimp off more than having someone take notice of their new look.

And a profile pimp will pretty much have a new look every week. Or even more often than that. At some point the desire to keep updating the look of the page becomes a sort of obsession.

Friend Pimps
Whereas a profile pimp is concerned with the appearance of the page, a friend pimp focus more on the sheer volume of friends he has online. Of course a Myspace “friend” isn’t necessarily a friend. Or someone you even know. I used to get friend requests, accept them, never heard from that person at all, and after a few months I’d delete them. I’ve seen individuals - who weren’t even famous - having thousand of Myspace friends.

Seems like they’re compensating for something.

Anyone can have thousands of Myspace friends. It’s hard to say why a Myspace Friend Pimp feels so compelled to add untold people to their friends list. It becomes obsessive because with millions of people online, there is practically no limit to the number of friends one can have. There will always be more prospective friends out there, so the friend pimping becomes a fulltime job.

Overcoming Myspace addiction
This requires the addict to address why they have become hooked in the first place. Social networks are nice because they allow otherwise shy people to reach out and make friends that they otherwise wouldn’t. For some, however, this becomes a crutch. They rely on Myspace or similar social sites to shield them from the issues that brought them there.

How ironic.

Social websites can actually lead some people to becoming less socially adept in the real world. The more “popular” they get online - whether from their profile pimping, volume of friends, or new prospective dates they meet online - the more involved they get with their page, and the less they get out in the real world and interact with others face to face.

It’s not unlike the shy guy who has a few drinks and suddenly has the courage to approach women. Liquid courage. So with Myspace, it’s a sort of Virtual Courage. The lack of direct communication with others allows for a sort of virtual social courage that the user otherwise lacks.

It’s not just how much time an addict spends on Myspace, but how much of their social life it becomes. Do they check Myspace first thing when they wake up in the morning and at night before bed? Do they talk about it when not at the computer? Does it seem that Myspace is the center of this person’s social life, rather than an extension of it?

It’s fine to occasionally change the look of your page, or look for friends or even dates online. It’s when this becomes an overwhelming force in your life that you need to step back and look in the mirror instead of the monitor.

The best way to wean yourself from Myspace is to take steps to deemphasize it. Limit your time on it, only check it once a day, reduce your profile to a bare and basic minimum, unsubscribe to blogs and email notifications.

You should bite the bullet also tell your friends what you’re trying to do. Instead of communicating via Myspace, get their phone numbers or other IM screen name and contact them that way. And don’t set your homepage to Myspace. Bad idea. Set it to something else interesting.

Also you should think about the time you spend on Myspace. Has that brought you any value to your life? Will any of it matter in the long run? What else could you be doing to improve your life and your relationships other than sitting on Myspace, posting bulletins and browsing other people’s pages?

It really can be a huge waste of time.

If you really feel that you want to stop but can’t, there is one sure fire way…

Delete your account and never look back. Don’t hesitate - just do it. Then call a friend and go do something.

If you’ve found yourself at a dead end in your job, you’re not alone. So how do you make the same (or more) money without sacrificing yourself at the same time. Have you read other motivational books or tapes and then get through them only to realize that the essence of what you just read was “Decide what you want and go for it,”? They make it sound so easy, and for some people maybe it is. But if you’re like most people, you feel stuck where you are and really have no easy way to get out. You’re actually lucky to be where you are and can’t afford to take a risk. Many of you have listened to those seminars and they sound so great, but then you go home and you have a mortgage you can barely make, health insurance to pay for - if you’re lucky, a family to support, credit card bills, no money in the bank… Maybe you’ve set a goal of making more money. For the average middle-class worker, that means two options. One is to change jobs. But if you’ve hit a dead end, chances are you spent many years working your way to that position, and can’t really jump ship. I personally worked for 12 years at a job before hitting a dead end with my salary. I knew I couldn’t go get a job somewhere else for the same pay. And it’s not a realistic option for many people. Your other option is to work more hours… at the expense of your family and leisure time. If you do that, you’ll find yourself wanting to work less, despite the money. So many of us get stuck and can’t get out. What do you do?First, you really need to evaluate what you have and the position you’re in. Don’t just sit there and think about it for a minute - really delve into it. If your job bores you to tears, and if you feel you could make the same (or better) salary elsewhere, then it’s definitely in your best interest to look around. But don’t just look around at anything. Think about what you love. Your hobbies and your passions in life. I had a boss who never said much… until I mentioned golf - and then he wouldn’t shut up! Is there something that can really get you to wake up and start talking like that? Is there something that puts a spark in your eye that you feel nearly fanatical about? Chances are the answer is yes. And let me guess - you’re not working a job in this field already, right? If you were working at a job you loved that much, you’d never read a page like this. Well the first thing you need to do is consider all the jobs available to someone who shares a passion like you do. And of those jobs, which ones excite you the most? Which ones make the most money? Is there a business you could start on your own?

Before I go any further, let me share you with a piece of advice given to me over and over again. You’ve probably heard it, too. And that is… It’s far more important have a job you love than to have a job that pays well. If you’ve ever had a job you really disliked, you’ll know why this is important. I once had a job I enjoyed very much, and I got a job offer for double the money somewhere else. The problem was - this job was doing something I knew I’d hate, and it was for a big corporation. That meant wearing a suit and tie and climbing the corporate ladder, and driving in rush-hour traffic both ways. But it was double the money. After thinking about it seriously for awhile, I finally decided to pass on the job offer, and never regretted that decision. The bottom line is that the money isn’t worth it if you’re miserable. And being miserable at work usually means you’re miserable at home. And no amount of money is worth that. Take this one thing to heart - and that is to always work at a job you love, and you will never have to worry about money. If you truly love your job, you’ll be excited about it, and you’ll be rewarded.

