Any guys give up on their hair?

[statsman]

At almost 63, I still have a good amount of hair, but I can see a bit of thinning and receding in the front. But the wonderful lady who does my hair at her salon tells me I am not showing obvious signs of thinning on top and toward the back. Not sure what I do when the thinning up front continues but the back/top doesn't thin

[Rocket Man]

I have the progressive male pattern baldness. Not much but some wispy, thin hair on top. Thick hair everywhere else. I also hate it when my barber lets the thin hair on top grow out. I end up going home and cutting it. No combover for me! The last couple years I have gone back and forth between a 1/4 inch buzz cut and letting it grow out to about 1 to 1 1/2 inches. When I start to feel I am getting the “clown look”, I go back to the buzz cut. I would not get a shaved head. I do love the simplicity of the buzz cut. So easy to take care of! However, I think it does make me look older, as my silver hair seems to be more underneath. Also, no one can say I am going for the combover. What do you think I should stick with?

[FlaGator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningBum ...... ........ I got some an electric clipper figuring it'd be easy enough, but it's surprisingly hard to get everything, plus getting it even at the bottom in the back, plus cleanup, ....... I don't think I have a good head for a buzz cut or going full hairless. I still wear hats a lot but I'm not as self-conscious about it as I used to be. Now it's more to prevent sunburn and to shade my eyes. I guess balding at 60 is a lot different than balding at 40, and really, if that's a deal breaker for a woman it probably wasn't going to be a good match anyway. And it's not for many anyway. So - whatever you are comfortable with is what you should go with. The beauty of it is that if it isn't what you want, it'll grow out.

This.

Starting thinning on top in my 20's. Went for a uniform length in my 40's, Starting at 1", getting tighter and tighter every few years. When 1/4" became the right number, bought a trimmer to do it myself, but saw the same problems with uniformity and cleaning up the neckline.

When the wife was no longer around to do the neck, decided to go full Barkley/Jordan. Everyday now with the Norelco triple header, about 7 minutes. Closer shave if I do it in the shower with regular bar soap.

As a bonus, no one knows how little hair I *really* have, nor how gray I am (including me ).

[Geld ist Freiheit]

Gave up on it. Bought a $25 Wahl clipper and went full buzz, no guard. Paid for itself the first time I used it. 30 years on, it’s still going strong. Pocketed a lot of haircut money across 3 decades.

[Fermion]

Getting old sucks

[Ronstar]

I still have my hair with no receding hairline. I got a buzz cut once and DW was not happy.

[Sunset]

I was thinking of trying it, with Covid we aren't seeing lots of folks so this is the time to get experimental and see if I like it.

Maybe I should dye it lime green first

Right now, I cut it to 1" in length every bunch of months.
I wouldn't shave it (although electric razor sounds easy) as I don't want to fuss with something every couple of days.

So maybe a 1/4 buzz cut would be best.
If anybody asks, I'll tell them I just enlisted

[njhowie]

Ditto. This past year, though one of the most stress free, my hair has significantly thinned out up top. Just going to let it happen, and cut as short as necessary to keep it looking decent...which will likely become a new look for me.

[Mr. Tightwad]

I cut my hair myself with scissors every couple of months. As short as possible. No balding or receding.

In October of 1998 I did "give up" on my hair, and stopped combing it. 23 years since I've used one.

[mystang52]

From age 50 or so I dyed my hair, solely for business purposes. At my last j*b I decided to stop doing so, knowing that if they fired me the next day I had no intention of looking for another position anyway. That was my first step to "giving up." Along the same lines, I now keep my hair short. Only person that matters is DW and she likes it. Keeping it short is much easier. Technically, I still have all of my hair but nowadays it is very thin on top.

[JoeWras]

I think OP is talking about a true smooth dome. My answer to that is no. I keep it short, about 1/4" to 1/2".

I look a lot like John Malkovitch or Terry Bradshaw. Terry is my bald hero. Look, I started losing my hair at age 16. It was not fun to go bald as a teen during the very hairy 70s. Terry was my hero because he was very bald during that time, playing football. He was one of the few public figures I could point to and say "It's OK." If only I could play football as well as him.

The true glimmering dome doesn't look good on the three of us. I dunno what it is, but that little extra on the side makes a difference. DW cuts it easily every three weeks.

Oh, one more example: Sir Patrick Stewart. In recent years, he's gone to stubble. I personally think he looks better from his Star Trek years where he left 1/2" or so.

[braumeister]

I started cutting my own hair with a Wahl clipper over 20 years ago and still do it every 2-3 weeks. Never let it get more than about ¾ inch at the longest place on top, and it takes only about five minutes to do. I'm on my third machine now.

Like most men in my family, I still have all my hair and it hasn't started thinning yet, but all the hours saved by not sitting in a barbershop were valuable to me.

