I guarantee that a large percentage of you either feel anxiety about losing your hair, shaving your head for the first time. If you're already a bald man, you might have had some concerns before you took the plunge. It's so normal and extremely common for men to worry about their hair loss and to worry about how they'll look or how other will see them. They sometimes worry about feeling less attractive, less manly, less confident without their hair. But you seriously don't need to worry!
So what is the best part of being a bald man? In this article I'm going to go through 7 best parts as to why being a bald guy - or purposely shaving your head - is actually better than having hair.
1. You don't have to go to the barber
Time and money (and sometimes awkwardness) are things associated with going to the barber shop to get your hair cut, styled, shaped, washed... whatever it is that needs to be done. Now granted men's haircuts rarely cost as much as women's do, but if you have a thick head of hair and you're styling it in a certain way, you could be spending time going to, being at and returning from the barbers quite regularly. This could cost you anywhere from £10-40 per month depending on where you go and how often. Let's average that out and say £20 per month on haircuts, that's £240 per year on haircuts.
If you're using an electric shaver then you might spend £50-60 on a decent shaver and maybe £5 a month on post shave balm - that's half the amount of money in the first year alone. A good shaver will last you a good few years so that cost is quickly going to halve again in the second year. Granted if you're wet shaving and using a good quality shaving foam, good razors and a good post shave balm, this might still add up to a fair cost, but you'll save the effort of going to the barbers anyway by doing a shave in the shower every morning or every other morning. It just becomes part of your routine.
For more information on shaving your head and the tools to use, have a read over my article on Wet vs Electric Shaving.
2. You don't need to worry about hairstyles
Hairstyle trends shift and change all the time and guys are working to keep up to date with whatever the trends are. From long and shaggy, the David Beckham centre-parting, undercut, pompadour, combover, etc. it is constantly changing and evolving. You also need to spend time styling your hair in the morning, after the gym, after going out in the wind, after being caught in the rain, every time you take off a hat or helmet, if it's too humid on holiday... the moments of effort are endless. Not to mention the cost of styling mousses and gels and waxes and the damage that does to your hair over time.
The bald or shaved look is timeless, both in the fact that takes no extra effort than to just shave it and go, but also it doesn't require restyling or updating as trends evolve. This gives you more time to focus on your overall look, your beard if you have one, and you don't have to worry about restyling throughout the day - it actually takes a huge weight off your mind (and head literally!) It is a very low maintenance hairstyle.
3. You don't need to worry about going bald!
The simple fact is that men often worry about losing their hair. They stress over it once they start noticing a receding hairline, they check, they change their hairstyle to hide it, they search for alternative methods such as Minoxidil, scalp micro pigmentation, hair transplants, you name it. Now I'm not knocking this - the anxiety that comes with losing your hair is genuine and it is a common struggle for men and there are reasons why we worry about it. Image has become a very focused area of modern society, with Instagram and Tik Tok and YouTube, we spend a lot of our time projecting ourselves to the world. With this comes a sense of worry about how you look and how you appear to everyone else, especially when you see the amount of good-looking people who are making a lot of money by presenting themselves to the world.
What you need to understand is that the moment you accept the fact that you're losing your hair and you shave your head, this instantly removes any of those concerns. You no longer worry about it because you've dealt with it, you literally get rid of the problem that's causing you the concern and you can move forward with your life and accept your new look. You can focus on your health and your fashion and other things instead. As a man who shaved his head once it became too thin on top, I can tell you that it absolutely does remove any of this thoughts. Personally I was never that self-conscious of it, but I was aware of it.
4. Bald is a very confident look
Some studies have shown that bald men are considered to be more masculine and more confident. Now I am not here to make sweeping overstatements to say that all bald men are confident, more masculine, or that everyone finds bald men attractive. What I am here to say is that being bald is often linked to confidence and masculinity.
The fact that you have the balls to shave all your hair off and still walk out into the world with your shoulders back and your head held high, shows that you don't care whether or not you have hair. This gives off a sense that you are comfortable with who you are and other people will pick up on that. I know a lot of men who would NEVER shave their hair off because they are far too scared of how they might look, and these are often men who are very conscious of their hair style.
