How to Make Bald Look Good

Sharp / August 18, 2014

You’re not alone. Most men in their 20s and 30s come to a realization that their hair isn’t as thick and luscious as it once was. Others experience receding hairlines or patches of baldness. While it typically takes around 15 to 20 years to go fully bald, there are men who will go from thick to Bic in just 5 years. Once your hair starts to diminish, it might seem easier (and less obvious) to buy a toupée or fashion yourself a comb-over. Fight the urge! There are ways to go bald with dignity and style.

Larger View Collapse

(1/6)

The Best Styles

Some men may not want to waste the time, effort or money in order to keep a few strands of hair. It’s possible to continue to style your hair until there’s nothing left to style. If your hair is only receding and you still have locks to work with, ask your barber for a classic look of hair two inches long on top, one inch on the sides and tapered on the bottom.

If you’re down to a little bit of peach fuzz on top, go with an extremely short crew cut or buzz it completely. The best part about deciding on an easily attainable buzz cut is that you don’t need to worry about scheduling hair appointments ever again. Products like Philips’ Hair Clipper Pro allow you to manage your own style from home absolutely whenever you want. Consider it one of the perks and spend your barber funds on a growler of that local ale you’ve been meaning to try.

How to Fight It.

While it may seem like you’re losing hair faster than you can fight it (you can lose 50 per cent of your hair before you even notice a difference) you do have a few weapons in your arsenal.

Rogaine: This topical treatment is the most popular of the baldness battlers. With an active ingredient of minoxidil, Rogaine has been shown to stop hair loss and promote thicker hair growth. But be prepared: when you first start using Rogaine, you’ll notice an increase of hair shedding before you see any actual growth.

Propecia: After Rogaine, Propecia is the other baldness ‘cure’ that you’ve heard about. Unlike Rogaine, it’s actually formulated to address the DHT-related cause behind baldness. Doctors say the pill is effective for around 90 per cent of men who take it. The only drawback is that in helping you retain hair on your head, it retools your hormones all over and has the potential to alter sex drive. Which begs the question, why do you want your hair back in the first place?

Latisse: Known to promote growth and fullness of eyelashes, hair specialists have been testing its use for treating baldness elsewhere. Repurposed as Bimatoprost, use of the product is legal and has been prescribed to specific patients since 2007.

Hair Transplants: A ‘strip’ hair transplant procedure cultivates a strip of skin from the back of your head (where hair is at its thickest). The strips are cut down into smaller pieces and are implanted in areas where you’ve started to bald. Since these follicles are still producing healthy hair, you’ll start to see re-growth in no time. Hipsters in Brooklyn have even started getting beard transplants, to which we say: gross.

propecia-3565_w1000

Why Is It Happening?

You can try laying the blame on your father, your mother, your mother’s grandfather or whomever else you think passes down the bald gene. That’s not the issue. It’s never just one person’s fault and they’re never passing down baldness. What they pass down is an aversion to the hormone Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), one of the leading reasons why men go bald. DHT is a naturally occurring hormone that acts like a souped-up version of testosterone, directing sex drive, aggression and hairiness. Some men’s follicles can be sensitive to DHT and react negatively in the form of the follicles getting thinner and shorter until they completely shut down. Thanks a lot, Dad.

Bald Guys Who Pull It Off

You’re not the first guy to lose his hair and you won’t be the last. Going bald isn’t the worst thing that could happen to a man and as long as you retain your style, your overall look won’t suffer. Some of our favourite Hollywood men are bald and look more badass than David Beckham could ever hope to look with that full head of hair. This summer’s follicular-ly challenged lead actors include Dwayne Johnson, Corey Stoll, Jason Statham, Vin Diesel and Bruce Willis.

What Else Could It Be?

Stress. Hair loss related to stress isn’t the same as going bald. Think back to Roger Maris’ 1961 battle for the MLB home run record. In trying to break Babe Ruth’s single-season record, the New York Yankee’s hair began to fall out in small clumps due to the stress that accompanied the feat. Emotional stress is less likely to cause hair loss than physical stress, but it does happen. A really stressful event can shock your hair cycle—which is programmed as growth, rest and shed—into moving through to the shedding phase faster than normal. The good news: unlike typical baldness, hair will start to grow back as soon as your body recovers. So it might be time to take that vacation—I heard St. Lucia is nice this time of year.