Last Updated on May 9, 2020 by Robert Price
Here’s the good news: You’re never going to need another haircut again!
The bad news is you’re bald. Just kidding. That’s only bad news if you believe it is…
Here’s the deal: going bald could very well be the best thing that ever happens to you. But you’re going to need a “survival kit” of sorts in order to prosper with women, at your job, and in life. That’s where this blog post comes in. Read on, here are the top 15 must-have items for all you baldies out there!
1. Razor
Electric or blade, the choice is yours. Might not hurt to have someone spot you on your first attempt!
You’re at least going to need a decent electric razor. Some men prefer to take it a step further and go for the “smooth” bald look, a la Bruce Willis and John Malkovich. If you like shiny things and want your head to be a beautiful shiny thing, then invest in some decent blades as well.
2. Sunscreen
Don’t fall asleep in the sun, or someone might do this to you! Larry David, pictured above, is a member of my personal bald hall of fame.
Someday you’re going to be a grandpa. My grandpa was a norwood 6 and he had some horrible-looking growths and skin discolorations on his scalp. Don’t be like my grandpa. Before you hit the beach or catch some rays, use sunscreen — the higher the SPF, the better
3. Moisturizer
You can use moisturizer for your head and for other…things. Masturbation, by the way, has no known affect on men’s hair loss.
Now that your head is being exposed to the elements, it’s going to need more TLC. That’s where moisturizer cream comes in. A good moisturizer will help prevent flaking, scabbing, scaling, premature aging, and more.
4. Sunglasses
Be a model, you know what I mean? Sunglasses are a bald style essential, no doubt.
Every bald man should own several pairs of sunglasses. They just help create a mysterious-yet-cool vibe that will boost your overall attractiveness. They’ll also help frame your face, assuming you’re going for the full action-star look. A word to the wise: wraparound shades are no longer in style! You’re best off shopping for shades in store, not online — that way you can try them on for size.
5. Perfect-Fit Tees
Sleeve length is the key. You want the sleeve to end right around the biggest part of your tricep muscle. Show off those guns! Even bald guys who are far from fit, like Louis CK, employ this simple bald style trick and it enhances their overall appearances significantly.
If you’re like most men, your shirts are way too baggy! You like to look at women’s cleavage, right? Well, they like to look at your arms. Make sense? Even if you aren’t all-jacked-up physically, you should still stick to shirts that fit and cling closely to your biceps and triceps, respectively.
6. Shoes for all occasions
You want to try to separate yourself from other guys in your peer group — guys who have more hair than you do. One easy way to do that is via your style. And there are few things more critical to overall look than footwear. No need to go crazy. You just need pairs for two types of occasions, primarily — casual and formal. Chelsea boots, oxfords, dress boots, and fashion sneakers are few en-vogue footwear options to consider.
7. Watch
I liked the Daily newspaper in this picture. This website is hairlossdaily.com. Get it?
Some people believe watches are obsolete and unnecessary. We all have phones, right?! However, a watch is a great vehicle to convey your personality and style — and it’s one of the few socially acceptable types of jewelry for a man to wear. You’re effectively making a power statement when you sport a wrist watch; it’s simply one of the best accessories available for balding/bald men!
8. Tattoo(s)
No, not the face!
Okay, this one is optional. But some bald guys look a tad lazy or worse, they look boring. If you’re one of those guys, tattoos could be your solution! Hair helps give us a sense of identity and personality, without question — but tattoos could be a reasonable substitute for hair, especially if you’re in good shape. That brings me to my next point…
9. Gym Membership (or home gym)
I’ve said this countless times before on this blog, but it’s really a point that can’t be emphasized enough: If you’re going to commit to the bald lifestyle, you need to stay in shape! I’m not saying you need a six pack or steroids or to get jacked like a Fast and Furious cast member. You just want some definition in your muscles, and mainly, you don’t want to be the fat bald guy! I hate gyms. They make me feel like a hamster on a wheel. Personally, I run 4-5 miles a day and do push ups, pull ups, and crunches. It’s enough. I’m not ripped but I’m easily in better shape than 80% of guys my age. Just have some kind of exercise regimen and you’ll be golden. Enough said.
10. Plenty of Cool Lids!
Kenny Chesney, pictured bald here, typically rocks a cowboy hat to cover his MPB.
Look, I don’t advocate being a so-called “hat slave” or “hatfishing” on the dating sites. But as a balding dude, having quality lids at your disposal is important. Sometimes, when you want to give your face a more pronounced frame, or you’re out for a day of leisure, it’s a great idea to grab your favorite cap.
11. Beanies, Too
In the winter months, of course!
