# Male Pattern Baldness Sufferees: Any hope of getting your hair back? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 25, 2010, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681 "2010-05-25T08:09:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681/41 "2010-05-25T20:20:38Z")
> [@Joey\_Tightlips](#): > > Question for the group (for those of you in favor of shaving): How do you know when it’s time to do it? I’m 35 and while I don’t have the full horseshoe, I do have the monk spot in back and receeding battleships in the front. I’ve asked lady friends about my baldness and most of them say it’s not “that bad”. So that implies that it’s noticable, but I don’t know if they are too polite to say, “yes, it looks terrible”. > > My problem is that I also have pale skin and freckles on my face, I’m afraid if I go cue ball (or even Dave Attell stubble) the freckled face and bare white head will look strange. On the other hand, I don’t want to be the guy clinging to scraps either. Try it and see. Go your barber and explain what you want, or just spend $20 for a Wahl clipper and have at it (with a length guide it’s impossible to make a mistake). If you don’t like it then in a few weeks it’ll be back anyhow. You can always pick a time when you’ll be traveling or on vacation for a couple weeks if you’re nervous about it. For me, I just decided to do it in my early 20s - I’d noticed a bit of thinning recently, I was home sick one day, looked at myself in the mirror and said “What the heck”. It’s such a common look these days that I don’t think your friends will care after the first time they see it. If you’re pale skinned make sure to keep a ballcap and sunscreen handy. ETA - ask one of your cute female friends. Tell her you’re thinking of cropping it close, see what she thinks. If you get a much more enthusiastic “Yes, that’d look great” than you do now when you ask how it looks as is, that will increase your comfort factor. Hell, she might want to wield the clipper (I’ve known women who get a kick out of it). ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681/42 "2010-05-25T20:26:17Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > If you’re pale skinned make sure to keep a ballcap and sunscreen handy. This gets back to when to do it. Mid to late summer is a bad choice, especially if you’ve developed a tan. Then you’ll still have horseshoe head, it’ll just be made out of skin instead of hair. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681/43 "2010-05-26T02:51:01Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Nobody says you have to like the look. I think we just find it bizarre that you not only dislike the appearance of a shaved head, but think people who choose to wear that look are somehow pretending that they wished they never had hair to begin with. What an odd think to say. My point here is that **not** shaving your head is a valid choice for balding guys. Nobody **has to** shave their head if they’re losing their hair. It’s **not** always the best option. It’s fashionable _at the moment_, that doesn’t mean it won’t look just as dated in 20 or 30 years as 70s or 80s hairstyles do now. Following a fashion because that’s what people think you’re _supposed_ to do doesn’t impress me favourably. Is it “bizarre” that I dislike the look of a shaved head? Why? This is the opinion forum, and not liking the look of shaved heads is an opinion. Some folks don’t like facial hair, others do. Some folks don’t like certain foods, others do. And so on. Why do you think it’s so bizarre that someone thinks shaved heads often look terrible? And yes, I personally know guys who have started to go bald and have shaved their heads to “hide” it. They’ve _told_ me that, I didn’t just make up a story out of thin air (or thin hair) to account for the current popularity of head-shaving. That doesn’t mean I think guys who do that are bad people. I can understand and sympathise with guys who do it, but I’m more impressed with guys who chose _not_ to follow the dictates of conventional opinion. Really, my major reason for expressing my opinion here is to provide an example of someone who does not agree that shaving is the _only_ valid option for dealing with hair loss. The amount of abuse I’ve got for expressing that opinion here is proof that it needs to be said. