I just don’t see it as “a problem” in the first place. I mean, seriously, why try to hide the fact that you’re balding? If a woman doesn’t accept you just the way you are, why would you even want them in the first place? I shouldn’t have to wear a push-up bra 24/7 to hide the fact that I have naturally small breasts- why should a man have to shave his head to hide the fact that he’s balding? Who cares?
As a folicularly challenged male myself, I fail to see how making ones self completly bald constitutes “hiding” balding. I shaved my head this summer. I wasn’t hiding balding, I was just finishing the job nature wasn’t done with yet.
it’s like saying you are hiding a peeling paint job by removing all the paint.
I’ve just always thought that by shaving their heads, balding men were trying to say, “No, I’m not balding. I just shave my head because I prefer it that way.”
Nah, I think you’re reading us guys all wrong.
Let me put it in terms you might better understand:
What shoes go better with this dress? The white ones? Or the Blue ones?
It’s all about looking better as opposed to trying to hide something.
Nothing insecure about that.
Unless you happen to be Amish.
I actually find male pattern baldness, and receding hairlines, very attractive. I have a few conditions though - no combovers, no tarantulas (the little island of hair in the front that so many men seem to cling desperately too) and the scalp must be in excellent condition.
Damn.
I think you guys care more about your hair than we females do by the responses so far. Cardsfan has a receding hairline and to me, he is and always will be handsome and adorable.
Hair or lack of it, does not make the man. The attitude does.
Fair enough, but both sexes do that. Women hide themselves in makeup and perfume and clothes that mold bodyparts. Men get toupees. What is the problem?
ACBG (that’s my current squeeze for those of you who can’t remember that keeping up with the minutiae of my life is of utmost importance) has thinning hair which I find sexy as hell. This summer he got it buzzed, which caused me to get all week kneed the first time I saw it. :: SWOON :: He looks even sexier to me that way.
I have a thick full head of hair and I keep mine buzzed because it drives me nuts when it gets too thick. To think I had that “I Was A Teenaged Werewolf” look in the 70’s! 
I am not balding, but my hair is THEE MOST uncontrollable hair in the world. It sucks short, I hate it long. When I was in my teens I used to wish to be bald.
I have worn a hat almost everyday of my life, just to cover up the hideousness that is on top of my head.
It may help you to know that I am Asian. and we seem to have the thickest strands of hair. It’s not thick in numbers but it’s like porcupine quills on my head!!!
Funny- I have the opposite hair situation (thin strands, and lots of them), and I thought I had the most uncontrollable hair in the world. It will do two basic styles- Aragorn from Lord of the Rings, and Einstein.
It can depend on the guys’ natural looks, but the major factor is how he styles his hair. Men tend to freak out over hair loss and do something that makes them look worse instead of better.
The first mistake is shaving off all the hair. Some guys look sexy this way, but not every guy does. My best friend’s husband did this, and now he just looks like a neo-Nazi skinhead. Just because it works for Michael Jordan doesn’t mean it works for you.
The other thing guys do is hang on to too much of their hair. They wear a combover, or wear their hair long to “compensate,” etc. It’s more important to find a flattering hairstyle that makes you look as sexy as possible. That doesn’t necessarily mean having as much hair as possible.
Some bald/balding guys will never escape the “cute but balding” look. But the majority of balding guys I know would be much better-looking if they would just get a flattering hairstyle.
Yay, I get to sound like the vain, stupid girl! Woo! FTR: just my opinion and this certainly isn’t universal. There are people that are attractive with hair, without hair, skinny, fat, etc etc.
As a young girl (19) I would be turned off by a guy (let’s say 19-25 as that is my dating range) who had a bald spot, patchy hair, etc. Don’t get me wrong: I dislike guys with long hair- hell, my favorite male hair cut is the Marine Corps high-and-tight (ok, I just really like Marines ). But I do like a guy with nice thick hair.
If we are going strictly on looks (which is usually never the case): no, I would not pursue someone who was balding or had thin, patchy hair- it just isn’t attractive to me.
Would I not marry the love of my life because he has a bald spot? Of course I would marry him, I’m not that vain.
Q.N. Jones also makes some good points- it’s all in how you carry yourself. But please: if you do start losing your hair, don’t just shave it all off. Some guys have really lumpy heads and you cannot have a shaved if your head is lumpy. Well you can, but it isn’t attractive. (Once again, just me. IMHO. YMMV. yadda yadda.)
I was terrified what my head would look like when I shaved it, so I kept going shorter and shorter with the clippers, first a 5, then a month later down to a 3, then feeling brave and drunk, down to a 1. And it turns out I have a nice round head, who knew?
Did anybody else visualize small breasts on their heads? Did anybody else kinda like it?
I think in your defense, you’re young. I don’t think you’re vain or stupid. Just 19 years old. What’s attractive to 19-year-olds isn’t necessarily the same as what’s attractive to a 29 or 39 year-olds. My taste in what I find attractive in a woman has certainly changed since I was 19 (I’m 30). A woman I find gorgeous now would’ve probably been seen as ‘too thick’ from my 19-year-old self’s eyes.
But as many women age, they tend to get a little curvier, and my tastes have adjusted themselves accordingly. As many men age, their hair tends to get a little thinner, and many women adjust their tastes too. Your tastes may or may not adjust. This ain’t universal, it’s just my observation.
Happy
As a kid, I always had a very high forehead and thin hair. I hated it. I was always easy to spot in class photos- I was the guy hiding behind the glare from the flash.
Eventually, I just decided to shave it all off- and I’ve never regretted that decision. I’ve gotten many, many compliments on it- something I never got when I had hair.
I didn’t shave my head due to insecurity over having a bad hairline and thinning hair- I fixed a problem. It was just like getting a new haircut because it looks better on you than your previous look.
If a woman gets a new haircut, does that mean that she’s insecure about her hair?
I am getting seriously thin on top and decided to go to the #2 clippers a couple of weeks ago. I’ve gotten more compliments since on my hair than I ever did before. From both the women at work and my gay male friends.
I think this is very true. As I age, I find that wrinkles and grey hair only make someone look more interesting, not less attractive.
As for the OP, count me in as another woman who couldn’t care less if my man lost all his hair or shaved his head. But I think it looks better when a guy gets a fairly short buzz cut, not completely shaved.
Speaking of bald guys, my b-i-l had a battle with cancer last year (he won!), and shaved his head when his hair started falling out due to the chemo. Then one day he wore a big turtleneck. I never realized that he looked so much like Uncle Fester from The Addams Family. :eek:
I’ll give the opposite of DiosaBellisma’s perspective. I’m in my very early twenties, and I’ve always dated older men. So, grey hair or balding are quite attractive to me, though comb overs are a no-no. I see young guys with the “surfer hair” or the spikes going on, and though they may be attractive, I’m certainly not attracted to them at all.
Again, YMMV.
::sigh::
All of the balding guys I personally know who shaved their heads voluntarily admit to being very insecure about their receding hairline. That’s a sample size of about half a dozen guys. And they all look terrible with shaved heads. They’re so blinded by their insecurity that they don’t see that they actually look better with hair. (And this isn’t just my opinion. Most of them look so bad that people talk about it behind their backs.)
If you look better with a shaved head, great. In my original post, I noted that some men do look good that way. In my experience, though, the insecure guys far outnumber the guys who look good with shaved heads.