12. Tanning lotion (or a tan!)
Joe Rogan is always well tanned and ready for action.
There are pale guys who look good bald, but most men of the handsome-and-hairless variety have medium to dark skin tones. The reason is simple: darker skin helps conceal “flaws” like acne, an unusual head shape, scarring, and countless other imperfections. So while you should definitely be careful in the sun, and use sunscreen, I also believe it’s important for you to get a little pink in your color, if possible. A tanning lotion may well be the ideal solution here!
13. Teeth Whitening Strips
Again, all of your other facial features will be on display given that you’re lacking in the follicular department. Your teeth need to be shiny and white! A good smile can compensate for baldness and obesity, as I learned this past Black Friday when I worked Security at Best Buy.
14. Hair Tweezers
The Gallagher brothers are famous for their fighting, great hair, heavy boozing, and of course, their uni brows. Unlike Noel Gallagher, you don’t have a NW 0 hairline! Therefore you definitely cannot pull off the unibrow look.
Chances are you’re a hairy dude, in all other areas except your head. So keep that body, nose, and ear hair in check, my friend! No unibrows allowed. You aren’t Noel Gallagher and you don’t have a NW 0 hairline, so the single eyebrow look most certainly won’t suit you. And keep the eyebrows trimmed as well.
15. Confidence
I wish you could buy confidence, but unfortunately that isn’t possible. Even if you’re not self-assured in your baldness yet, as I state in my posts, you can fake it until you make it as a bald man. Also, check out my article describing how to overcome your hair loss-related stress, depression and insecurities, all in two weeks or less!
Closing Thoughts – 15 Must-Have Items for Bald and Balding Men
Honestly, you could probably skip all the other 14 items if you just have confidence! Easier said than done, I know. Maybe you prefer the Dr. Phil look, and more power to you if you do! Basically, to sum it all up, you just want to tweak your wardrobe a bit. And, invest in a quality razor. Finally, take care of yourself by using sunscreen, going to the gym, etc. Then you’ll be set. Best of luck on your journey.
Robert Price is a writer, consumer advocate, and hair loss researcher with thousands of hours of experience in the field. His goal is to keep you out of the hair loss rabbit hole, underworld, or whatever you want to call it. He founded Hair Loss Daily, the unbiased hair loss blog, in 2016. You can learn more about Robert in the my story section of this website.
Welcome back. We missed you. The most important item on your list I use is a hat. I always wear a hat when outdoors for two reasons: to prevent sunburn on sunny warm days and to keep my head warm in cold weather. I do not wear a hat to hide the fact that I am Norwood 6 bald. As a matter of fact, I wish I never had to wear a hat, as I’m not ashamed that I am bald. Going bald is almost the best thing that ever happened to me. I LOVE male pattern baldness! All my life I couldn’t wait to go bald. When it finally happened to me I was overjoyed. So was my wife. She prefers bald men.
These days I try not to think about being bald, but I am constantly reminded of it every time my wife kisses me on top of my bald head and every time I see my bald reflection in a mirror. I also often get teased about being bald. I love the teasing and wouldn’t mind if it happened more often.
Another item on your list I have and occasionally use is tweezers. Unfortunately, I still have a few stubborn hairs that keep growing back. These days all it takes is a few minutes of tweezing once or twice a month to remove those few remaining unsightly hairs. And once a months I borrow one of my wife’s straight razors to run across the top of my head. Oh, how I love the totally smooth shiny results from using a razor. Hopefully soon there will be no more hair or fuzz to shave and tweeze away. And hopefully, by then I will have advanced all the way to Norwood 7.
Thanks, Eric! Good to be back. Glad you stay safe in the sun, definitely important for guys like you. I bet you you just use the razor to kill those few remaining Prince William-like hairs in the middle of your head — I know you love showing off the horseshoe! And good for you.
You’ve got that right! I love that ‘horseshoe’ and I love showing it off. But I’m looking forward to the day when tweezing and ‘razoring’ will be a thing of the past. By the way, ‘razoring’ doesn’t kill off those pesky remaining hairs, but tweezing will probably do the job, as it pulls the hairs out by the root and stresses the follicles. That’s the whole idea: to weaken and eventually kill off the hair follicles. In the meantime, if I’m not careful, the razor can leave my scalp feeling a bit raw, but ironically, tweezing does not hurt a bit. I guess it’s because the roots of the few remaining hairs are now so shallow and weak, I can’t even feel the hairs being pulled out. It used to be I had to tweeze and razor once a week. Now it’s only once a month. As much as I love my ‘horseshoe’, I still have too much of it. For me, less is more: less horseshoe hair, more smooth shiny bald. Norwood 7 can’t come soon enough for me. For now, Norwood 6+ looks and feels great and I AM still balding … slowly. A few days ago I got a long delayed haircut. I will never go two months without a haircut again. It’s incredible how wonderful it looks with my ‘horseshoe’ hair trimmed to 1/4 – 1/2 inch length. Not only that, when my wife saw my haircut I was rewarded with multiple kisses on top of my head … and elsewhere. What a turn-on!
