# What would you do if you were going bald? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 5, 2012, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276 "2012-07-05T05:39:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/21 "2012-07-05T12:24:09Z")
I’ve got the start of the “monk’s spot” as I call it. So it’s a number 1 clippers for me. I won’t do the shaved head, but I’ll go shorn. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/22 "2012-07-05T12:47:11Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Okay, here I am giving TMI about myself again, but I chose hair restoration surgery, and have had it. In fact, I had my second procedure this past November. > > Ask anything you like, or I could start an “Ask the…” thread. I’d certainly appreciate it if you did! I’m starting to go bald, and while I’m not overly fussed about it, it would be interesting to know what other peoples’ experiences are as I ponder the options. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/23 "2012-07-05T13:01:39Z")
It’s not a hypothetical for me, as I’ve been bald for decades now. I keep my little remaining hair clipped short, and have grown to embrace the situation. It’s easy to maintain, and I actually think I look better than I would _with_ hair. It was always stringy and greasy anyway. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/24 "2012-07-05T13:05:26Z")
Nothing other than to buy a hat. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/25 "2012-07-05T13:13:59Z")
Get the barber to buzz it with a trimmer with a #3 guard. At least that’s what I’ve been doing since I went bald something like 15 years ago. I’m not sure what I’d do if I was suddenly able to get it back. It really is a convienant, no-maintenance situation. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/26 "2012-07-05T13:20:44Z")
Shave my head of course. A shaved head isn’t the best style on some men, but it’s far preferable to a comb-over, or the dreaded ring around the bottom look. If you’ve got a badly shaped head for shaving, then shave it and find a stylish hat to wear or something. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/27 "2012-07-05T13:22:16Z")
I said let nature take its course, but that’s probably not entirely true. I’m 50, but if I were 21 and just starting to notice my hair thinning, I might try some options to slow down nature. Maybe. I’ve heard that Propecia works pretty well, but there are some very undesirable side effects that my 21 year old self might find worse than the problem. Now if there were a true “cure” without any side effects, and it was reasonably affordable, I might have availed myself of that. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/28 "2012-07-05T13:23:57Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Okay, here I am giving TMI about myself again, but I chose hair restoration surgery, and have had it. In fact, I had my second procedure this past November. > > Ask anything you like, or I could start an “Ask the…” thread. The Ask thread would be interesting to me. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/29 "2012-07-05T13:31:22Z")
It’s happening. Doing nothing. If my hairline recedes much further it’s all coming off. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/30 "2012-07-05T13:31:58Z")
I know a person who must have had hair restoration surgery some time in the past after which the bald spot has grown bigger and bigger with the result that he now has a tuft of hair on top of his head with a bald zone down to what’s left and there are very obvious markings where the tufts of hair were once grafted. It looks horrible. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/31 "2012-07-05T14:20:48Z")
Another vote for past tense. Began in a patchy not usual male pattern way. I never was at all concerned about going bald, was just concerned about looking goofy going bald with some idiotic attempt to hide the fact. My wife wanted me to use Rogaine or Propecia… blech. At first went to a local Black barbershop where the first time in I got a strange reaction being a White customer … but figured my formerly curly hair patchy bald was more like a middle aged Black man’s balding pate than anyone else’s. It was kinda cute how the barber was initially obviously anxious about cutting White hair, obviously thinking he wouldn’t know what to do with it, and him then quickly realizing that he could do exactly the same thing with it as he could with a patchy balding Black man’s head and visibly relaxing. Great haircuts and fun conversations but after a few years it was patchy enough that the pretense of needing a haircut was foolish to maintain. Buzzing to near shaved length ever since. (Tried shaving it but it was too much effort to keep up with.) That said my wife has not let me forget that she fell in love with my now absent curls. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/32 "2012-07-05T14:40:51Z")
> [@Dervorin](#): > > I’d certainly appreciate it if you did! I’m starting to go bald, and while I’m not overly fussed about it, it would be interesting to know what other peoples’ experiences are as I ponder the options. > [@ShibbOleth](#): > > The Ask thread would be interesting to me. Your request has been granted. 🙂 My thread is [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=657548). Ask away. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/33 "2012-07-05T14:47:26Z")
Ticked rogaine etc _and_ do nothing. IOW, it might be worth fighting it for a while while hair is thinning out on the crown. But after a point, I’m done. I certainly wouldn’t go as far as transplants. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/34 "2012-07-05T14:56:11Z")
I shave it. In defiance of fashion, I’ve worn my hair buzzed or shaved most of my adult life. I’ve never been comfortable with long hair, so there was no real transition in appearance for me. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/35 "2012-07-05T15:00:29Z")
Keep it shorn tight and wear a hat. Not for the warmth, but for the prevention of sunburn. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/36 "2012-07-05T15:13:47Z")
Other. I have a full head of hair. It isn’t even thinning. It is, however, totally grey. So I shave my head. Been doing this for over a decade. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/37 "2012-07-05T15:20:56Z")
It’s possible I’m going bald. In my early and mid twenties I had a truly impressive mane, but when I started working in retail banking around 29 or so I started shaving my head out of laziness. (It was easier to keep it all gone than to fuss with keeping a thick mane neat.) On those times I’ve let it grow out, it no longer gets nearly as thick or shaggy as it used to. It hardly matters, though, since I generally keep my head shorn anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/38 "2012-07-05T15:23:35Z")
Didn’t do anything about it. I shave when my hair gets too thick. It was sort of a boon to me because when my hair gets too thick I get headaches, and the baldness cut down on this a bit. Although it would look better if I shaved at least every week. ---
**Author:** ![the\_apples\_fell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@the\_apples\_fell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_apples_fell)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/39 "2012-07-05T15:32:06Z")
I am young but I am unsure what I’d do if going bald. Maybe try the options to prevent it but accept it if they didn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276/40 "2012-07-05T16:02:50Z")
I voted “other” since, like others, when my hair started to thin I started to buzz it. I’m down to a 1/16" guide now, do it about every week to keep things neat. No surgery, pills, combover, etc. for me, thanks. I happen to look good this way so I stick with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-going-bald/627276.md?page=3)