Ive Given Up

[Guest]

A man wearing makeup isn't socially acceptable anywhere I've been. Where do you guys live?

no, i think what ccs is saying that the reasons for a man wearing a wig is no different from a woman wearing makeup. The woman wears makeup to cover up blemishes, while the man wears makeup to cover up his baldness. Both are "flaws".

I figured, but it doesn't really matter when discussing what women expect out of men. I was just pointing out that while women like a man who cares how he looks, they aren't going to see a guy who wears a wig as caring how he looks.

well that's their problem. american women are too demanding as a whole.

 

[Aplunk1]

well that's their problem. american women are too demanding as a whole.

f*** yeah...

And their vaginas smell.


But, at least I'm getting sump-sumpin'...

I'm drunk.

 

[CCS]

A man wearing makeup isn't socially acceptable anywhere I've been. Where do you guys live?

no, i think what ccs is saying that the reasons for a man wearing a wig is no different from a woman wearing makeup. The woman wears makeup to cover up blemishes, while the man wears makeup to cover up his baldness. Both are "flaws".

I figured, but it doesn't really matter when discussing what women expect out of men. I was just pointing out that while women like a man who cares how he looks, they aren't going to see a guy who wears a wig as caring how he looks.

well that's their problem. american women are too demanding as a whole.

I think men prefer women who don't wear makeup, but are naturally good looking, so it is kind of fair there. Either way, most women don't turn you down for your "insecurity" as much as for how you look. If you have a wig, of course you won't do as well as a guy with hair, but I think you'll still do better than a bald guy without the wig, unless he has a good shaped head.

 

[s.a.f]

I would'nt be so sure, if a women knew that you were wearing a wig it would be off putting even if that wig made you look good. Wigs are associated with another era. Todays generation of men are just supposed to shave it off if they are balding. The likes of Bruce Willis, Vin Deisel, Agassi etc are todays role models for balding men. I'd bet if you asked any young women they would say the same.
As far as using cosmetics its not the same for both men and women the rules are different. The use of cosmetics to improve your appearance be it make up false nails, hair dyes, leg waxes and wigs is perfectly acceptable for a woman, its feminine!
But for a man anything other than basic hygene cosmetics eg toothpaste, deoderant, aftershave is considered un manly and a sign of insecurity. Styling your hair with products eg wax or gel is about the limit. Doing anything beyond this even using fake tan is generaly considered a bit poncey.


Any female posters out there that would like to comment? Alternativly college ask your sister what she thinks about a guy wearing a wig?

 

[Thin Jim]

In my opinion and from experience with some of my friends, bald guys or guys with shaved heads get made fun of all the time, much more than any guy spotted with a hairpiece. People if they found out you had a wig on would initially be quite hard on you, but I think they would quickly forget it as long as it looks good. Take Elton John for instance, he admits to wearing a wig but these days he looks great and people are even jealous of his hair.

However one of my friends is completely bald and even total strangers will make fun of him. It really is relentless when you have a shaved head and I feel sorry for him with the amount of abuse he has to take. If your gonna shave your head you gotta be prepared to put up with the jokes for the rest of your life. That for me is something I cannot put up with and why I have chose to go with the hairpiece. They look great, are 99.9% undetectable, and if you buy them from online companies they are also cheap. I cannot imagine spending more money in year on hairpieces than I would with my current treatments (maybe around 1000 dollars a year).

Now when my order comes through I am thinking of cutting them into partials so it only covers the front third of my head where the thinning is worst. Then I will keep on taking finasteride or maybe switch to dutasteride in order to keep the crown. My crown whilst on treatments has definitely not got any worse so I don't really wanna shave that area unless I really have to. But the front is real bad at the moment.

My point is with a hairpiece as long as it looks good I will have double the confidence I have at the moment, will save probably 8 hours a week I would normally be trying to cover up my hair loss, go out a lot more than I do now, and generally be a much happier person. With a shaved head I will just be highlighting the fact that I have gone bald, and be opening the gates for a lifetime of ridicule and unhappiness. Even though I would have shaved it, it still doesn't mean I would have accepted it. I will still be miserable, reclusive, have no confindence, and in all honesty I will stand a lot less chance of getting good looking girls. It tough to say it but hair loss is a big turn off to most women and there is no point in trying to kid ourselves. We need hair to look our best and I am determined to get mine back.

 

[TheGlamorous]

Any female posters out there that would like to comment? Alternativly college ask your sister what she thinks about a guy wearing a wig?