I've worn my hair very short all my life (it was customary in the military), so there was no noticeable change when I started doing it myself. It only took about three times before I figured out all the nuances to get a neat look all over, so the learning curve was easy. DW says it looks fine so there's no issue.

[FLSUnFIRE]

I'm still growing out my "COVID" hair. It is the longest it's been since I was a student. Some days I like it some days I almost cut it off. I had a buzz a long time (fit in with the military culture at work and my ex-wife liked it that way and cut my hair so she could never complain - about my hair!). I never thought it looked great but it was very easy - my hair is thin and light enough that too short looks horrible in photos as my scalp shines through. I definitely don't want to shave my head, too many bumps and I hate shaving anyway.


I really only care insofar as it impacts dating, once I find a partner I really want her to tell me how she likes it and I'll oblige. I met a girl last week and was having a bad hair day and felt a bit insecure about it... probably all in my own head. I felt like we hit it off pretty well for a first meeting so keeping my fingers crossed.

[FLSUnFIRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by statsman At almost 63, I still have a good amount of hair, but I can see a bit of thinning and receding in the front. But the wonderful lady who does my hair at her salon tells me I am not showing obvious signs of thinning on top and toward the back. Not sure what I do when the thinning up front continues but the back/top doesn't thin

You are lucky, I go to a chain place and they always try to up sell some hair thickening product while they cut my hair!

[big-papa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry1 I’m thinking about a buzz cut. Not really interested in shaving my head but thinking a very close clipper cut and being done with it. My hair chose to leave me and I suspect that I’ll only have side hair in 5 to 10 years. When I get a hair cut, they always try to leave what is on top alone and I have to tell them that even if you comb it from front to back, it’s still a comb over. I want no part of that. So, I’m wondering if others have given up and if they’re happy with it. I thinking one of the main benefits is that in the summer when swimming, I can just use sunscreen instead of wearing a hat. Other times, it seems like just an easier way to deal with my head. No shampoo, no combing, no bed head, no hat head and what should be a pretty simple hair cut. Not sure if when you cut you hair that short if you still have to outline around the ears and the collar but still, that should be pretty easy for my daughter who now is the one cutting my hair since COVID. So - keep what I have or just give up and move on?

Funny you mention a buzzcut. At the beginning of the pandemic, I stopped going to the barber since they stopped doing beard trims. I buzzed the top of my head and trimmed my beard myself.

Eventually the barber started doing beards again and I went back. And returned to my previous hairstyle. Early this month, when I went to the barber for my monthly maintenance, I had him just go and buzz it. Hassle-free hair. Though not a hassle-free beard.

[Jerry1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras I think OP is talking about a true smooth dome. My answer to that is no. I keep it short, about 1/4" to 1/2".

Actually, I was talking about very short hair, what’s left of it anyway. It’s likely that I’ll always have hair on the sides. I share a lot of features with my dad and he still has hair on the sides. I’m not interested in shaving my head so no total bald look which, I don’t think would look good on me anyway. My main goal is just to have something that I take as little care of as possible.

Thanks everyone for all the comments. I think I’ll start with a much shorter cut next time and work my way down from there. By summer, I hope I’m okay with it very short so I can just use sunscreen on my head when I’m in the pool.

[ShokWaveRider]

DW cuts mine every 3 weeks to 1 finger before we turn on the shower. she has cut mine ever since COVID started to become annoying. Big change from my "Roger Daltry" hairstyle of my 20's.

[db79]

Been buzzing mine weekly with #1 and #2 guards for approx. 3 years. Wasn't enthusiastic about going that short or having thinning hair but got past it. Not having to pay for a haircut every 3 weeks helps too.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry1 Actually, I was talking about very short hair, what’s left of it anyway. It’s likely that I’ll always have hair on the sides. I share a lot of features with my dad and he still has hair on the sides. I’m not interested in shaving my head so no total bald look which, I don’t think would look good on me anyway. My main goal is gust to have something that I take as little care of as possible. Thank everyone for all the comments. I think I’ll start with a much shorter cut next time and work my way down from there. By summer, I hope I’m okay with it very short so I can just use sunscreen on my head when I’m in the pool.

Ah yes. Cool.

I always have sunscreen and a hat nearby.

One other thing about not even having a few "sense hairs" on top is you lose the "early warning" capability that hair gives you when you are about to bump your head. So be careful out there -- it isn't just sunburn that can cause problems.

[Car-Guy]

I had lost most (but not all) of the hair off the top of my head before I was 40... The hair loss seems to have stopped there. Sides and back are full but I usually keep it pretty short... I've had a mustache since I was in my 20's so last year I finally grew a beard too. I do keep it trimmed to about 1/2 inch... I should have grown the beard long ago since I really like it...