Hey Dan

Yeah heads are always a bit tricky when you first start doing them, but eventually you'll find a method that works best for you.
I usually just start with a poly cube and just get the general shape around the eyes, nose and mouth areas first, I dont actually do the ear hole until I'm happy with the main parts first. Also at this stage I would have far less polys too. Thats the beauty of subds, it allows for less, but smoother geometry similar to smooth proxy in poly menu, while you work the mesh to the shape you want, then, cut the detail in later. I attached an image for Rubber Chicken earlier last week so you can have it too. Its of an old man but the mesh is good over the pic. Study it and observe the edge flow around the nose and mouth areas, this is an absolute rule of head modelling also known as 'edge loops'. You are basically indirectly defining the way muscles under the skin work but are are using the flow over the skin surface. This will actually allow for easier use when animating the facial expression. Hope this helps
_J