The other week when I was pissed off about my hair and thinking about shaving it, my grandma told me just to get a wig. Somehow for some reason, she reckons it's perfectly acceptable for me to wear a wig but a heinous crime to shave my head and forget about it because "you'll look like a hooligan".

LOLS.

 

[Thin Jim]

Wearing a wig these days in my opinion is very socially acceptable, it makes sense. I think us men have a big misconception of wigs and I don't think women really care as much as we think they do. In all honesty I think a lot of women would rather their boyfriends wore wigs than shaved their heads, its nothing to be ashamed of. Whats wrong in trying to solve a problem that is beyond your control.

Its not just about attracting women though, having a shaved head holds you back in a lot of ways. You are less likely to get a job over a guy with good hair, people will mistrust you a lot more, less people will come and talk to you fearing you are a thug, even things like your head gets real cold in winter. Its not because your not a nice person, but because of the stereotypes that go with shaved heads.

I think people shouldn't opt so easily to shave their heads when there are alternatives. It should always be in my opinion the very last resort. Why not try a hairpiece and if you don't like it then you can shave it. Its never too late, but it is to try hairpieces cause you cant go from a shaved head to a wig, its just too obvious.

 

[s.a.f]

Your grandma's views will probably be different from that of a modern woman in her twenties. Being able to have the confidence to just shave it rather than try to disguise it is a bold* statment. If you can carry the shaved look with confidence nobody will make fun of you.
I know a few guys who are nw1's but choose to shave it with a razor!? The shaved look is much more acceptable now especialy as you see it on many sports stars.
But I can see that you've made your choice and wish you all the best of luck with it.

*No pun intended.

 

[Guest]

thin jim, i can't wait to see your pics of you wearing your hairpiece. you can black your face out if you want, but i want to see how authentic it looks and if we can tell that it's fake. take pics from many different angles.

thanks.

 

[Ramboner]

ya Thin Jim I also respect how you have made your choice but having a shaved head isn't creepy at all. It's just frustrating when you are more or less forced to do it. Don't think that someone is getting a job over you because he has more hair. That is ridiculous. If you were hiring somebody to work for you, would u give a sh*t if he had hair or not? IMO it's just a matter of loving yourself for who you are. But if hairloss makes you think less of yourself then I think you've solved the problem with the hair piece.

 

[ceee]

guys with shaved heads get made fun of all the time, much more than any guy spotted with a hairpiece.

The only comments I've heard since I started shaving were meaningless jokes from friends (are they casting American History X II? you lose a bet? etc) The same type of ball breaking that took place with a full head of hair. If I started wearing a wig, I bet most of them would quit talking to me, not that I'd blame them.

As long as you're fooling people with a wig, you're fooling them and I suppose you have the leg up on the shavers. However, to say that a known rugwearer catches less crap than somebody who just bic'd it is absolutely, positively, 100% false.

I guess it comes down to attitude. I project the same thing with a shaved head as I did with hair going down to my shoulders, if anything I'm more confident because I'm happy I had the balls to say f it to societal standard. In my month of hairlessness I'm seriously starting to believe that the only ones who really care about hairloss are the people suffering from it. All this horseshit about a shaved head holding you back in jobs and with women is just that, horseshit. It certainly hasn't affected me in any area of life, women included.

 

[Guest]

good for you ceee. that takes balls to just shave it off like that and show the shadow. how often do you shave it? what norwood are you?

 

[ceee]

good for you ceee. that takes balls to just shave it off like that and show the shadow. how often do you shave it? what norwood are you?

When I first buzzed it all off it looked a lot like yours did in your "i buzzed it off" thread, only the thinning was more widespread, especially at back. Probably a little worse too. My hairline is still decent. I shave it twice a week. The only part I dislike about it is that I'm constantly messing up the back of my head, I need to MacGyver up some mirrors or something.

I'm not unhappy with a bald head, but I'd still prefer to have hair. It's nice to know I won't have to kill myself if I don't respond to minoxidil/revivogen, though.

 

[Guest]

good for you ceee. that takes balls to just shave it off like that and show the shadow. how often do you shave it? what norwood are you?

When I first buzzed it all off it looked a lot like yours did in your "i buzzed it off" thread, only the thinning was more widespread, especially at back. Probably a little worse too. My hairline is still decent. I shave it twice a week. The only part I dislike about it is that I'm constantly messing up the back of my head, I need to MacGyver up some mirrors or something.

