You managed to accidentally lose yet another tooth this week; your other front tooth. This one came with the least anticipation. Tuesday night as I was putting you to bed you briefly mentioned that another tooth felt sort of wiggly.
My response was to tell you to leave it alone so it didn’t keep you up too late.
The next morning, as I was brushing your teeth, I kept this in mind. I was very careful not to even brush that one tooth.
But as I was pulling your toothbrush from the back of your upper teeth and attempted to pull it around to the other side, apparently I unknowingly barely grazed the edges of the bristles of your toothbrush against the edge of your lose tooth.
That’s all it took.
I saw your tooth hit the bathroom sink and fall into the stream of running water. It was like I had the ability to move very quickly as time passed by extra slowly, like Quicksilver of X-Men.
Amazingly, I was able to snatch your tooth up with my pointer finger and my thumb, on the first try, saving it from being washed down the drain.
If I had the chance to try it a second time, I probably wouldn’t have been successful. It was that moment in time I wasn’t prepared for, yet I still managed to accomplish the mission.
Minutes later, as I took a picture of you with your tooth, and also a close-up of your mouth, your sister assumed that she was supposed to pose as well.
So I got a picture of her pretending to show up her missing tooth, even though she’s still several years from even losing her first one.
As for you, I told you to take a break from losing anymore teeth for now.
As an accidentally popular Nashville-based daddy blogger and YouTuber who happens to be The World’s Manliest Vegan, or at least The Manliest Vegan on the Internet, I’m not “get a free family vacation to Disney World” famous.
You may remember how about a month ago, I did a special video there when they gave me my first ever clean head shave.
Well now, a month later, they’re still keeping me in the loop. Apparently, they learned how passionate I am about all-natural products; ones that are based from essential oils, not weird chemicals.
Coincidentally, I also happen to receive a care package from Prep U:
The Prep U product line is specifically made for pre-teen boys; though I must say, their deodorant is my new favorite, of any brand! It works so well.
In case you didn’t know, about a decade ago, I stopped using personal products that contain shady ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate. I also stopped using deodorant that contains aluminum.
I am a dyshidrotic eczema survivor. In order to be healed of my disease, I had ultimately become a vegan (5 years now)and only use all natural products.
So as you can imagine, the products sent to me this week by Boardroom Salon for Men in Nashville on West End are obviously an extension of my identity and completely inline with my own brand image.
In addition to being all natural, they also smell very clean, in a classy, subtle, masculine way. In other words, not like Axe body spray.
For me, this is like Christmas in June. I’m the 37 year-old dad and husband. I don’t get nice stuff for myself. My money goes to my family- and my attempt to pay off the mortgage early.
Getting these care packages this week made me very grateful and very happy, as you can see in the picture below.
Back in 2014, researchers in Canada were attempting to compare the behavior of men who watch pornography regularly, with men who have never seen pornography at all. However, they were unable to find one man who had never watched pornography.
Too bad they didn’t know I existed, because I would have been perfect for their study.
I understood from the very beginning, as a preteen, that viewing such unrealistic images and ideas of women would ultimately psychologically rewire my brain, potentially like the equivalent of a computer virus.
To me, it was always beyond religion and morality. It was always about psychology instead.
It’s true, I’ve never looked at, nor watched, pornographic material. I’ve had multiple opportunities, when no one else was around, but I can’t really say it was ever a true temptation to me.
I have always been fundamentally opposed to the idea.
On my main YouTube channel which officially crossed the 4,000 subscriber mark last month, I serve as a mentor and life coach, helping younger, insecure balding men realize that their identity and how attractive they are to women actually has a lot more to do with confidence, kindness, and skill sets.
Recently, I discovered a subtle trend in which my subscribers were openly talking in the comments section, about looking at and watching pornography. Then I made the connection:
Why is it that some guys go bald young and it doesn’t seem to affect their confidence at all (and therefore they don’t watch my channel), yet others barely show any signs of hair loss but they freak out about the possibility of going bald on a daily basis?
The answer: Most of my subscribers are in their teens and twenties, meaning that they’ve grown up with unlimited access to pornography online, during those crucial years of developing their sense of identity and building confidence in who they are. (The Internet went mainstream in 1997, before most of these guys were even born.)
Compare that to me, a guy who has never looked at or watched pornography.
It makes sense now why my YouTube channel “about hair loss” is so popular: It’s really a YouTube channel that helps young men who may be experiencing hair loss, which is quite common, who are also addicted to or at least regularly exposed to pornography, overcome their insecurity issues; taught from a 37 year-old man who was never psychologically corrupted in the way they have been.
So I began making some videos addressing, and testing, this pattern I was seeing.
Those videos became some of my most popular and received more thumbs up than my other videos.
Some of my viewers confirmed I was correct: That regularly looking at and watching pornography has crushed their ability to be confident in themselves and only reinforces their insecurities about the concept they are experiencing hair loss; or at least, think they are.
To test my theory, I made a video in which I predicted in the title, that 99% of my subscribers were addicted to pornography. I stated in the video that if I were wrong, that out of my 4,000 subscribers, more than 40 would leave a comment proclaiming they do not consume pornography either.
Instead, only 2 people left a comment saying that. So yeah, over 99%.
