Middle Aged Beloved Comedian "just Shaved It Br0!"

[Rudiger]

54 year old British comedian and panel show regular Sean Lock has been at crisis level Norwood with diffuse for as long as I can remember him, for probably way over a decade he's looked like this:

Tonight I happened to be watching a very popular UK panel show for the first time in a while. Of course I noticed even from the panning shots that his ever thinning hair has now gone completely, and even as a guy who hates balding, I really had to look at him and think:

"well, it's not like he's 25 and 6/10 ruining his chances of happiness, it possibly still pains him but I don't think it's severely affecting his life. It must have happened a while ago and probably nobody cares"

So basically I thought, it's not really a big deal.

But I would be wrong! As firstly, this seems to be his first televised appearance as a "bald" guy (because apparently he wasn't before I guess?!) and he was notably bald shamed within seconds. Which actually I think he genuinely brought on himself, it kind of pains me to see, but I guess that's his choice. I've always said that there's a rare breed of incredibly impressionable people who can pull off self-deprecation in balding, and him being a charismatic professional comedian, of course he can bring it up and swipe it away as a topic. Most people of course just look pathetic.

Anyway, I was definitely wrong on a second front- people definitely DO care. Even a much beloved popular comedian here (and I dislike most comedians desperate approach to humour but I love Sean Lock's dry casual wit) who has 98k Twitter followers despite only posting 2 tweets, the last being in 2013, even as a guy who's f*****g 54 years old, practically bald anyway, and not at all reliant on his looks, will get ripped to shreds by those who love him. They almost feel betrayed.

These are the same people who look at shitty receding diffused hair and go "What's his problem? Just get rid and own it! Girls will still love him if he wasn't so lazy and becomes gymcel badass!"

So what happens when you do own it?

TRIGGER WARNING: TWITTER HATES YOUR HAIR

-Sean Lock with his own team mate who mocked the new baldite Sean, referring to him as an "ancient Simon Pegg".

♔Kelsey♔‏ @KelseyMichele97
Why does Sean Lock look like he's just come out of prison ?? #CatsCountdown

Sam Nelson‏ @SamNello31 1h1 hour ago
What has Sean Lock done to his hair

rob crypt‏ @robcryptx 1h1 hour ago
has sean lock recently undertaken a side career selling meth?

Meurig‏ @MeuPar 28m28 minutes ago
Sean Lock now looks like a sh*t Heisenberg.

Mathew Roberts‏ @MathewJohn92 30m30 minutes ago
What's happened to Sean Lock?

Michael‏ @m_mason238 32m32 minutes ago
Bloody hell, Sean Lock looks like he's aged 20-30 years with that haircut

Neil McCole‏ @Kaiser8McCole 22m22 minutes ago
Is Sean Lock ill? Looks a bit like Heisenberg now

deano‏ @connections1111 23m23 minutes ago
Sean Lock on cats do countdown looks proper nonce . What's the fucks gone wrong there .

James T Ralph‏ @jtr1975 24m24 minutes ago
@8Outof10Cats_TV Sean Lock made me really laugh tonight or was it Simon Pegg in disguise. Where has his hair gone?

Ste‏ @hawki100 24m24 minutes ago
Is sean lock unwell? #8outof10catsdoescountdown

Jordan McWilton‏ @Jord_mac 17m17 minutes ago
Sean lock looks like a crackhead now

Craig Wilson‏ @uexpectme2talk 15m15 minutes ago
Watching 8 out of 10 cats do countdown. Has sean lock been ill?

Rachel Winter‏ @profpieface 12m12 minutes ago
Haha, Vic Reeves just said that Sean Lock looks like 'an ancient Simon Pegg'.

Karen‏ @Rebel_Mellow 1h1 hour ago
I demand to know what's going on with Sean Lock. I'm slightly desensitised to celeb-deaths nowadays, but I like that mad f***.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That was tough, I think we all feel it.

I will add out of the 50 or so tweets I saw, about 20 of them simply referred to him as Walter White, which is arguably harmless really. But most referred to it in shock, horror, or plain mocking, and only a handful of tweets simply said "Good to have Sean Lock back on TV!" and were neutral. Absolutely everyone else resorted to talking about his lack of hair.

My favourites/the worst, were the one's who genuinely think he's ill, and that one woman who seems to think he's dead?! What the f***. And the guy who referred to him as "proper nonce" which is slang for a paedophile, of course.

But also the people who are like "Where's the hair gone?" "Why's he done that then?" - Keep in mind it's not even slick bald and bic'd, he just simply diffused beyond the point of being able to grow it, and now is buzzing it very short which is pretty much as dignified as a middle-aged guy can go.