I'm not unhappy with a bald head, but I'd still prefer to have hair. It's nice to know I won't have to kill myself if I don't respond to minoxidil/revivogen, though.

are you diffuse like i am? i mean you can do what you want but if you were still early stage than i am i don't know why you decided that you had to shave it entirely with a razor. i don't think i'd start doing that regularly until I hit NW4 at least.

it's nice to have it buzzed to 1/2 inch though because then the hair is what it is. when it's longer you don't have to worry about wind or rain messing it up and exposing scalp.

 

[ceee]

My hair loss wasn't noticeable at all when I first noticed it. I took it down because it became apparent that it was going to be near impossible to get topicals onto my scalp with all that mess up there. Also, so much was falling out that I'd get all pissed off in the shower.

When I had it down to about a 3/4 inch it looked horrific. I had hair on top but so little that under any light or sun it would reflect brightly and you really couldn't tell there was hair up there. So I kept taking it down, and eventually found a point where I didn't notice it (shaved).

 

[Thin Jim]

Hey i'm not saying it holds everyone back but it certainly can, I have seen it in some of my friends. There is definitely a stereotype attached to guys with shaved heads and it is not a positive one. I'm sorry but you are wrong about guys with shaved heads not catching the worst of the insults. I'm not talking about guys who are norwood 1s and shave, but guys who obviously shave it because they are going bald. I see what my friends go through and I really couldn't take it. If you can carry yourself in a positive way and can live with it that's great, but I cant. I have tried shaving my head and was horrified with how badly I looked. Getting a hairpiece is not ideal and I wish it had not come down to this, but I really have no choice anymore.

Either way be it a wig, shaving, concealer, or transplant you are still trying to cover up the fact you are loosing hair, there is no difference. A hairpiece can give you back a full, totally natural looking head of hair. Why should we be forced to shave our heads when we know how much better we can look with hair. Why should we let society determine what we have to do when faced with a problem like hair loss. Hey if you want to shave you head then shave it, but my advice is to make 100% sure that you can be happy with it. If you think you look better with hair which applies to probably 95%, and will have a happier life with hair (even if you would be 5% happier) then I see no reason why you should have to shave it. Dont settle for being a skinhead your whole life if you do not want to!!

 

[Guest]

Thin Jim,

will you take pics for us of your system with you wearing it? you can black out your face.

also, i think most everyone looks better with hair.

 

[ceee]

Hey i'm not saying it holds everyone back but it certainly can, I have seen it in some of my friends. There is definitely a stereotype attached to guys with shaved heads and it is not a positive one. I'm sorry but you are wrong about guys with shaved heads not catching the worst of the insults. I'm not talking about guys who are norwood 1s and shave, but guys who obviously shave it because they are going bald. I see what my friends go through and I really couldn't take it. If you can carry yourself in a positive way and can live with it that's great, but I cant. I have tried shaving my head and was horrified with how badly I looked. Getting a hairpiece is not ideal and I wish it had not come down to this, but I really have no choice anymore.

Either way be it a wig, shaving, concealer, or transplant you are still trying to cover up the fact you are loosing hair, there is no difference. A hairpiece can give you back a full, totally natural looking head of hair. Why should we be forced to shave our heads when we know how much better we can look with hair. Why should we let society determine what we have to do when faced with a problem like hair loss. Hey if you want to shave you head then shave it, but my advice is to make 100% sure that you can be happy with it. If you think you look better with hair which applies to probably 95%, and will have a happier life with hair (even if you would be 5% happier) then I see no reason why you should have to shave it. Dont settle for being a skinhead your whole life if you do not want to!!

You know, maybe things are different in the UK than they are in America. A culture thing, perhaps.

 

[Thin Jim]

I will try Jayman, never done that sort of thing before though. However if I do you have to be totally honest and not just lay into me cause your are against hairpieces.

 

[Thin Jim]

Cee you may be right. I think a big problem for guys from the UK is that we all have very pale complexions as well (doesn't really go too well with a shaved head). People over here are very judgmental and opinionated by nature, they always like to have a laugh at someone else's expense, and a bald guy is a perfect target. But over here the bald guys are also out to expose the balding guys. My friend will almost always comment on a guys hair if he thinks they are loosing it, "hes receding", or "hes got an island". Its like they are trying to take revenge for their own baldness. Baldness is not accepted here as I imagine it might be in the states.