Psychology of Bald :)

[wojapi4me]

My fiancee' and I were talking last night about the psychology of human identity and how apperance plays such a large role.  What prompted that conversion was us noticing that ever other commercial was either geared towards weight loss or hair loss.  The difference we found was that there really isn't a quick, easy solution to weight loss.  Either way you cut it, you're going to have to exercise properly and watch what you eat.  But, there is a completely easy solution to hair loss - shave it!! 

Why do you think so many guys go the hair replacement route rather than just shave their head? 

I asked a hypothetical that I'll bet will garner the same response from 99% of American women...

Would you rather a man spend $3,000 (at least) on hair replacement or shave their head bald and spend that on you?   

[Marz]

Good post.

I think Television is toxic to the human identity. Dont get me wrong, I enjoy TV but I dont allow it to define me as a person.

With weight loss it is not always a personal vanity thing as there are many health issues that are associated with being overweight. There is a point though were a beautiful rubenesque (sp?) woman will try to look like a 100lb elf woman and it just doesn't work that way. The perception that TV gives of larger women is similar to bald guys... always the "goofy friend", evil, nerdy or idiotic.

Thank god for Queen Latifa and Bruce Willis.

[BALDANDRE]

See, I don't blame TV or advertisers...I think it's just people throwing out what they think is "fine and acceptable" for that time..

I love that we finally live in a time when you can be bald and it's not a curse, be it BBC or MPB...

What time other than now and ancient Eygpt can you think of that BALD was a fashion of any kind?

It's just the dawn of a new era and we're all part of it boys!

[PBurke]

i just got in from offshore and one of the captains had OBVIOUSLY had a transplant. it looked like crap and he wore a hat. his mannerism showed his self conciousness. i just thought that it was funny that someone would spend that much money and still not be proud of how they look. shaving is way cheaper and i hold my head up high.

[SLYinKC]

Some great posts guys.  I think for those of us who have decided to go the SLY route, it is the ultimate acceptance of who we are, with no pretenses of trying to cover up anything or trying to make something appear like something else.  Obviously a bald head is about as out there and natural as you can get.  That's why I think SLY is the best way and the most psychologically healthy way for a guy to deal with hair loss  (head-on...so to speak).

[andrew]

Some great posts guys.  I think for those of us who have decided to go the SLY route, it is the ultimate acceptance of who we are, with no pretenses of trying to cover up anything or trying to make something appear like something else.  Obviously a bald head is about as out there and natural as you can get.  That's why I think SLY is the best way and the most psychologically healthy way for a guy to deal with hair loss  (head-on...so to speak).

Amen, SLYinKC

[hipstersaint]

Good post.


Thank god for Queen Latifa and Bruce Willis.

   I love Queen Latifa!

[ugabulldog]

Would you rather a man spend $3,000 (at least) on hair replacement or shave their head bald and spend that on you?   

My honest answer is: hairtransplants cost way more than $3,000 and aren't even a viable option for men w/ severe hairloss, and a shaved head is now acceptable and looks good (which I am sure has hurt the HT business, a good thing) so I agree that most women would answer on the "shave and spend on me." However, if there were an easy solution to weight loss I would have my girl spend $3,000 to lose 20 pounds anyday, and be able to keep it off. I admit I am one of the more shallow men.

[JDog]

Too True.

For too long T.V have portrayed bald men as sinister or lacking of something(usually compassion,intelligence,courage etc)

The onset of the infomercial demonizing hairloss and its affects has also carried this myth that the Bald Man was a poster child for failure.

We disprove this stupidity in here everyday and in the  lives that we live. We are confident,successful,good looking,well spoken, and understanding. And we dont have  hair.
Take that Hair Club for Men!!

[Penguins Fan]

Hair loss has for centuries been something that has driven men - and women - to extremes.  Even today, the methods used to combat it or reverse it are feeble and generally doomed to failure.

Well, something changed in the past 15 years (a little bit longer than that for African American men) - it became okay, and then cool, to be free of hair.  Oh, there are still the Bosleys, etc. that are snapping up the money from poor suckers who think happiness is hair on your head, and those types will always be with us.

How many men who shave would even want a cure for baldness?  I don't.  I don't ever want to bother with hair again.  I don't miss getting haircuts, washing hair, drying hair, spraying hair, coloring gray hair, any of it.  I would prefer a cure for hair, but that's another topic.

When I was putting myself through college, I worked in a hospital kitchen.  One of the security guards was a very quiet man.  He was tall, about 6'4", cut like he was chiseled out of stone by Michelangelo, and he shaved off the little bit of hair he had left.  In the early '80s, bald wasn't cool yet, and even I made a comment or two about his head.  Well, he was well ahead of his time.  There was also an orderly, a very outgoing, friendly guy, who was also physically fit.  He had alopecia and wore a wig.  Today, he could ditch the wig and fit right in.