The barber who cut my hair told me that her husband has been Norwood 7 bald for 30 years and she loves it. She said now her 25 year old is beginning to go bald and he is a bit upset. I told her to tell him how lucky he is to be going bald in his mid 20s. I told her that I envy him. I had to wait until my mid 50s to go bald. She said she is trying to talk him into just letting himself go bald. I hope he listens to his mom.
How close are researchers to a ‘cure’ for male pattern baldness? No, I’m NOT interested in a ‘cure’, but last night I had a dream that they had found that ‘cure’ and that it didn’t just prevent baldness, but also regrew hair on guys like me. It wasn’t a happy dream, as I don’t want to regrow my hair, but in my dream everyone kept asking me why I hadn’t taken the ‘cure’. I was evasive, not wanting to admit to everyone that I love male pattern baldness and was in no way interested in regrowing my hair. Finally I told everyone I love being bald and they all called me crazy. I was about to be forced into taking the ‘cure’ when I woke up from that bad dream. In that dream only my wife stood by me, wanting me to stay bald. Everyone else was trying force me to conform and regrow a full head of hair.
It’s funny, one man’s delightful dream is another man’s dreadful nightmare. For most other guys out there going bald would be a nightmare. For me it was a delightful dream come true. For most bald guys regrowing their hair would be a dream come true, but for me that would be a nightmare. It is all a matter of perspective. That said, having a loving, supportive wife makes a huge difference. At least once a day she kisses me on top of my bald head. When she looks at me in the eyes she smiles, but when she looks up at my shiny bald head she smiles ‘ear to ear’ and then hugs me. She tells me how much she loves me and how happy she is that I went bald. She knows how much I love it and likes to remind me how much she loves is too. When we look at old photos from before I went MPB my wife tells me how much better I look now that I’m bald. But I was young back then. You know what? I would rather be old and bald than young with a full head of hair. That said, I would rather be young AND bald. If only I had gone bald back in my late 20s …
Yes, I think the loving wife was the difference in your case, what allowed you to desire for MPB instead of dread it! Also your age. MPB is normal at 50, not so normal at 20! I think most men who aren’t married fear their “stock” will go down as a result of being the bald guy — that it will limit their options and make them less desirable mates. And honestly, I believe there’s an element of truth to this. Some women in their 20s especially do judge men negatively for being bald and potentially regard them as less suitable mates, in my opinion and I believe studies back this up. I don’t believe a cure is imminent but there are some promising treatments/approaches on the horizon, one of which is known as hair cloning. Will hopefully do a write-up on that soon.
It made all the difference. When my wife told me she loved MPB and was thrilled that I was going bald, I relaxed, let go of my fears and enjoyed my transformation to bald. The fact that it happened so fast only enhanced the enjoyment. I had wanted it for so long that I felt euphoric when it finally happened. Ever since early childhood when I realized that I wanted to go bald I was keenly aware of all the negative attitude about MPB. In high school and college I knew that most young women viewed baldness negatively. I also believed most young women were ‘shallow’ … as were most ’20 something’ men. The young ladies felt as negatively about MPB as young guys like us felt about flat chested girls. Yet, our most bald (baldest) classmate was dating one of the most attractive girls on campus. Go figure! So I figured out that there was hope. There were girls out there who not only tolerated MPB, but actually preferred it. I lucked out when I married my wife, although I wouldn’t realize it until that fateful day when I told her I was going bald. Not that it would have made a difference. After all, I didn’t choose when I would go bald. Actually, I had no choice in the matter. Going bald in my 50s was programmed into my DNA at conception. Thankfully, so was the urgent desire to go bald. The fact that I had to wait until my 50s only made it more thrilling and more enjoyable when it finally happened.