Now, if you don’t have a family and you are in a position to take a chance, I say go for it. Set yourself very specific goals and figure out what it will take to reach them - every step of the way. Then put all your energy into reaching that first step. Don’t focus on the final goal - focus your energy on the first step. And then the second, and so on, until you’ve reached your final goal.

Read my blog about setting and achieving goals for more information.

Eating a low-fat diet is a no-brainer if you are keeping your calories in check. A filling 300-calorie meal will almost certainly be low in fat. And let’s not forget that fat is not always a bad thing. Diets rich in monounsaturated fats have produced weight loss. My first diet consisted of a peanut butter sandwich almost every day (who says they’re just for kids?). Peanuts are high in monounsaturated fat, which is part of a healthy diet. Saturated fats are the ones to avoid, and if you notice a food is very high in saturated fat, you should probably limit your intake of that particular food. Oh, and if you want one of those peanut butter sandwiches, hold the jelly and be sure to use whole wheat bread.
Dietary fat can be a tightrope walk. Studies have suggested that as much as 90% of bodyfat comes from dietary fat intake. On the other hand, dietary fat is needed to carry certain vitamins to your body, and helps the to absorb into your system. Dietary fat also supplies you with essential fatty acids, which is not manufactured in your body.

I can hear the complaints… “So now what?” Well carbohydrates are your body’s fuel and protein helps build and maintain lean muscle as well as provides amino acids. Fat has its positive uses, too, but most Western diets consist of far too much dietary fat and calories.

Determine how many calories you need in a day to maintain your weight. The only true way to do this is through trial and error. Divide your daily calories by the number of meals you eat per day, which should be 4 to 6 per day. Then choose your foods wisely. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, along with lean meat, poultry, and pork. These simple foods are the foundation of a successful diet, and it’s almost impossible to fail if you stick with them. They are low in calories and high in nutrients. You’ll feel full without eating more calories than you need. Forget about watching your carbs, as long as you’re not taking in a lot of simple carbs such as sugar.

I’ve always said that if you eat a sensible meal that can fill you without being high in calories, you really don’t have to concern yourself with fat or carbs.  Junk food is usually to high in calories (think fast food burgers that reach 1000 calories) or not filling at all (like candy). If you stick with fruit, vegetables, and lean meat, you really only need to focus on portions rather than fat and carbs.

As obvious as it sounds, there are people who haven’t shaved their heads who might want a few tips before taking the plunge. My bald head has lured quite a few interested guys who needed a little advice before going for it. And not so obviously - there are a few ways to do it.If you don’t mind that “stubble” look, the easiest way by far is to merely grab some shears and simply shave all over your head with no extensions attached (also called shaving it with a “0″ attachment). Again, this will give you a little stubble on top.

If you’re like me and don’t want that receding hairline to show, and prefer that smooth bald look, you’re going to have to get a little closer than those shears will allow.

Time to get out the razor.

Some people prefer disposable razors, while others like having a nicer razor with disposable cartridges. I’ve done both. The results aren’t much different if you get a good disposable razor. I prefer disposables only because the replacement cartridges of nicer razors are really expensive these days.

The first year or so of shaving my head, I would shave my head about once a week. First, I’d use the shears and shave down to a 0, then lather up my head with shaving cream and shave my head over the sink, much like shaving my face. I just found it to be really messy. First you have the intitial hair flying everywhere, then you have all that creamy stubble all over the sink. Then you also have little hairs tumbling down the back of your collar when you’re done.

Before I go on, I should mention that because the hair grows outward from your crown, if you prefer to go against the grain, you’re usually going to be shaving up towards the crown from all sides. I’ve shaved with the grain and simply don’t get a close enough shave (except in the very back).

So back to technique… I like to enjoy the shower, to the point that I stand in there just enjoying the warm water. So much for conservation. But I was getting tired of that messy over-the-sink method of shaving my head, so I tried going in the shower. I realized quickly that shaving cream doesn’t work in the shower. It either gets washed away or kind of “melts” from the steam.

But in the shower, you don’t need it.

I put the area of my head that I’m shaving directly under the water and shave it as the water hits it. Not only does that soothe the area being shaved, but it also removes the hair from the razor as you go. So you don’t have to stop every few seconds to clean out the razor. It’s constantly being flushed out by the water.

Don’t worry about not having a mirror either. You can run your hand along your scalp to feel any areas you missed. Another benefit of shaving in the shower is all of that stubble is cleaned away and not sneaking down your shirt the rest of the day.

After you get out of the shower, take a look in the mirror for any spots you may have missed. I often miss the area just above and behind my ears. Just touch those up with another disposable at the sink.

So I believe that shaving in the shower with the water constantly washing down on your head is the best way to shave. I even shave my face that way now, too. I’ve found that by doing this every day, it’s very easy to manage and keep that smooth look all the time, and not just once a week as it was when I shaving every seven days. Letting it grow for a week takes a long time to shave and can be more painful. Shaving every day or two will make it a quick process and keep your shiny bald head in prime form.