Balding… it’s something a lot of men deal with. And something, which might make you feel helpless, as your hair follicles disappear off to the great barber’s floor in the sky. If that’s you, you’re not alone. According to one study, it affects 16% of men aged 18-29 with that percentage increasing with age. In total 42% of all men will experience significant baldness. And for many men losing their hair is a source of anxiety.
From ideas about attractiveness to balding as a sign of ageing, balding is a cause of worry for many. (And on a personal note, writing about hair loss has made me more paranoid about my own hair bailing on me.) Most of the worry comes from other people’s perception, particularly around attractiveness. So we decided to talk to the fairer sex to get their take on balding. In a series, we’re calling What she said we’re talking to women. To get their take on shaving, skincare and what’s hot, or not, in the world of male grooming. So let’s dive in.
Are shaved heads attractive?
So let’s start with the big shiny question… Are shaved heads Mmmmm or eurgh? Of the women we talked to, about a third found bald heads to be a bit of a turn-off. Compared to over a half who found a bald bonce to be touchy-feely attractive. One naked-head-lover even said she’d take ‘bald’ over ‘balding’ any day.
On the subject of masculinity, our participants were split on whether a bald head made a man more masculine. Many feeling it didn’t make any difference at all and depended on the guy. And when asked what they’d advise their partner to do if he was balding. Half said ‘shave it off squire’, a third said ‘Leave it be’ and one from the bunch said ‘get a hair transplant’. We asked what a bald guy should never do. Answers. Wear a toupée. Try to grow it out –don’t fight a losing battle. And don’t even think about shaving off your eyebrows to match.!
We asked our participants if they found bald heads more or less attractive. Most of the women said they’d prefer if a guy had his natural hair. But that owning his look was more important. Confidence came up a lot in the answers. Most of the women saying that a shaved head really works if the guy is confident in it or in this case without it. This would also be true for a full head of hair. Even if you’ve got hair like The Fonz it’s not going to be attractive if you’re not confident in yourself.
Final thoughts.
So there you have it. Going bald and shaving your head doesn’t have to make you any more or less attractive. As with most things whether someone finds a shaved head more or less attractive comes down to personal preference. As does whether you chose to shave your head or not. You should do whatever makes you feel confident in yourself. And know that there are a lot of people out there who will find that attractive. Shave or not, it’s up to you.
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We recently did an article with Willie from the BaldBrother, about their approach to balding, and why he shaved his head. Check out the interview for some inspiration along with tips on how to keep your shaved head looking great.
Or check out our article on How to shave your head…from balding to baldy if you’ve never chromed up your dome before. And for more inspiring stories of men shaving their head we interview several of our handsome bald customers about their experiences shaving their heads.
We’re thinking about writing an article about the different options you have available to you if you’re going bald: shaving, hair transplant, shampoos, etc. If you’d like to see that let us know in the comments, or email me with the things you’ve tried.
Let us know what you think.