Update And Advice For Unhappy Balding Men
I’m still in the trenches, I’ve not left you. I just don’t believe hair preservation and restoration is something any healthy minded individual should concern themselves with on a daily basis beyond administering treatment. Things don’t seem to have gotten any worse, and maybe have gotten a shade better – though I’ve not scrutinized enough to fully decide, either way. It’s a very slow process as I’ve known all along. I’ve only one set of photographs I took a good while back in my treatment to test against, and to be honest, my hair was longer then so I just don’t know for sure. More time is needed, I suspect.
I will say that I’ve had a buzz cut several times over the course, and when it grew back a little the first time I noticed the frontal miniaturization was extending slightly beyond the area I initially thought it was, which was both disappointing but also good to know, given I then knew how much further along it was about to progress, and I wouldn’t have known had I of kept my hair longer and/or not taken up treatment.
For me then, and immeasurably more so now, trying to keep a reasonably good head of hair is about having the option to grow my hair a bit and still look good, should I choose to, as opposed to letting the door close completely on something I believe I can control to an extent without much skin off my nose. It’s not about ‘saving my life’ or anything so melodramatic as it is for some. I’m simply not so ‘damaged’ mentally nor physically by having a buzz cut. In fact, it’s the best thing I’ve done for myself.
I have some advice, now, and you’ll do well to take it. Beyond transplants or a miracle breakthrough, permanent baldness is coming to most men, to some degree or other, sooner or later. Don’t be a fool and agonize over it, holding on to patchy strands and crying at your reflection in the mirror. Man up, and shave the damn lot off right now. Yes, it may look strange and foreign to you for a while. Yes, you may have looked better when you had hair in the past – but that’s gone/going now. Take control of the situation and make the change yourself and you will look far better than you do right now. Stop comparing you now to the you of yesterday. This is the new you.
‘Men’ (and I do use the term loosely, to be brutal, given how they cry and whine about their hair and make a ridiculous fuss about avoiding buzz cuts) make too many excuses as to why they shouldn’t get a buzz cut. “My head is misshapen”, “I look better with patchy hair”, “I look like a thug”, “I’m used to having hair”, “My head isn’t a great shape”, “Hot women don’t like it”. Well, who’re you kidding?
Let me tell you something. There are men out there who’re a damn sight fatter, uglier, balder, with odder shaped heads, poorer, and still live life to the max and get all the hot women they want. And they do this by making the best of themselves and not being a wimp about what they have or don’t have. There’s nothing sexier to a woman than a confident guy who has buzzed off his hair. It says “F*** it, I’m going bald and I don’t care to pretend otherwise.” Likewise for people who are fat or ugly or whatever else the impediment – you need to say the same thing and have the attitude that it’s a non issue, and lo-and-behold, to others, it’s a non-issue.
Everybody has an internal picture of how they used to be, and no, involuntary image change – permanent image change – isn’t something nice. But it’s a reality men must learn to accept. You aren’t the same person you were 5 years ago mentally nor are you physically. Women sag as they age, men lose hair. Accept the inevitable conclusion – better yet, embrace it – and then anything that comes along or happens to grant a temporary reprieve is a bonus and not a lifeline, as some men long for.
When you’ve got young kids who have severe disabilities or are disfigured who have to go to school and get bullied, they are the ones with real problems, and any man who’s backbone buckles under the ‘enormous’ weight of losing a little hair should be ashamed of themselves for being so weak.
So – if you dislike how you look as a balding man, shave your head, right now. Yes, you might not look as good as you once did with a full head of hair but stop dwelling on it. Don’t compare yourself to the past – because the future is, inevitably, looking even thinner on top than today. Embrace today and the new you by taking charge and going for the neat buzz cut. Become familiar with the reflection in the mirror and get confidence in your new look. You’ll soon become as familiar with yourself as you ever were and you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about.
I re-iterate: By all means, continue treatment to preserve your options; there’s no point in letting the door close on your hair entirely if there’s something you can try out (even to say you did try and have peace of mind in that you didn’t just sit back and let it happen and forever wonder ‘what if’) but call any results a bonus as opposed to a lifeline. If you’re nothing without your hair, then I have to say it, but really, you were likely nothing with your hair – and that’s a problem you have to come to terms with and make amends for yourself.
Stay buzzed, stay happy, stay treating, and stay tuned!