Are there any women who do NOT agree that just going for it and embracing baldness with confidence by shaving it all off is far more attractive on the vast majority of men than a fringe or any other version of his trying to hang on to hair that is clearly over?
In fact, I only say “vast majority” to allow for the rare man who, for one reason or another, might have a skull or scalp so hideous that covering it up is a must, no matter what. Cuz I saw one guy like that. His head was so severely creased and wrinkled, so deeply, that his scalp looked like the surface of his brain. It was disgusting. And he had a full head of hair, he just made the strange decision to shave his head anyway. Yech.
I have a definite attraction to bald guys, but not everyone looks good with a shaved head. My husband keeps his hair clipped very short. I shaved him once but it just didn’t look right.
If you’ve got the dreaded Male Pattern Baldness going on, just go short (not necessarily shaved bald). I’d say the worst looks are combover or bald in front, pony tail in back - just say no!
ETA: I forgot to say, baldness doesn’t mean anything to me - I like short hair on guys, and bald is just a little shorter.
I hesitated between “shave it off” and “trim it close” which I think largely give a similar appearance with the latter being less trouble for the guy, so I went with that one. Long horseshoes, ponytails, combovers and other attempts to keep the hair when it doesn’t want to stay just look awful.
Basically, a trim or short cut that suits the guy’s head and lifestyle is much more flattering than the alternatives.
Depending on how big the bald spot is, bald is the best option. If you have thin hair or the balding is just starting, keep it close.
To be fair, I have bald men a huge turn off. Even if it’s just shaved (i.e. they’re not bald). So, yes, you look better bald if it’s last result (rather than a comb over), but you’re not going to find yourself in my bed.
A comb-over of any style or thickness is unappealing, not because it doesn’t look convincing, but because it bespeaks of a sensitivity of the wearer that I’m not interested in indulging. Many of us possess physical traits that don’t match today’s trend in beauty. So what? Genetic quirks, weaknesses, or defects change as do social norms. Rubens’ curvy, well-fed subjects are todays BBW’s et al.
So…comb-overs are not attractive to me, but any other hairstyle that suits the wearer and makes him feel comfortable and confident is the way to go.
The thing about going bald is that it creeps up on a guy, very slowly, and in the early stages it is possible, and perfectly natural and reasonable, to hide it very effectively. What, I think, is the cause of abominations such as comb-overs is that it is very difficult to realize the exact point where the best strategy switches from “hide it” to “own it”.
Very few people look good with a shaved head. It’s just popular to declare it “in,” but they don’t look good unless you have a nicely shaped head. I voted for simply shave it close but keep what’s there.
I think you need to have strong facial features to pull off a bald head. Markxxx, it certainly seems to work for you, looking at your picture in the gallery.
I voted “Shaving it all off, facial hair or no,” but, “Trimming it close but hanging on to whatever is there,” is fine, too. Generally speaking, balding men with very dark hair look better with it shaved than an inch long, IMHO, but yes, that absolutely depends on the shape of the head, the facial features and if the guy can “own” it.
Many of them are just awful, but I admit there’s some confirmation bias there, too. A toupee that looks good won’t be read as a toupee.
A friend of mine is a hairdresser specializing in “hair replacement systems” - which are essentially toupees that are glued onto the head for a few weeks. She uses human hair pieces which are tied single strands at a time by hand, and they’re shaped to the head with a custom mold and dyed to match the color and after applying them, she trims the piece and your hair together, so there’s no line of demarcation. They actually look really, really natural, and you’d *never *peg these guys as toupee wearers.
It also costs roughly $500 a month, though. So I don’t think many average Joes are wearing them, but a whole lot of lawyers and businessmen who don’t want you to know they’re bald are! The security at her place is ridiculous - one client at a time inside, appointment only and she uses code names in her appointment book, just in case it gets lost or stolen. These guys are *really *invested in no one finding out they’re bald. It’s a little sad, actually.
So a woman, like the OP, can point to somebody like Bruce Willis and say he’s good looking and we should be confident in our baldness like he is. But we know the reality: we’re not category ones now so we won’t become category twos. Category threes don’t rise up to category two - we drop to category four.
I don’t care if a guy is trimmed or bald, whatever works best for him. I think if looks fine both ways. Personally, I would hate to have to shave my head every few days, but maybe it’s less work than trimming the fringe.
Combovers and baldtop+ponytail are horrid, though. I’d be tempted to cut it off when they weren’t looking. The other thing I hate is men’s hair parted in the middle, like Mark Harmon used to. What’s up with that? And while I’m at it, “moustache alone” = pathetic cop. Either grow a beard with that moustache or shave them both.
I feel for balding guys having to cope with the whole loss of hair thing. I can barely tolerate my own hair going gray. I guess that’s the price they pay for looking distinguished with silver temples.
I don’t think that’s universally true. I’ve known several men move from 3 to 2. (What can I say, I’m in my mid 30’s - the hair is dropping as fast as the marriages in my peer group.) But, more to the point, a man with severely thinning hair may move from a 1 to a 4 if he goes to ridiculous lengths to attempt to hide it, and does so poorly. Attractiveness and hair are not two independent variables. Combovers and bald ponies make former 1s into 4s. They can either stay 4s, or they can shave that shit and become 2s.