Compare that to a guy I see occasionally on the bus.  He has a sunken in chest, a pot belly, has to have a puff from a cigarette right before he steps onto the bus, and another as soon as he gets off the bus.  His combover is the worst.  The hair on the back of his head is combed upward and on one side he plasters it over the top.  It fools nobody.
This guy is more concerned with covering his head than maintaining his health, and he is to be pitied.

[Stevo]

I went to a reunion last year of my old High School basketball team (Bondurant-Farrar, 1997 State Champs), and it was kinda funny what I saw.  Back when we were playing, 2/3 of the team shaved our heads for the State Tournament, as a show of team unity (a lot of the students did it too, and an assistant coach).  10 years later, about half of us are bald again, only now it's because we were all losing our hair and didn't want to dink around with any of the regimen of hair regrowth/replacement/etc.  We probably would have been better off just staying bald back then, I know it would've saved me a bunch of money in hair care products.

[Rob]

Every day where i live it seems I see more SLy guys coming out into the open.  More and more men in the UK are ditching the combover and gettin' SLY, and that's great, I think.

Gone are the days (thank God) when men felt they had to cover up their baldness.  I still know two guys who comb-over and they aint foolin no one, but they think they're foolin' everyone.  The one guy thinks people will laugh at him if he shaves his head, and prefers to think he looks younger with a comb over!!!

Being SLY sure brought out my confidence.  It's the only way to go, and cheaper than hair implants and crap like that.  And miles better than covering a bald patch with straggly pieces of hair that lift up all in one piece when the wind blows!

Bald domes shine out like a beacon of confidence

[Timmay]

If I think back on it some...I can remember a time where I sorta feared the going bald thing.  I really didnt spend too much time worrying about it.  It was like if it is going to happen it will happen..nothing I can do about it.  I am just glad it is more widely accepted than before. 
I was at my cousin wedding reception and I got many head rubs while I was there.  One guy said my head was so shiney that it looked clean enough ot eat off of.  Keep the food away from my head ok.  But I ran into a former member of the high school basketball team.  Joel McDonald..great kid, awesome ball player.  He was the heartbreaker of all the girls.  He being a cross of black and white had curly springy black hair.  All the girls ooogled over him including my own daughters.  Anyways..he was at the wedding and he had his head shaved..not to the skin but it was buzzed down quite a bit.  No more springy curls. I walked up to him and said Hey what happened?  He was like...im tryin to get your imagine and he rubbed my head. He said he did it because he wanted people to like him no matter what he looked like. He just felt like everyone thought he was cool because of his hair.  I said no way Joel, you are a great person no matter what.  Well he is now thinking about going all the way with it.  So I really think people associate with how a guy is by what kind of hair he has on his head...but thats the opposite of what people think of women.  With women...what is the first thing a guy ask or looks at about a woman? Weight.....with men...women ask is he old/ bald?  There has to be a way to get past that though......its what is inside that shiney dome ..and whats inside the heart the matters.  Call me sappy...or what ever...but its the truth.  No matter how manly you are....deep down you think the same thing.

[RustyRuss]

We're all different, thank God.  Without variety life would be pretty dull.  Different makeups in all categories are the essence of evolving.  Basic thing is we have to agree to disagree, and appreciate the finer qualities each other has.  We have to recognize that the majority of the people in this world compare themselves to others, as well as the reactions of others.  Without trying to be down right insulting, it's ok if someone wants to dislike you, for whatever reason and, vice versa. 

Don't know if its my age, failing miserably many times, or just a down right shiny bald/hard head but, I'm begining to enjoy life and just not worry about things I can't change.  I prefer to look in the mirror every day and laugh at myself for the simple sake of "laughter makes the heart grow fonder" I guess.

I'm getting to read and promote a little book I wrote to kids from 2-10 yrs. at school book fairs, libraries, daycare centers, etc...   I get to put on a show, cowboy up and get young hearted western while telling them about outdoor adventures.  It's fun to watch their eyes light up and maybe develop a dream or desire to appreciate/enjoy nature.  Some of them call me Bald Tex Man, which is fine by me, as I consider it endearing. 

[zzaapp]

It took me many years to embrace the Sly. 

The "hair replacement" industry has done a great job of convincing a lot of people that they can't be confident, sexy or successful unless they have hair.

They say that actions speak louder than words, but their words have the power of the media behind them, and tend to reach a much larger audience than our actions.  It's too bad we can't do more.