This is a reader submitted story. I found it inspiring and motivating and I think it can do the same for you if you are struggling with hair loss at a young age. Thanks for sharing this, Bald Man Stan!
When I was about 16, a neighbor bud, Gene, sitting next to me on the school bus when he flips my forehead hair (I wore medium ivy league at that time) and says “your temples already receding … haha”. I freaked out and denied it. I started counting stray hairs in my comb when I shampooed but considered it normal.
After graduating high school at age 17, I went off to college and started growing my hair long (with mutton-chop sideburns) like other guys in 1973-1974. At the same time I noticed more hair was pulling out in my comb, shower. I always combed my hair with a left-side part. Like other college guys, my hair was long (past my ear-lobes and shirt collar). However, unlike most guys age 17, I moved my side part a bit lower to hide the receding hairline / temples and used cans of hairspray. By age 19, I discovered Couvre that I rubbed on my scalp to hide the “thinning areas” plus the “bald spot” forming in back. I also discovered “Thick-it” that I rubbed on my hair to make it look “thicker”.
Meanwhile, my forehead and bald patch in back was noticeably expanding. My older brother, who STILL has a full head of hair, started teasing me. He’d give me knuckle rubs on my frontal part to see if he could pull out my hair ! In 1975, when I was 20, I needed a haircut for a job interview (and I got that office job), so the long hair got chopped to a medium ivy league cut. When the barber faced me towards the mirror, I nearly freaked at the “young, balding dude” staring back at me!
With this much shorter ivy league haircut, now my forehead prominantly displayed “my hairline is receding island — or better known as premature Male Pattern Balding”. Without any concealer or hair thickener, the overhead fluorescent ceiling lights in the barbershop shsown my scalp was “peeking” thru. I was horrified! I rushed home and immediately rubbed Couvre over the bald patch in back and in places on top and combed my hair over to hide the scalp, added thickener and hair spray to comfort myself.
EVERYONE noticed the new haircut and some of my folks’ friends would mention “balding” to me and I just smiled and said “not yet”. My buds and brother teased me to no end so I started wearing a ball cap more often. Meanwhile, I went twice a month to keep my ivy league haircut “fresh” which meant I went to the barber sans Couvre or hairspray. The balding reality was there !
On a hot and windy day in August, 1977, just before my 22nd birthday, I walked in the barber shop rather frustrated and disgusted about my hair. My barber caped me and as usual always joked “buzz it all off?”. This time I nodded my head and said “marine recruit buzz”. He asked me three times, “are you sure?”. NOBODY age 22 had a buzz cut of any sort unless in marine duty back at that time.
The barber gave me a #3 on top and #2 faded sides/back and faced me towards the mirror. I was excited as the last time I had a buzz cut was when I was 10 years old. I was totally shocked as the top of my head shined now with just “stray” medium brown stubble with thicker buzzed hair on the sides ! I was literally BALD on top ! This was the first time I admittedly said to the barber, “man, I’m bald on top!”. The barber ran his hands over the top and sides and said “I can go #1 overall and clean off the top to make it look even”.
All I could do was nod approval. His palms riding my scalp skin made me realize that Couvre and hairspray could no longer hide my future. The barber buzzed everything down, hot lathered around the ears and nape and edged with the strt razor. Then, in a surprise move, he rubbed hot lather from my forehead to top and took the razor and scraped the stray stubble smooth.
After the barber wiped my head and rubbed baby oil, he faced me towards the mirror. I cracked this big smile as my palms ran over the bald head and said “well, this is one way to get to the root of my hair loss problem”. Suddenly the years of hiding in denial lifted off my shoulders. I was not thinning or balding. I was officially Male Pattern Bald !
When I got home from the barber, my bro noticed the ballcap and buzzed sides. He immediately ripped off my cap ready to knuckle rub and totally freaked because there was just skin. I ran my palms over the MPB and said “all gone”. Life got baldingly better. My bro still teased and called my dad and me “twin baldies”. My friends started calling me “baldie” and I rather liked that distinctive name and look!
- Bald Man Stan
If you enjoyed this post, check out my How to Deal with Hair Loss ebook. It details my personal story of beating male pattern baldness, explains all the options for dealing with hair loss, and offers concrete tips and strategies for getting over it and building confidence.
Hi, I'm Phil. I started losing my hair when I was 19. After years of anxiety and stress caused by losing my hair, I realized how to get over it. Now I'm helping others do the same.
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Sure glad I read this story today. Have been feeling very nervous about actually going for a total shave or even a number one but I feel like I’m close to the point of no return. Thanks for giving me a push! -Chris
Hey Chris ! Glad my story helped you! Keep us posted with you hair decisions that could encourage others in same “bald boat”. Thank you Phil for printing my story. – Bald Man Stan
Hey Stan,
I appreciate your story, especially because I also took a lot of heat when I first shaved my head not from my brother, but from a friend who was kind of like the alpha male among my friend group. But after a little while he let it go and everything was fine. I remember thinking he was never going to let up, but it actually only lasted a couple days. Anyway, thanks for putting this story up.
