It has always been and will always be the advice from The Bald World that men with significant hair loss are much better off finding a way to accept it, and just going with the full shaved head look. The simple fact is that spending time and effort trying to cover up the inevitable hair loss is going to cost you far more mentally in the long run than realising that the best and easiest thing to do is to face it and continue your life as a bald man rather than a balding man. If there’s one thing we know for sure, as people have said it time and time again and many will agree, is that it is far better to be bald than balding.
So why don’t balding men shave their heads?
Well, it’s actually not a perfectly simple answer and there are numerous reasons as to why a man might not want to just go with the shave, and all of them are completely understandable. From personal experience and based on my knowledge, all the various reasons do tend to fall into one of either two main categories:
1. They worry about how they'll look with no hair
The fact is, people have hair, there’s no possible way of denying that. As human beings we are biologically predisposed to have hair - especially on our heads. So the transition from having hair like the vast, vast majority of the population, to having no hair on your head at all, can be a highly daunting prospect. The hair on your head acts as a contrasting feature to the skin on your face and neck, it frames your head and face, and it’s something you can style, shape and colour in order to add designs and looks to your overall appearance. It is a very versatile tool that many use to both punctuate and signify their look and personality. When you take all that hair out of the equation by shaving your head you expose yourself somewhat to the plain canvas below, and this is understandably a scary thought.
You might worry about how your head looks in terms of skin colour and the overall skin tone of your head and face without lots of hair to contrast and cover that large area on your scalp. The other concern is likely to be the shape of your head and possibly how that affects the overall shape of your face and chin and even the way your ears look. The human skull tends to not be perfectly shaped either, so you might feel the odd bump or flat spot and be worried that it’ll be noticeable.
2. They worry about what other people will think of them
The second, and for many the far bigger concern is the reaction and overall thoughts from other people, both those who are currently in your life such as family, friends, colleagues, or future friends, partners and colleagues. For single men, the worries of going bald are very apparent; do women like bald men? Do men like bald men? Do people find bald men attractive? Do bald men still get married? Whatever the question is, they will run through your mind (and again, I speak from personal experience here). The concern about how others will react tends to be the greatest one, and it’s rooted in the fact that society has, over the years, dictated that bald is considered a less attractive trait than a man with a full head of hair - although that’s actually becoming a slightly changed thought and in 2021, one article actually stated that bald was voted by some as the best "in hairstyle" for men that year (possibly linked to the COVID-19 pandemic?)
Are these valid concerns for balding men? Of course they are, it's true that the prospect of becoming a bald man can be a trying time for any man. But there is nothing to be concerned about, and here are a few reasons why:
Bald is a confident look - it’s actually been widely agreed that men who shave their heads have the appearance of being more confident, and with good reason. Simply because it takes some bravery to shave all your hair off, and you appear more masculine and “raw” by not hiding underneath a styled head of hair. If you were to ask your male friends to shave off their full head of hair, I can almost guarantee they wouldn't do it - it's a difficult thing to do. So if you do, it signifies what some might describe as an "alpha" trait of courage and self-assurance.
You’ll remove the concern of going bald - the moment you accept the fact that you're losing your hair and you shave your head, it instantly removes the concern of doing 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 important tasks instead.
You’ll probably look younger - by shaving all your hair off you eliminate the concept of "balding" and just become bald, giving the appearance of being younger. Balding can be seen as a sign of ageing due to the concept of "hair loss", whereas being bald is more of a "look". And as you get older, this will only maintain itself because your hair won't thin anymore due to not being there at all. Similarly with grey hairs - which are a very obvious signifier of aging.
If you want to read more about the benefits being bald, you can read the full article here.
Still not ready? That’s understandable as we all accept things at different rates, luckily there are some hair styles you can adopt in the short term that might help to cover it up a little. What should be pointed out is that these are not permanent solutions, and as your hair continues to get thinner, no matter what hairstyle you adopt it will start to show through. These will work for slightly thinning hair or maybe a bit of receding - which is fine. But once you start to notice your scalp through your crown or your hair has receded significantly, it’s probably time to shave your head.
High and Tight
This is probably the best haircut to go for when your hair is thinning and you want the illusion of thicker hair on top. The high and tight is an effective way to force perspective by shortening the hair on the sides (which doesn’t thin) and giving a little height and apparent volume to the thinner hair on top. The only downside can be is that if your hair is heavily receded on the front, it could make that look more obvious. The hair is going to be short on top and probably styled in an upward direction, leaving the forehead exposed and thus leaving the recede more on show.
High and Tight haircuts work well on men with rounded or square shaped heads, as the perspective thins the head and face and makes it appear longer. If you're able to grow in a bit of a beard, such as a goatee or low cheek line beard then that may enhance it further.
Bald Fade
Similar to the High and Tight, the Bald Fade or "Skin Fade" as it can be known, helps to force the perspective of the volume of hair to favour the top of the head. By fading and tapering the hair down to a shave at the lower half of the head and back of the neck, the illusion it gives it that the hair on the top of the head is much denser than it actually might be. The Bald Fade is a fairly popular hair style these days as well, some famous celebrities including Drake have favoured the Bald Fade. A caveat to remind ourselves that Drake is not losing his hair, but it's merely the example of the style that's being pointed. The downside to the fade might be that it requires regular trips to the barber to keep it looking the way you want it, as a close style like that will require maintenance.
