How to Look Good Bald: 5 Tips

Spotting a few too many stray hairs on your pillow or noticing early signs of balding in the mirror can send you into panic mode. But losing your hair doesn’t have to mean losing your confidence.  Knowing how to look good bald can turn what feels like a setback into a powerful style statement. 

From Jude Law to Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, or Dwayne Johnson (AKA The Rock), many men have proven that a full head of hair isn’t the only way to look your best.

Read on to discover how to style balding hair, plus some hair loss treatment options if you decide the bald look isn’t for you.

One of the easiest, most effective ways to improve your appearance while you’re losing hair is to choose a hairstyle that matches your hairline. 

Some hairstyles can make hair loss obvious, helping to minimize the appearance of balding — even if you have noticeable hair loss at your crown or along your hairline. 

It’s generally best to keep your hair short if you have noticeable hair loss. 

The longer your hair, the more obvious a balding crown or an M-shaped receding hairline will be. You don’t necessarily need to opt for a full buzz cut, but shorter hair can help disguise hair thinning. 

Here are a few hairstyles to consider:

• Crew Cut. This is a good choice if you’re starting to lose hair along your hairline. It’s short on the sides but a little longer on the top, and can minimize the appearance of a widow’s peak or hair loss at the temples. It’s also shorter at the back than the front, helping to hide thinning around your crown.

• Ivy League Crew Cut. This variation of the crew cut is a little longer all-round, particularly at the front. If you only have a mild receding hairline, this hairstyle gives you a little more flexibility when it comes to parting your hair.

• Regulation Cut. This cut is short on the sides and longer on top, with your hair combed sideways into a part that makes use of your natural hairline.

• Buzz Cut. If you have a receding hairline or thinning across your scalp, the classic buzz cut is an option worth considering. It’s easy to maintain and draws attention away from your hairline and towards your face. Pair with some facial hair — a topic we’ve covered in more detail below — and a buzz cut can make hair loss much less obvious.

• Caesar Cut. This short and simple men’s haircut is short in the back, front, and sides, with a fringe that you can wear forward to conceal hair loss at your temples and hairline.

• Fauxhawk. If you’re losing hair around your temples, styling your hair into a fauxhawk is a good way to focus people’s attention on the volume in the center of your scalp and draw attention away from your temples. 

Whichever style you choose, make sure to get your hair trimmed regularly. The more your hair grows out, the more obvious a receding hairline or thinning around your crown will be, especially if you have dark hair and a light skin tone.

Since everyone’s hair and face is slightly different, there’s no universal “best” haircut for making hair loss less obvious. If you’re starting to lose your hair, try experimenting with different cuts to see which best complements your hairline and facial shape.

You may know that male pattern baldness is caused by a hormone called dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. 

Ironically, the exact same hormone that’s responsible for hair loss is also partly responsible for the growth of your facial and body hair.

If you’re starting to go bald, an easy way to add some extra balance to your face is to grow out your facial hair.

Not only can a beard give your appearance some extra character — it’s also an effective way to compensate for thinning around your hairline or on your scalp.

As we’ve covered in our guide to growing a beard to match your facial features, the golden rule of growing a beard is that it needs to complement your face. 

This means choosing a beard style that emphasizes the shape and width of your face, the type of chin you have and other factors. 

If you’re not the beard type, consider rocking a little designer stubble as a replacement for a full head of hair. Not only is year-round stubble easy to maintain with a trimmer, but research shows that women tend to rate it as the most attractive type of facial hair for men. 

At some point, men experiencing hair loss wonder, should I cut my hair if I'm balding? For some it can come as a great relief.

If you already have moderate to severe hair loss, or if the idea of using medication to treat your hair loss isn’t appealing to you, an option worth considering is to completely own your hair loss by shaving your head. 

Shaving your head has several benefits. First, it’s incredibly easy to maintain. Instead of having to visit the salon to get a haircut, shaving your head is an easy, straightforward process that you can do at home by yourself.

It’s also extremely cost-effective. Instead of paying $20 to $50 or more to have your hair cut by a professional, the only costs involved in shaving are the amount you’ll need to pay every now and then for shaving cream and a razor.

