Recently I was lucky enough to start making contact two brothers who have changed the game when it comes to promoting baldness and building confidence in bald men. In recent years there have been a few brave men to step up to the internet and face the bald question head on, and figure out why bald guys have fallen through the cracks in terms of fashion tips, products and overall representation. But luckily there are now a few different heroes who've taken on the role and truly helped the bald community both in terms of fashion and style, but also specific products and even just building confidence for those men who struggle to come to terms with it.
Creators of the Bald Brothers Blog, Richardt and Willie have not only created a blog about both of their personal journeys with baldness, but have also created a wide range of content focusing on bald matters, health, diet, fitness, products, fashion and more. They've now even started producing and selling their own product "Bald Boss" which is a moisturizer specifically designed for bald men - amazing!
You don't take my word for it, the brothers recently answered a few questions for Bald World, taking a brief look at themselves, their ideals and their goals. So don't take my word for it, check out what they said!
1. First of all, what are your full names? And a bit of background about yourselves.
Our full names are Richardt & Willie du Plessis. We were born and raised in a small town in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. We come from a Dutch/German background and both are avid sports fans.
After graduating from University, we both travelled for a few through Central America, Europe and South East Asia and eventually settled in Sliema, Malta!
2. What was your relationship as brothers growing up? And now? How old are you now?
Willie: We have always had a good relationship and this remains the same right now. We are only 2 years apart and we have a lot of mutual friends.
Richardt: Yeah I think the standard brother relationship! We played lots of sports growing up, so we were always tossing a rugby ball around with each other. As Willie said, we share a lot of friends which is cool.
3. What ‘emotions’ did you go through when you first started going bald? How old were you?
Willie: I was 22/23 years old when I started losing my hair. It was a big deal for me at that age and the thought of losing my hair was catastrophic! It was distraught and in denial. It took me almost 8 years to take the plunge and shave it all off, which in hindsight I wish I had 8 years earlier!
Richardt: I think I saw I was losing hair from about 19 or 20 years old. I just kind of tried to forget about it, and get smart with styling my hair! Then I even grew my hair out super long (big mistake for balding guys, as this just elevates your baldness more). But as for emotions, I think it's just trying to always cover it up. So it occupies your mind a ton. Always thinking if someone can see your baldness.
4. What advice / message would you give to someone who is currently going through this experience?
Willie: My advice would be that at the first sign of hair loss and male pattern baldness, I would shave my head with a pair of clippers. You don't need to get the razor blade out yet. The simple act of shaving your head with a pair of clippers at the first sign of hair loss, means that you are taking ownership of your hair loss and will therefore not suffer the emotional turmoil that comes with balding.
Richardt: The thing is, once hair loss starts, it doesn't stop. Forget what every new product tells you. There really isn't any way to actually stop hair loss, let alone reverse it, especially if your hair loss is genetic. If you know your hair will slowly but surely continue to fall out, then why wait and suffer for years? You can literally own your hair loss completely by getting rid of it, and it gives you time to rebrand yourself as a new person with a new look.
5. What spurred you on to just shave it all off?
Willie: After trying different shampoos and hair growth products to try and hold onto my ever balding head, I realised that these products just weren't working and it also had an adverse affect on me, being in denial. I had wasted a lot of time and money and one morning in early 2019, I decided to just shave it all off with clippers. The rest is history as they say..
Richardt: I just knew there was no point in trying to hide it, and I wanted to get rid of the problem. Shaving your head actually does get rid of every single hair loss emotion you have. And you know why? Because when you take the plunge, you immediately eliminate any hair loss issues you have. Because there's no hair left! I started with clippers, but within a month I was on the razor shave! And haven't looked back.
6. What do you think of men who do comb-overs to try and salvage what little hair they have left?
Willie: I completely understand what they are going through. Society has told us for years that hair loss and balding is a negative and sign of weakness. Denial and trying to hang onto their last strains of hair is what most men do when they balding. So I feel sorry for them but I encourage them to overcome it by taking the plunge and shaving it off as soon as possible.
Richardt: It's a lot of work, actually! Especially if you are a person who stresses a lot about keeping the combover perfect. One gust of wind, or a few drops of rain, and you need to run for shelter to make sure it's all good!
7. Do you think the saying ‘bald is beautiful’ is correct?
Willie: I dont think it's correct or incorrect. It all depends how it makes you feel. From a personal perspective, I think Bald is beautiful, yes.
If a man decides to shave his thinning hair and feels way more confidence in himself, isn't this a sign of beauty?
Richardt: Hells yeah! Guys who actually shave their heads do often tend to come across as more confident, which leads to beauty.
8. Are there any bald celebrities you admire?
Willie: I personally admire Joe Rogan and David Goggins. Both men suffered hair loss and balding issues too. The are badass bald men who are in really good physical shape!
Richardt: Like Willie said, Joe Rogan definitely. Also Kelly Slater and Patrick Stewart. Then there's two actors who have hair on screen but are bald in real life - John Travolta and Jon Cryer!
9.What made you decide to start a blog? How long ago did you start it? How’s it going?
Willie: We started the blog in 2019. The Bald Brothers site was initially started to help men overcome hair loss and balding issues. We shared our hair loss journey with our readers and advised them what NOT to. Basically shared our experiences and how we would shave our heads earlier. We are also big time into physical exercise and bodyweight workouts and this was a big part of us 'embracing our baldness'
Being in shape and having a bald head just looks better!
Richardt: Well everything on our site we were doing and living on a weekly basis, so I thought let's just put it into the form of written content and see if guys will want to read it. Turns out, quite a few enjoy it! We get 1000s of daily readers, many who are bald!
10. Tell us a bit about your bald head moisturiser, The Bald Boss.
Willie: The Bald Boss Moisturizer was more Richardt's idea to incorporate into the business. I just jumped on the bandwagon and decided we should go for it. I personally used Coconut oil as a form of moisturizing and hydration every morning after a head shave.
Richardt realised there wasn't really a grooming/moisturizing product out there specifically made for bald men with our scalps in mind..
Richardt: It just seemed like quite an obvious gap in the market. You literally have grooming brands targeting every single inch of a man's body. But not the bald head. So we decided to take a dive and make something we actually like! Our product is made with really awesome ingredients and extracts, and I kind of went for a formula which I personally like. No chemicals, no rubbish ingredients and also no fragrance. We think it's a winner. We have a few ideas for other bald head grooming products too which we can hopefully put into action soon!
The Bald Brothers is a fantastic website, filled to the brim with amazing articles and advice for bald men. If you haven't already checked it out then you need to do that right now from here:
And if you want to check out the shop and purchase some of their Bald Boss moisturizer (which I'd highly recommend), you can also do that here:
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