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681/44 "2010-05-26T03:54:03Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > My point here is that **not** shaving your head is a valid choice for balding guys. Nobody **has to** shave their head if they’re losing their hair. It’s **not** always the best option. Hmm, who is saying that? Yes, things like hair style and trouser cuts are matters of fashion, whose popularity will be fleeting, but what’s so wrong with people saying they think generally shaved heads look better than the shaggy horseshoe look? No, it’s not the only acceptable option, it just usually looks nicer to most of us. Even so, I don’t think anyone is saying SHAVE YOUR HEAD OR LOOK HORRIBLE AND DIE! But if they were, it’s just fashion, right? Moreover, who cares about fashion, and what looks right on who. I just think some people think what you posted is weird. > [@](#): > > Is it “bizarre” that I dislike the look of a shaved head? Why? See, that’s the thing. No, it’s not bizarre, or “bizarre” even, that you don’t like it. What’s bizarre is that you think people who choose to shave their heads are doing to as some pretentious face-saving effort to act as though they never really wanted hair in the first place. No one is abusing you, and if they were, it’s not because you don’t like shaved heads; it’s because of the strange take that you have on guys who shave their heads. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681/45 "2010-05-26T05:31:42Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > 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. You’re projecting quite a bit. I shave and do not pretend in the slightest that I like it better this way. It just looks better than thin hair. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681/46 "2010-05-26T05:45:03Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > My point here is that **not** shaving your head is a valid choice for balding guys. Nobody **has to** shave their head if they’re losing their hair. It’s **not** always the best option. It’s fashionable _at the moment_, that doesn’t mean it won’t look just as dated in 20 or 30 years as 70s or 80s hairstyles do now. Following a fashion because that’s what people think you’re _supposed_ to do doesn’t impress me favourably. > > Is it “bizarre” that I dislike the look of a shaved head? Why? This is the opinion forum, and not liking the look of shaved heads is an opinion. Some folks don’t like facial hair, others do. Some folks don’t like certain foods, others do. And so on. Why do you think it’s so bizarre that someone thinks shaved heads often look terrible? > > And yes, I personally know guys who have started to go bald and have shaved their heads to “hide” it. They’ve _told_ me that, I didn’t just make up a story out of thin air (or thin hair) to account for the current popularity of head-shaving. > > That doesn’t mean I think guys who do that are bad people. I can understand and sympathise with guys who do it, but I’m more impressed with guys who chose _not_ to follow the dictates of conventional opinion. > > Really, my major reason for expressing my opinion here is to provide an example of someone who does not agree that shaving is the _only_ valid option for dealing with hair loss. The amount of abuse I’ve got for expressing that opinion here is proof that it needs to be said. Wow, there are… 3? 4? strawmen arguments here. Nobody has said that all balding men should shave their hair. Nobody has said that it’s bizarre that you dislike shaved heads. Nobody has given you any abuse for expressing that opinion. What people are giving you shit for is insulting people (the part where you said that you don’t think shaved guys are bad people, you might want to rethink that) for attributes that you are assuming they have without any evidence. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681/47 "2010-05-26T12:46:19Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > That doesn’t mean I think guys who do that are bad people. That’s pretty contrary to what you said earlier. You not only attacked the choice that some men made, you attacked our very characters. You accused us of being pretentious and trying to deceive people. Do you not get how offensive that is? Do you get it that you insulted people? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681/48 "2010-05-26T13:09:49Z")
Whether you really wish you still had hair or not, cropping/shaving what you have left still presents a better appearance than growing the remains long. The only time that you should do that is if you run into a smoking hot chick who’s into crazy wild sex AND has a serious fetish for Larry Fine or Bozo the Clown. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681/49 "2010-05-26T13:11:41Z")
I met that chick about 15 years ago. She ended up shaving my head. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681/50 "2010-05-26T13:14:10Z")
Clown sex scares me. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681/51 "2010-05-26T13:19:05Z")
So you wouldn’t do Mimi Bobeck? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681/52 "2010-05-26T13:26:07Z")
Maybe if I got really drunk and high. But I’d be weeping softly and trembling through the whole experience. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-pattern-baldness-sufferees-any-hope-of-getting-your-hair-back/540681.md?page=2)