From a styling perspective, shaving your head is also as simple as it gets. Instead of having to spend time washing, drying and styling your hair every day, you can simply get out of bed and start your day, all without your hair looking like you’ve just gotten out of bed. 

Now, shaving your head isn’t for everyone. Simple things like the shape of your head, which aren’t an issue when you have hair, can become more obvious when your head is shaven. 

If you’re used to how you look with hair, there’s also the possibility that you may not feel totally comfortable with how you look without it. 

However, shaving your head is an option worth considering, especially if you have severe hair loss and would prefer not to use medication or undergo a hair transplant to reverse the effects of baldness. 

Just like it’s important to maintain your hair, it’s important to maintain your scalp if you opt for the clean-shaven look. 

This means taking care of your scalp and protecting it from issues like cuts and scratches, razor burn, dandruff, sun damage and irritation. 

The best time to shave your scalp is right after you shower, as the warm water from the shower will hydrate your skin. Washing your scalp in the shower also helps to strip away any dead skin cells and oils that can stick to your razor blade and make it less effective.

Before you shave your head, make sure to apply shaving gel or foam to your scalp to soften the hair and improve the glide of your razor. These steps can help to lower your risk of cutting your skin while shaving — something that can produce unsightly nicks and scratches. 

To avoid developing razor burn or ingrown hairs, make sure that you shave in the direction that your hair grows.

If you notice dandruff on your scalp (yes, it can happen even when you shave your head), apply a small amount of moisturizer to your scalp immediately after washing. Some men also use skincare on their scalp to help keep acne at bay.

When you shave your head, the skin on your scalp is highly exposed to the sun. Over time, this can cause solar lentigines (age spots) and other common signs of skin aging to develop. It can also increase your risk of developing skin cancer.

You can protect your scalp from UV damage and its effects by wearing a hat or using sunscreen whenever you spend time outdoors. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends SPF 30+, broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen for optimal protection.

So make sure to invest in some scalp sunscreen if you decide to go this route.

Arguably the easiest, most effective way to look good while you’re balding is to prevent hair loss from getting worse. 

Even if you are genetically predisposed to male pattern baldness, using the right treatments can help you to slow down, stop, or even reverse your hair loss.

Currently, the most effective hair loss treatment options are the medications finasteride and minoxidil. 

Finasteride

Finasteride is an oral prescription medication for hair loss. It works by reducing your production of dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, the androgen hormone that can damage your hair follicles and lead to hair loss.

Numerous studies have found that finasteride is effective at preventing and reversing hair loss in men. In one large-scale study published in 1998, researchers found that finasteride not only slowed down the progression of hair loss in men, but that it also stimulated hair regrowth.

Another large-scale study found that finasteride stopped hair loss in 99.1 percent of men prone to baldness and caused improvements in hair growth in 91.5 percent.

We offer finasteride online, following a consultation with a healthcare provider who will determine if a prescription is appropriate.

Minoxidil

Minoxidil is a topical medication that you apply directly to your scalp. It works by shortening your hair’s resting phase, causing it to enter the growth phase of its life cycle early. Several studies have found that it’s an effective treatment for hair loss caused by male pattern baldness.

Unlike finasteride, minoxidil doesn’t affect your hormones. Instead, it works to prevent hair loss at the scalp level. 

If you’re starting to lose your hair, using minoxidil can help you to maintain the hair you still have and potentially regrow hair in areas of your scalp with noticeable hair loss.

We offer minoxidil online, either on its own or with finasteride and other hair loss products in our Hair Power Pack. Oral minoxidil is also sometimes available off-label with a prescription.

Hair Transplant Surgery

If you have moderate hair loss and want to avoid going completely bald, hair transplant surgery is an option that you may want to consider. 

This type of procedure involves removing DHT-resistant hair follicles from the back and sides of your head, then moving them to areas of your scalp that are affected by hair loss, such as your hairline or crown.

If you’re entering your 20s, 30s or 40s, it’s far from uncommon to notice some changes in your hairline. 

Losing your hair doesn’t have to mean game over for your confidence. From cutting your hair short to simply owning your hair loss and shaving your head, you can find ways to look your best even if your hair is starting to thin. 

Noticing the signs of male pattern baldness and want to take action to protect your hair? Start a hair loss consultation today!