It's frustrating on many levels but those who think he's actually ill are only a minority and are genuinely idiots, they can be disregarded as real people.

But really what I find the most frustrating are those who appear to be normal people and reacting like they don't understand just why a 54 year old guy with barely any hair would "decide" to simply cut it short, as if he had the option to continue giving the impression of hair forever, and now he just decides to look like an ill meth dealing paedophile.

Anyway, every cloud has a silver lining, and for a coper diffuse "mature hairline" guy like me entering my 30's, I take the following from this (are you listening @zircon @buckthorn ?)

I find it absolutely astonishing that once again, a guy with any form of impressionable fringe on his head, is regarded as having hair. Even Sean Lock who was possibly NW4 and a tiny island on front, huge forehead, people are shocked and don't understand where all the hair has gone. Nobody saw it coming, nobody gets it, in their eyes he was an older guy with hair, and that was that. They didn't examine the lack of it, and the fact it was going, and now react like he just woke up one day and decided he's suddenly going to shave his hair off for no reason whatsoever. Amazing.

My point being, hold on to every last follicle no matter how tiresome and emotionally exhausting it may be. And that includes guys in their 20's who think they're at endgame, just as I did when I started minoxidil in my mid 20's, and believe me I thought I was fucked way before then.

But I am still for now surviving without a hair transplant, and while no doubt I am sure people notice I have hair issues (I am a bit younger looking facially which means it's possibly more noticeable) I still survive as a guy "with hair", and as a status symbol there's practically no in-betweens. You either have hair, or you don't. For most of society they don't understand thinning or lack thereof.

I've been accused of my "coping" as this topic of "mature hairlines" admittedly strikes a nerve and affects me, and I'm open to the idea that I am coping and I don't blame anyone for thinking so.

However I do regularly see examples such as this, of older guys (normally not as old as mid-50's but 30's or early 40's) who are regarded generally as a guy with hair. And to me that's really everything, as many on here always say, just something, anything, to frame the face.

It may be horrendous to look at in the mirror, in pictures, but if you can manage to keep shitty hair (poor hairline, diffuse, etc.) into your older years, people are luckily still stupid enough to think you have hair.

I'm also going to end this on a positive note as I updated Twitter before finishing writing, and saw the first normal, sensible tweet with regards to Lock's hair. Of course his opinion was not taken kindly among his hysterical peers.

Will Hickman‏ @WillHickman7 7m7 minutes ago
Listened to a few theories on why Sean Lock has less hair. My suggestion of 'he's had a haircut' was received with snorts of derision

 

[kj6723]

One time in my early 20's when I shaved my head, this girl I knew expressed serious resentment towards me for it. Asked "Why did you shave your head!?" with a resentful look on her face, and acted all disgusted towards me that day, like I'd wronged her. I wasn't dating her or hooking up with her or anything. It was this weird aversion towards me removing my hair even though it had nothing to do with her and no affect on her whatsoever

As far as people not being Norwood spotters and not noticing varying levels of baldness...for the most part I agree, however, if you happen to be in a group with that rare norwood spotter, once they start pointing out early levels of norwooding, everyone in the group will become a norwood spotter. I.e. the illusion is over. I was unfortunate enough to have such a group of friends when my hair loss was at its worst. Thankfully I got away, got on meds, and am passing off as a fullhead guy with the people in my life currently

 

[Rudiger]

As far as people not being Norwood spotters and not noticing varying levels of baldness...for the most part I agree, however, if you happen to be in a group with that rare norwood spotter, once they start pointing out early levels of norwooding, everyone in the group will become a norwood spotter. I.e. the illusion is over. I was unfortunate enough to have such a group of friends when my hair loss was at its worst. Thankfully I got away, got on meds, and am passing off as a fullhead guy with the people in my life currently

Oh don't get me wrong, people will still notice recession and a balding crown, but the overall image of you as either a bald guy or a guy with hair, the importance of that is everything.

But regardless that part is relative only to guys who escape their 20's still being NW3 at most, and I'm guessing your group was younger than mid-20's which is way younger than the age I'm talking about. And what I'm saying for younger members than myself is to hold on for that chance of getting towards middle age and having that "mature hairline" illusion.

I don't know who else can vouch for me on here with personal experience, there actually aren't many on here around my age, I wonder what @Wolfpack may think actually before his hair transplant, but while hair loss is still obvious when you get to a certain age in late 20's it does get more expected that your hair won't be flawless NW1.

 

[kj6723]

Oh don't get me wrong, people will still notice recession and a balding crown, but the overall image of you as either a bald guy or a guy with hair, the importance of that is everything.

