so I am at barber school tonight giving a nice conservative casual business cut to a high school senior when the student in the chair next to me gets a customer.
This customer is an Hispanic gang banger type with all of the appropriate gang tattoos. He is in his late 20's and I CAN COUNT THE NUMBER OF HAIRS LEFT ON HIS HEAD! The customer tells my fellow student that he wants a medium high bald fade with the top left at about 3/4 of an inch. Throughout the entire haircut he is giving my buddy directions, changing his mind, wanting him to "fade out" the line where his MPB starts, etc.
I have never seen anyone in such an extreme state of denial! It was really sad.
I had no idea what a bald fade was when I read your post, so I looked it up. When I saw the images on the web and thought of the guy you described wanting one, I cracked up.
How did your fellow student manage to do anything even approaching it?
You're making me want to dig up the thread about the skunk stripe around the back of the head.
I always thought that once headshaving became mainstream that going bald would cease to be a big deal for the younger generation. Clearly, though, people are still struggling with it.
Yes, denial is common in some young guys. I know this guy, around age 25, and really thinned out on top. Wears the see-thru dark brown hair combed forward, bangs to his eyes. Granted his sides/back hair is thick, but the top is not. He grew a medium reddish-brown beard to off set the balding but insists that "just a bit thinning on top". BTW - he teaches marketing.