People do naturally lose hair as they age, if not in the balding sense (male pattern baldness, there’s also female pattern baldness which is basically a gradual thinning of the hair), perhaps that is what they mean.
Also, according to this page, there is no fixed age beyond which you don’t have to worry about baldness:
Also, as I mentioned previously, my father had recession of his hairline by his late 20s (forehead perhaps an inch or two higher than normal) but didn’t have much progression until around 60, when it started receding again (now going over the top of his head); thus it appears you can bald in separate stages.
Johnny Bravo, I (and others) previously posted that the idea of inheriting baldness exclusively from the maternal side is bunk (good thing for myself too, as I previously mentioned, didn’t seem to inherit it from my father either, but then again I probably have a near 100% chance of some balding as stated above; this article makes it sound like 95% of men will go bald (those who hairline “matures” from that seen in girls and women), and my hairline does fit the description given for a “mature hairline”; see here for the differences between male and female hairlines, although it doesn’t clearly state if that will lead to baldness in all cases).
Late 20s. My barber had been lying to me for years. I was best man at a buddy’s wedding and they videotaped it from the church balcony. Watching the tape, it looked like I was wearing a little white yarmulke. It was the shine off my bald spot.
Mid 50s now and I still have a few stragglers on top, but mostly just have ‘the ring’. Also going very grey, especially the beard.
For all of those who picked “never”, I am wondering how their ages break down (probably towards the young side), and how many of them would pick a different choice if we repeated this poll in 10 years (or for that matter, was there a poll like this 10 years ago?).
Early 30’s. Out of the total hair that I have lost, probably 95% of it disappeared within 4 years or so. Since I was 40 I don’t think my hairline has changed significantly.
Men reaching 30 are certainly not in the clear. I’m 35, and my hair has been thinning for the past five years or so. Curiously, my hairline hasn’t moved at all, there’s just an even overall reduction in the amount a hair per square centimeter on the top of my head. All the male relatives of mine (from both sides) are badly balding, and my father and my mother’s father had prominent widow’s peaks at my age. I have cousins who are 10 years my junior and have no hair left above the ears, so I count myself lucky.
I have a friend who went bald at age 18. He grows thick hair everywhere else. He has to shave his neck every day, but he’s bald as a cue ball from the ears up.
Never. But I preemptively shaved my head two years ago to show support for my gf’s breast cancer situation. Ironically, she required only radiation therapy and not chemo. The only hair loss she experienced was her armpit. I remain smooth.
