Today is my 33rd birthday.
Being another year older brings many great fortunes, although it can also bring many things that we don’t want to accept. For many men, one of those things is the prospect of going bald.
Personally, I am not one that worries about losing my hair. As a matter of fact, I am to the opposite extreme in that I would actually welcome the loss of my hair.
The last 15 years have seen me chopping of my locks, moving from the clean razor shave through my college years to the closely shaved buzz that I fashion now. My years are catching up to me and my hair is thinning in a few of the common spots, such as the traditional area known as “the island” – you know, kind of like David Letterman.
Am I alone in embracing, if not encouraging, the loss of my hair?
Given the number of commercials and advertisements that I see for hair restoration products for men, I have to believe that I am in the minority. Spend an afternoon at a crowded public venue and you are bound to see more comb-overs than one should ever see.
Why do so many men fear being bald?
That is a great question; unfortunately I don’t think I have an answer for you. The question is even more perplexing when you consider the number of women that are attracted to a bald man. When I was in college, much to the chagrin of my girlfriend (who is now my wife), I can tell you that there was never a shortage of women that were attracted to my bald head.
In an effort to get a pulse on why men had a fear of losing their hair, I turned to a few people on twitter to get their thoughts. It should come as no surprise that the first bit of feedback came from a couple of women that had the following to say:
“Bald guys are sexy! Especially if they are confident. It’s the insecurity that sucks.”
– Michelle from Divine Purpose Unleashed
“I find bald guys to be attractive. It makes them stand out in a crowd, its like I see them first then everyone else.”
– Andrea from According to Andrea
See guys, I told you that women find bald guys attractive.
But what about the guys?
Unfortunately the feedback from guys has been rather minimal. Either that means everyone is too busy to respond, or they don’t care to discuss their thoughts about going bald. One guy that did respond, FrugalDad, had the following to say:
“No fear. If mine starts receding I’m buzzing it close and moving on. A little troubling for men to worry so much over hair.”
For whatever reason, men have a fear of going bald. There are a variety of reasons that play into this fear: perception that they are not as manly if their hair is falling out, fear of being viewed as old, or even just the unknown.
“Probably the initial realization that it was starting to happen. Uncertainty about what would happen. Whether I had options.”
– JiMpiSh
Guys, as we often tell our young children, it is important to face your fears head-on. Often times we find that the thing that we feared the most really isn’t all that bad.
What I can tell you is that as I have aged another year, there is a little less hair falling to the floor when I shave my head – and I couldn’t be happier about that!
Embrace your baldness and look around, you might just find a few more women giving you the eye!