I now wonder how I would have handled it if I had been one of the minority of men who never lose their hair, like my dad. When he passed away at age 76 he still had a full head of hair. I was afraid that I would inherit that trait. Such irony! I was afraid of a trait most men fervently wish for. None of my brothers show any sign of MPB and they are grateful. At family gatherings when the subject comes up, they commiserate with me, believing I hate being bald. Little do they know I actually LOVE it. I tell them I don’t mind it and if my wife is present, she tells them she loves it. They don’t believe her and say things like: “It is a good thing that love is blind.” For those who hate MPB I hope that someday a ‘cure’ is found. I also hope that someday they find a way to cause MPB in men who, like me, wish to go bald. Had I known my wife loved MPB when we were married I would not have hesitated to take that treatment to go MPB, had it been available. And I would have chosen to go bald exactly the way I did 20 years ago: the usual pattern of receding front, bald spot expanding at the crown and finally thinning out on top and of course fast, in less than two years. I thoroughly enjoyed going bald, the receding hair, the growing bald spot, the thinning top hair, the hair on my pillow and in the shower drain every morning, the teasing I got from family friends and work colleagues (oh, how I loved that and still do!). And now the contentment with my lot. The loving attention from my wife. And best of all, I am still balding slowly: tweezing and shaving away less and less thin fuzzy hairs that still stubbornly insist on growing. Those left-over hairs are almost invisible, but I can still feel them when I rub my hands across the top of my head. I am eagerly waiting for Norwood 7 … hopefully someday soon.
Further confirmation that my wife loves my MPB. This morning my wife showed me photos emailed to us of me playing with our one year old grandson this last weekend at a family fathers day gathering. She said her favorite shot was one with me holding my incredibly cute grandson and looking down at him. It showed the entire top of my bald head in all its shiny glory, including my entire hairline around my ‘horseshoe’ fringe. It was a gorgeous shot of perfect Norwood 6+ MPB up close. She said she loves it and is so glad I went bald. And yes, I got another one of her kisses on top of my head. I love that! Most photos of me show me wearing a hat. From now on I’ll make sure I’m not wearing a hat when photos are taken. It makes no sense to hide my best feature. Bald is beautiful!
Where is everyone? I feel very lonely commenting here on this site. Does anyone else ever visit this site? I guess male pattern baldness is so commonplace and normal no one cares to talk about it. And it has been many months since the last time I read or heard about any new ‘cures’ to male pattern baldness. Not that it matters, as I am definitely NOT looking for a ‘cure’. Oh well, there is only so much to be said about MPB and it doesn’t make sense to keep repeating myself. Suffice it to say that I LOVE male pattern baldness and am lucky it finally happened to me. If only it had happened in my 20s, or even in my teens. Oh, how I would have loved to have gone bald by the time I graduated from college! It happened to several of my college classmates and at the time I was insanely jealous of them.
We have been having a heat wave here. For many weeks it has been clear and sunny with temperatures in the 90s. But it has been extremely dry. Needless to say, I have had to wear my trusty baseball cap to prevent painful sunburn on top of my bald head. But it gets very hot under that hat! Fortunately, the places where I walk/jog have long stretches of shade (lots of tall shade trees). Today I decided to take off my hat when walking in shady areas and discovered another wonderful benefit of MPB. It was cool and breezy in the shade and the evaporative cooling across my bald head felt wonderful. I’ve read that we lose 40% of our heat off our heads. That’s if we have a full head of hair. For us lucky bald guys the heat loss if closer to 50%. The first thing I did as I removed my hat was I ran my hand back across the top of my head. It was an instinctive automatic response, as if still had that ugly old mop of long hair to push back and out of my face. Only to be reminded that all that useless ugly hair was now gone. For good!
It was a shocking reminder that I am now permanently bald. My reaction was “Yes! I’m bald! Thank God!” The cool breeze felt wonderful and I loved feeling the smooth hairless top of my head. I love running my hands across my bald head. And my wife loves kissing me on my bald head. She kisses me there at least once a day. But I also love the ‘horseshoe’ fringe of hair that reminds me that I have male pattern baldness and am not an unfortunate cancer patient after chemo or radiation. MPB is great, but other baldness, not so much …
About hats, make sure the hat you wear in warm sunny weather is made out of lightweight material that ‘breathes’ and allows heat to escape. Or be prepared to remove your hat in the shade, to cool off the top of your head. 🙂
For some reason my replies don’t seem to be going through.
Thanks for your inspiration. I too have always wanted to go bald, but was also afraid that people would think I’m crazy. Luckily for me, my hair loss began slowly in my 20s, progressing to a decent bald spot at the crown, and a full island up front by the time I was 30. I’m now 42, and almost a NW7. I too tweeze the few stragglers every few weeks, and I love the way my horseshoe looks.
I shaved my head for a couple years, and then off and on, but I honestly prefer the horseshoe. I only hope, since I did go so bald so early, that I don’t completely lose the rest of my hair. I’m already noticing quite a bit of receding at the neck, and thinning over my ears. I’m afraid of ending up with a couple thin patches of hair on the sides, and a bald strip all the way back.
Oh well, I’ll just continue to enjoy my MPB, while so many others give in to the peer pressure, shaving or looking for a “cure”.