Bald Fades also work well on guys with rounded or square shaped heads for the same reason as the High and Tight. Will also be good with a bit of facial hair.
Buzz Cut
Another great, short hair option for the balding man is the well-known Buzz Cut. It’s simple and very easy to maintain. The Buzz Cut is good in that keeps all the hair a uniform length (of your choosing) with a slight taper down to the back and sides. Similar to how beards work, sometimes if you keep the hair shorter and more uniform it can give the appearance of being thicker. If you grow thinning hair long, the wispiness can become far more obvious.
Buzzcuts suit men with an oblong or oval face shape as that uniform length can make a head look too rounded if your head is already a more rounded shape. It also works well with a beard in most styles - but again if your face is very rounded, a buzzcut and full beard may accentuate that too much for your liking.
Bed Hair (messy look)
Probably the easiest one to maintain and manage as it takes very little work and fewer trips to the barber to maintain this look. The just-out-of-bed look has been around for many years and has been a popular look for many men, often with celebrities too, and it works for both long and short hair (it also helps with curly hair). All you need for this is to have a rough cut a similar length all over and then use a little bit of styling product to give it volume. It works well for men who are receding from the front, but a warning if your hair is too thin on top, this is going to exaggerate that even more so do be conscious of that.
For the Bed Hair look, it’s probably good to go either clean shaven or with a shorter/neater, or goatee beard, otherwise you run the risk of just looking unkempt and messy and not in a relaxed, carefree way, just in an unhygienic way.
Slick Back
This has become one of the more popular haircuts for men in recent years, taking its design roots from the 1950s and earlier when men would gel their hair and slick it back in order to look sharp and sophisticated. If you’re thinning on top and not too much at the front hairline, this could be a good look for you. With a fade on the back and sides, this will create that volume on top look that you want with a haircut when you’re trying to hide a thinning crown. Do just be conscious that if your hair is already too thin on top, this will look much worse than a shorter/full shaved option. It will also take an enormous amount of maintenance as you will need to continually comb it back when putting clothes and hats on and off, and also when it's windy this could become a source of anxiety.
You can pair a Slick Back with a beard of any style the angles it will add to your head will compliment each other nicely.
Combover (modern version)
Similar to the Slick Back cut, this hairstyle has become extremely popular in recent years and is possibly one of the most common male styles at the moment. The Combover works to cover the patchy area of hair on the crown, but by sweeping the hair sideways across the head rather than front to back. As with the Slick Back, this will look ok if you’re not too thinned already, and much, much worse if you already have significant thinning. The modern version of this cut with a tapered and faded edge around the back and sides can look very good, and will help you keep in with the style due to being one of the most popular haircuts. Just avoid falling into the old style trap, which was popular among men a few decades ago (and still some older men nowadays), where a few slicked strands are combed over and stuck to the scalp - this is absolutely not a look I would encourage.
The Combover can also be paired with a beard, but as it can sometimes give a more clean cut look, be careful not to let your beard get too long or dishevelled as it won’t match what you’re trying to achieve. If you are going more for the rugged look, then grow the beard out.
Man Bun
The Man Bun and Top Knot was a huge trend a few years ago that seems to be wavering a little in many cases nowadays - but still somewhat popular among guys. The good thing about the man bun is that you can take some of the longer and thicker hair from the edge of your crown and upper sides and tie it over the bald spot on the top of your head - if that’s where you’re thinning. Words of caution with the Man Bun; it’s not what we might call a corporate or professional look, so if you work in an office or wear a suit to work every day, I’d probably suggest one of the other cuts. If you’re receding from the front as well, similar to some of the other styles, this may well expose your hairline more than you’d plan to.
The Man Bun is a better look for the more casual man; it would potentially suit someone who has the musician/rocker style, a surfer style, and the Yogi style. More often than not this style will also be paired with a beard as they tends to go hand in hand in creating one of the looks described above. Beard choice with a Man Bun will be fairly versatile so play around with styles and see which suit you best.
Some things to note
If your hair has significantly thinned already, be conscious that none of these hairstyles will be effective at fully hiding it. Spending the time to style your hair to this extent to cover up thin and receding hair is not going to be worth your time and it probably won’t actually look that good. So use your best judgement here, it might be a better move to shave your head already.
Some of these styles will also require fairly regular upkeep and maintenance from a professional barber, meaning you’ll be visiting your barber regularly and spending a little more money on something that could be avoided (and almost free) if you were to shave your head. Essentially it is completely up to you, but you do read to asses whether it is really worth all that extra time and money in the long term.
Aside from potentially hiding some thinning hair, some of these styles might not actually suit you at all. They might not suit your fashion sense, your work attire or even just not look good with your face shape or hair colour. It's important not to assume that just because a hairstyle exists that it will definitely suit you, unfortunately that’s not how it works as no man is made equal.
Avoid using too much product, specifically gels and waxes, as this will cause what hair you have remaining to stick together and will actually make it look even thinner. Styles like spiked hair and combovers/slick backs will require product to be used, so just be mindful that whilst it looks ok on men with thick enough hair, it might have the opposite effect on significantly thinned hair.
Whichever option you choose, be sure to ask a good barber first as they might be able to offer some guidance based on your particular thinning and head shape. If you decide to keep your thinning hair, keep it clean and absolutely not greasy. If you do decide to shave your head and begin your life as a bald man, The Bald World is here to support you, so do have a look over the website and some of the other articles published.
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