I'm kind of scared :( (some advice?)

So, I recently turned 18. In my country (Argentina), there’s this “tradition” where, when a guy turns 18, his friends or family shave his head as a joke

I’m a closeted MTF, and I really don’t want that to happen so uuuh

Here's my plan

I actually turned 18 while I was traveling in another city for vacation. My plan is that, before going back home, I’ll go to a barber and ask them to cut my hair very short — but not shave it.

I see my friends three times a week, and they’ve been insisting on shaving my head, mostly because I have curly hair and they think it would be “funny.”

But I’m hoping that if they see me with very short hair already, they won’t feel the urge to shave me anymore, or at least not as much. I also have a few arguments ready, like: “If my (female) friend doesn’t have to shave her head, why should I?” or “My dad is bald anyway, so I probably already lost the genetic war.”

Still, I feel really anxious about the whole situation. I don’t want to be bald just because people see me as a man. It feels unfair, and honestly, it hurts more than they probably realize.