Let’s face it, many of us are more like Socrates then Descartes.
There is a solution to MPB. It’s a device called “hair-clippers”, which allows men to forget all about that preening before a mirror before going anywhere important and besides saving you on time, it also saves you money.
Two problems with that:
-
It’s the 21st century comb-over. Nobody is fooled, and you end up looking like every other balding guy who wants to pretend he didn’t really want hair anyway.
-
Some of us really don’t look good with cropped/shaved hair. It’s not a look that works for everyone.
Has anybody ever seen balding men on the bachelorette shows?
To be fair. I was very upset when I started losing my hair. But then once I went in for a penny; in for a pound and started shaving it, I really started to enjoy my bald head for various reasons.
NOW, I wish they had a pill that would make all of my (head) hair fall out and stay out.
Not at all. The combover is apologetic and is trying to cover up something that the guy considers shameful. Shaving embraces and celebrates the condition. I’m not trying “fool” anyone. I’m putting it right out there and saying “bald is beautiful.”
What would you have me do? Have horseshoe hair? Get a fake looking toupe?
“Horseshoe hair”.
Not heard that expression before.
“Now dat dere “horseshoe hair” is some funny shit!”
I like it.
And yet you understood exactly what it means, right?
Some expressions need no explanation.
It’s starting to thin so I’ll be starting rogaine soon. Failing that there’s always one of those hair replacement places. I refuse to be bald.
Male pattern baldness? I say “Make it So!” 
I’m genetically predisposed to MPB, got it from Dad’s side of the family (Gee, thanks Dad 
), but it really doesn’t bother me, we’re all aging and gonna’ end up worm food anyway, the only reason I haven’t gone for the bald/shaved look is that I sunburn easily, and am not a fan of hats, so my hair, thinning though it be, does give me some protection against UV
Do what you like, it’s your head. I just wanted to make the point that nobody has to shave their head because they’re balding.
My hair is thinning a bit, but I’m not going to shave it under any circumstances, because I look terrible with super-short hair. I’ve tried it, I hated it, and if it comes to that, I’m going horseshoe.
I really hate the idea that anyone who doesn’t shave their head at the first sign of hair loss is doing it wrong.
And, yes, in my opinion shaving the head is pretending that it’s deliberate. Which makes it no different to the combover: either comb it over and pretend you aren’t balding or shave it off and pretend you didn’t want hair anyway. Either way, it’s pretentious.
Not a chance, I could read the genetic writing on the wall back in my 20s and one day decided to try trimming it down to 1/2" with the clippers. I prefer it. Now I use a 1/16" guide and give it a buzz every week. I don’t have any weird bumps on my skull so it looks good on me, incredibly easy to take care of, feels good too. At some point I imagine I’ll start shaving it with a razor, not quite there yet.
IMHO the combover looks awful - it always looks like a horribly failed attempt to hide something that is blatantly obvious to everyone. I know a guy who does what I’ll call the “Hair Tornado” - he’s balding but somewhere on his head is a long enough hunk of hair that he winds it around and up in a spiral to cover up his scalp. It looks as bad as it sounds and everyone agrees that if he just got it cut short and neat he’d look so much better.
Once it became obvious that “Fabio” was no longer one of my topiary choices I decided I’d much rather look like this:
Than this:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/houseoffame/2008/03/Gallagher.JPG
Since I run and bike a lot I tell people that I’m not balding, I’m aerodynamic 
Really? Pretentious? Pretending I didn’t want hair in the first place?
That’s ridiculous. Hey, if I had a great head of hair, I’d do all kinds of things with it. As it is, I’ve chosen the look that flatters me best. And I’ve tried a lot of things. Why shouldn’t I look the best that I can?
I’m no geneticist, but I’m fairly certain that this is not true. Baldness comes from Mommy, not Daddy. My husband is very bald. His Dad has tons of hair on his head. My husband’s maternal uncle is bald; all his male cousins (Mom’s sister’s sons) on his mom’s side are bald.
Anyway, he never did the chemical treatment thing and is pretty much over the whole going bald thing since he did it in his early 20’s. I’m guessing those that lose it later in life are a bit more attached.
His younger brother is fighting it though, rather successfully. I don’t know what he uses though.
ETA: My understanding is that it is much easier to treat it while you still have it. Lose it, and it’s pretty much gone.
There’s not much hope of growing hair back- it’s pretty much limited to whatever Rogaine can do for you, which is probably not much. But there’s good hope of keeping the hair you do have with Propecia. It’s expensive and not covered by insurance when used cosmetically, which is 1mg every day, but if you can get your doctor to write for the generic, which is 5 mg, and take it, IIRC twice a week, then it’s a lot cheaper. Some doctors will do that, others won’t. Even if you do have to pay for it out of pocket, it works great at keeping your hair from falling out.
I, too, have long felt that shaving a balding head is somewhat trying to mask the fact that you’re balding, and trying to get the world to believe that you just prefer to have no hair instead of that you’re going bald, but, you know, whatever makes you look your best, I guess. Doesn’t seem like a lot of other choices out there that look any better.
I’m 31. I don’t have the baldspot at this time just receding and thinning very quickly. I am trying Rogaine because although it;s not approved for thinning in front, studies show that in some cases it does help. I figured I might as well.
I’m getting pretty thin on top and my hairline is retreating like Napoleon from Russia but all things considered, I’m not that worried about it. I’ve always kept my hair short. If it’s long enough I need to comb it then I need to go to the barber.
Add in the fact that by the time I had a vague grasp of human genetics I knew I was going to go bald. I looked at my mom’s brothers and her father and it just looked like a roadside watermelon stand.
I believe that some people choose stylish glasses because they want to pretend that they never wanted perfect eyesight to begin with, and to mask the fact that their sight is flawed.
Ridiculous indeed. It’s just making do with what you’ve been given. I’ve no experience with male pattern baldness, but I’ve had a few bad hair cuts that had to be fixed by cutting everything shorter. It’s not that my original goal was to have shorter hair, and I never pretended it was, but I wasn’t going to walk around with shaggy, uneven hair. Shaving your head looks much better than the horseshoe (love that term, too). YMMV, and the usual disclaimers, but it’s silly to say shaving means you’re pretending you wish you never had any hair to begin with.
Foiled! I’ve been found out!
No, it’d be more like you poked your eyeballs out rather than admit that you were going blind, because you wanted people to think you chose to not be able to see rather than that blindness was thrust upon you.