As for looking more masculine, again I will say this is not a generalisation but bald men who spend a bit of time working out and are in reasonably good shape are absolutely considered to be attractive and "macho" - think of some of the biggest celebrities in the world right now; The Rock, Jason Statham, Vin Diesel. For a full list of celebs who rock the bald look, have a read here.
Not only that, but studies have also shown that bald men come across as more reliable and more assertive - which apparently has an effect on your business success. Pairing confidence and assertiveness is the powerful mix of a powerful man. If you're bald and have a nice, smart beard, you throw on a suit and you stand up straight and look people in the eye, you're going to look like a CEO!
5. You might actually look younger
When you think bald, you might think old - and that's common. However, shaving your head completely clean can actually make you look younger. You might be thinking to yourself "how can a bald man look younger?" well, if you're losing your hair or the greys are starting to show, you're going to look older and more "weathered". By shaving all that hair off you remove the concept of "balding" and just become bald, giving the appearance of being younger. And as you get older, this will only stick around because your hair won't thin anymore, it just won't be there. Likewise with grey hairs - which are a very obvious signifier of age. None of those! Except maybe peppered into your beard and chest hair but that is actually a pretty cool look, and makes you look more sophisticated than old.
One other secondary effect of this is that when you have no hair on top, you'll actually take slightly better care of your skin, just because you have so much more of it on show now. Bald men should be using more sun screen and more moisturiser and exfoliating slightly more often, in order to keep that skin looking good and not flaky or dry. Over the years, this will actually help to hide signs of ageing so in fact, it's a double whammy for looking younger!
6. Your beard will look better
A simple compare and contrast here, with no hair on your head, the hair on your face is going to stand out more and be a more pronounced feature of your look. Growing some facial hair is a very popular style choice for many bald guys as it does help to give some depth to your face and cover up some of the skin that is now on show from the top of your head to the top of your chest.
Having no hair on your head will give the illusion of a very prominent beard, or stubble or whatever look it is you're going for. It will make your facial hair look more noticeable and glorious. Just remember a few things:
Keep it clean - this means shampoo for long beards, wash for short beards and exfoliate and moisturise for both
Keep it trimmed - whether it's short or longer, keep an eye on those cheeks and neckline. Use a good quality trimmer.
Blend your sideburns properly - I'd suggest a gentle fade about halfway up your ear and taper the tops at an angle going towards your mouth, don't cut them off flat
Keep it appropriate - choose a style that's suitable for your job and also for your face, if you need help with this, have a read here for beard styles to suit your bald look.
7. It might encourage some self-improvement
If you're one of the many, many guys in the world who has a bit of anxiety over losing your hair or having lost your hair, it's not the end of the world. In a very crude way, fear motivates people. If you are worried about feeling less attractive more self-conscious because you're bald or balding, that might actually encourage you to work on yourself a little bit and push yourself to achieve in other aspects of your life.
This could be a whole number of things, from learning some new skills to getting more in shape, but the anxiety of feeling inadequate (however redundant that might be because there is nothing wrong with being bald!) could actually be the driver you need to push yourself to achieve a little more. Read a few more books or listen to a few more podcasts to help yourself become a more well-rounded person. Exercise a bit more, take care of your body and eat a little more healthily. Practice self-confidence and improve your outlook on life. Work harder at your job to achieve more and get that promotion you've been hoping for recently. Whatever it is, set yourself some goals and work towards them. If you want to know some tips on how to be more self-confident, you can start here.
As you can see, there are a number of actual benefits of being bald, so don't sell yourself short and don't worry about that hair loss! Don't let it affect your thoughts or take up your time because half of all men experience some form of hair loss by the time they're in their 40s, so you are absolutely not alone. Be a proud bald man and make it work for you, don't let it hide what an awesome person you truly are.
Roco; author and creator of Bald World.
You can even buy Roco's t-shirt designs here.
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