Hey TJ ! Thanks for reading and glad “baldie” works for you ! Hope other guys in that “balding boat” get inspired.
i shaved my head last week MISTAKE fine head and all BUT it aged me lik 15 years not in good way im 20 my hair loss wasnt noticable b4 doin it. there is now stubble on my head with my beard looks ok (jason statham like with more beard)
girls my age would be revolted if a i chatted them up with a bald head. With hair on my day i could get most girls tho. i think i just need some colour on my head as im pale hair does that for me. im goin to grow it again but when it gets too bad prob in about 5 years or so i will buzz it to a 3 with a full beard,gym and get lip injection because yesterday i used this tempory lip pump look good even with my shaved head gotta do whatever make u confident as i see it.
Just try to make the bald look suit you best u can any advice on what else i could do?
Hi John,
It took me a while to get used to the look as well. That’s why a lot of people on slybaldguys.com (if you go to the forums) recommend trying it for at least 30 days. I think this is very important as well. It gives you a chance to adjust and become confident to the look. Definitely experiment with facial hair and if you’re super concerned about how pale you are you can even buy a self-tanning lotion. Browse around the site and check out slybaldguys.com for more info specifically related to building confidence as this is the most important thing. You are also welcome to join the email list which contains a few things I don’t put on the site, often more personal content. It will get better, I promise!!! Try the 30 days!!!
i think if i go bald the best thing to do is shoot myself so as not to infect the futures kids. going bald is to me like losing an arm. it sucks and people with hair will always use that against you as a weakness,always. people with hair are beautiful and people without are not.
Frankie, thanks for your comment, however cynical it may be. Do you work for hair club for men? Really sorry this is how you feel, but the good news, for the rest of us, attitudes about being bald and going bald have actually changed a lot over recent years. Even if those attitudes weren’t changing, if you are confident, you can overcome any “baldness as weakness” charges. Your last line is completely subjective. There are many women who specifically like bald men. As in, they won’t date other men.
Good to support the young baldies of today and tomorrow. I remember using Regaine when I was 17 and had a horrible wig from ‘advanced hair’ when I was 20. When I left New Zealand to travel the world at 22 the first thing I did was rip that badboy off my head and get at blade shave all over from a great barber in Miami. This was back in 99.
Best thing I ever did. I shouldn’t have ever worried but you try telling that to a balding teenager…
Bald and proud is the way to go. It’s really no big deal – it’s not contagious or life-threatening and it never seemed to keep the ladies away. I think that’s BO and lack of chesthair.
Hedley
I can’t believe people get so wound up about it I’m 26 and have been thinning a little for about 4 years prob have to shave in the next 4 years , listen people loose things like there sight , hearing , limbs and come down with seriouse illness . The fact that your loosing hair is such a small problem , one day spent as a blind or disabled person and you would swap back in a second . Enjoy what you have got and never moan about it !!!!!
I totally agree with whatever each one of you said especially Richard ! That realization did help me to get over it easily !
Like being blessed with functioning limbs brain and other organs ! My dad was always against my bald look but now after about 4-5 years he admitted that this looks better than the old look !
I had seen both crests and troughs in my life ! When I was in my pre-grad I used to be one of the handsome guys of my school ! Girls wanted to go out with me but once out of school when I started losing hair and insecurities kicked in everything went on for a toss !
I became bald in a couple of years from having thick hair ! I had never even imagined that I’d turn bald one day ! By the age of 19 I was bald. I had a big bald patch on the crown of scalp with hair left on the sides and occipital region of the scalp and just a few strands in front ! I joined my graduation and literally used to hide my patch from everyone trying caps et al! I would try to turn in a way so that my professors won’t see my bald patch ! My grades were going down(Unfortunately I had joined Medicine and was wondering why medical science doesn’t come up with a solution for it !) ! I had once asked my sister and close female friends that do they feel ashamed to walk with me as if they’re walking with your uncle and everyone was surprised with my level of insecurity and all of them replied that they love me irrespective of the fact that whether I’m bald or not ! That gave me some confidence ! Craziness went to such extremes that I literally traced the gene to my specific great grandfather !
Then I thought hard what to do with my scalp ! I applied Minoxidil lotion for about a year but it didn’t help and I got palpitations as side effects so got rid of them ! Then I remember seeing Beckham sporting a bald look ! He looked good..!! Saw Andre Agassi in that bald look then Vin Diesel, Statham they all looked better if not great with their bald looks and I finally decided to go for it ! Initially it didn’t look good but once I got used to it I started feeling better ! Other things did help me !
Initially went with ’1′ and later went with ’0′ size ! I did contemplate hair transplant surgery but I was never convinced with the effects and I was sure either it should come as natural as before or I’m happy this way, I mean the natural bald look!
It’s all about the confidence ! Once you’re comfortable with yourself it hardly matters and rest of the things do follow !
I really congratulate everyone for sharing their stories and had this blog been there when I was balding it would have really helped me a lot !
Cheers !!
Don’t sweat it. A LOT of women like the bald look. Very masculine. It might age a very young man, but it makes the older one look younger, or ageless. Embrace it and be confident.
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