I then theorized that many of my viewers were drawn to pornography due to some unnamed psychological trauma they experienced as a child (like being abused, their parents divorcing, a close family member dying, etc.), and they never got the proper counsel with a psychiatrist that they needed.
So that childhood trauma was never dealt with or even acknowledged, which psychologically set a pattern in their mindset to be anxious about things they have no control over: like hair loss.
I discovered this connection after reading an article on Huff Post that found the common theme among people who suffer from anxiety or depression is that they live with unresolved psychological trauma from their childhood.
Turns out, men who were overly obsessed with hair loss fit into this category as well.
I consider myself a missionary to the mainstream.
The way I see it, I was put on this Earth to serve others. If I can help thousands of insecure, pornography-addicted young men to acknowledge that pornography is killing their confidence and sense of identity, I can hopefully lead them to a decision to be pornography-free as I am, and eventually, overcome their trigger, which is hair loss.
I say, an attractive man is a confident man- and a confident man doesn’t tolerate the use of pornography in his own life.
So when I’m not being a Family Friendly Daddy Blogger, I’m serving as the host and life coach of a PG-13 rated YouTube channel to help mentor younger men.
HairMax sponsored this article; I received the product as compensation for my time and platform. HairMax believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. HairMax’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.
As a YouTuber of a channel focused on men’s hair loss, which currently has over 4,000 subscribers, I am becoming more of an official spokesman on the subject. I have even noticed that here on my blog, much of the traffic I am now receiving is thanks to the times I’ve published articles about men’s hair loss.
I have stumbled into this position, for sure, as I myself am not necessarily balding, but now thousands of men watch my videos every day on the subject. I believe much of my success is due to the fact that, in the real world, it is not acceptable for a man to voice his insecurities about his hair loss.
Instead, he is often met with, “Oh, just get over it! Balding happens to a lot of guys. Just shave it all off. Who cares?”
But for a younger, single man, it is a much bigger deal. So many of my YouTube subscribers feel that without hair, they can’t be confident in themselves.
As long as that’s what they believe, it will be true for them.
I encourage my subscribers to find the path to hair loss confidence in the path that suites them individuals.
Therefore, it is no surprise to me that the folks at HairMax reached out to me recently regarding their newest product designed to help men, and women, who are suffering from hair loss.
The HairMax LaserBand 82 stimulates hair growth, reverses thinning, energizes hair follicles, revitalizes damaged hair. Hair grows in denser, fuller and healthier.
HairMax is the pioneer of at-home laser hair regrowth technology and is the undisputed global leader in the field, bringing doctor recommended laser light treatments to hair loss sufferers around the world. The newest generation of HairMax Laser devices are game changers in the hair loss industry offering a safe and effective treatment for hereditary hair loss – without drugs or harmful side effects.
The HairMax LaserBand 82 delivers therapeutic light energy (low level laser) directly to your hair follicles through 82 medical-grade lasers to treat hair loss and promote hair growth.
The curved design incorporates patented hair parting teeth which part your hair during treatment to allow optimal laser light delivery to your follicles. 3 elements for efficacy for treatment includes the hair parting teeth, the laser light intensity and the laser light density working in unison to provide a highly effective treatment for hair loss and thinning hair. Comfortable, portable and convenient for home use or while traveling.
Fast, Easy and Effective – treatment takes as little as 90 seconds, 3 days a week.
Laser Light Hair Growth Device – FDA Cleared for Men and Women in early to moderate stages of hair loss.
Clinically Proven in 7 Studies – Safe and Effective for Hair Loss and Thinning Hair.
Average increase in hair count – 129 additional new hairs per sq. in. after 6 months
Fastest laser hair loss treatment available – each treatment takes as little as 90 Seconds – (up to 10 minutes)
Move it over 3 areas of your scalp – Front, Middle, Back at 30 second intervals
Today is my mother’s 60th birthday. That really sounds weird to say, because it’s so hard to believe when you see her.
I have an image in my head of what someone is supposed to look like when they are 60, and my mom does not match that image. More than once in my 30s, people have genuinely assumed she is my sister instead.
But in addition to definitely not looking anywhere close to 60 years old, something I really respect about my mom’s perspective on life is this:
She has never once been ashamed of, or afraid of, her age. Whether it was back when she turned 40, and then 50, and now 60, she is simply proud of that somewhat arbitrary number.
A couple of months ago, I actually interviewed my mom on the YouTube channel for Family Friendly Daddy Blog. Feel free to check out the video below, where you can hear her say it herself, that she fully embraces whatever age she is:
I feel that because of how my mom has always viewed her age at the time, I have modeled my own perspective of aging in the same way:
To be vocal about it in everyday conversations is to your remind yourself of how many years you’ve been blessed with life on this planet with the people you love.
It’s very obvious, especially after you watch that video, that it’s against my mom’s identity to focus on the negative aspects of getting older.
Or to use that cliche about it being her 29th birthday instead of her real age.
No, not my mom. She is proud to be 60 years old.
She’s proof that it’s a choice.
You can choose to celebrate each new year of your own life.
Granted, I can’t deny it’s easy for a 60 year-old woman to be proud of her age when she looks so amazing for her age… but still, I know my mom would still feel the same way:
Don’t be ashamed of your age. Be grateful for all the years you’ve lived so far.
Family Friendly Daddy Blog 