But regardless that part is relative only to guys who escape their 20's still being NW3 at most, and I'm guessing your group was younger than mid-20's which is way younger than the age I'm talking about. And what I'm saying for younger members than myself is to hold on for that chance of getting towards middle age and having that "mature hairline" illusion.

I don't know who else can vouch for me on here with personal experience, there actually aren't many on here around my age, I wonder what @Wolfpack may think actually before his hair transplant, but while hair loss is still obvious when you get to a certain age in late 20's it does get more expected that your hair won't be flawless NW1.

How old are you? I'm about to turn 29 but many of the people I associate with are early 20's, probably why I feel so much pressure to maintain as close to a pristine hairline as I can get

 

[Rudiger]

How old are you? I'm about to turn 29 but many of the people I associate with are early 20's, probably why I feel so much pressure to maintain as close to a pristine hairline as I can get

Sorry, why did I think you were 25? I think this has happened before.

I'm 30. I do have a few much younger friends like yourself but I just sort of pass between them or see them on nights out, but most of my friends are in the 25-28 range now. Nearly all have impeccable hairlines, and experiment with varying unimaginable hairstyle luxuries like shaving down the temples to stubble and grow out the fringe, etc. Exposing their wonderful genetics.

Christ, not a f*****g chance could I compare myself to the early 20's friends I know. Even the worst hairlines are dense NW1.2's.

 

[Baldingat188]

Even though these comments were probably cherry picked ... pretty depressing man.

I agree about the being seen as having hair or being bald - however when you are young I think the distinction is between balding or not balding. Even just a bald spot on the crown or something of that nature will draw attention of people , where as a 50 year old with the same bald spot will be cast off as a full head. So ages plays into this a lot to I think.

 

[Rudiger]

Even though these comments were probably cherry picked ... pretty depressing man.

I did explain this for transparency:

I will add out of the 50 or so tweets I saw, about 20 of them simply referred to him as Walter White, which is arguably harmless really. But most referred to it in shock, horror, or plain mocking, and only a handful of tweets simply said "Good to have Sean Lock back on TV!" and were neutral. Absolutely everyone else resorted to talking about his lack of hair.

You can twitter search "Sean Lock" right now if you want, I did of course cherry pick the worst of them but that was almost a majority of them! I actually left out quite a few that were of the same sentiment.

The initial twitter reaction is what made me write this topic, at least half of people who wrote about it were negative or disappointed at his appearance, and I gave a neutral balance of what that represented.

I agree about the being seen as having hair or being bald - however when you are young I think the distinction is between balding or not balding. Even just a bald spot on the crown or something of that nature will draw attention of people , where as a 50 year old with the same bald spot will be cast off as a full head. So ages plays into this a lot to I think.

This was the point of the topic. Hold on for dear life. So there's no "however", I completely agree with you.

It's incredible that diffuse NW4ish Sean Lock has been regarded as a full head because of his age, even though he was clearly in severe trouble.

I'll give you a related thread of mine that explains the difference between a 22 year old and a 28 year old with similar hairlines, and I'd even argue similar aesthetic age, and how the media and society reacts because they simply know the age of the person.

https://www.hairlosstalk.com/intera...th-vs-danny-willett-age-and-hair-loss.104783/

 

[rclark]

Look at JEFF ROSS. The Roast comedian used to have hair, which was thinning, like this (his hair is actually
very much like mine, a WHITE AFRO):

Then he shaved his head. It's funny, because he didn't seem to go bald until his forties. I've actually really
never saw anybody go bald that late in life.

Here he is now:

 

[blackg]

I like it when Rudiger starts a new topic.

 

[Rudiger]

I like it when Rudiger starts a new topic.

This was funny because it coincided with your new, fairly weird, signature.

I love you too.

 

[Endmymisery]

Sorry, why did I think you were 25? I think this has happened before.

I'm 30. I do have a few much younger friends like yourself but I just sort of pass between them or see them on nights out, but most of my friends are in the 25-28 range now. Nearly all have impeccable hairlines, and experiment with varying unimaginable hairstyle luxuries like shaving down the temples to stubble and grow out the fringe, etc. Exposing their wonderful genetics.

Christ, not a f*****g chance could I compare myself to the early 20's friends I know. Even the worst hairlines are dense NW1.2's.

I'm nw3 at age 20,with ALL my friends with amazing hair lines and all sorts of fancy hairstyles
Everyday is misery, especially when I'm with them.

 

[Endmymisery]

Try being Norwood 4 at age 25 and ugly, to boot. I get humiliated constantly on an almost daily basis and are forced to live like a recluse and have no social life.

From what it looks like, I'll be nw6 by age 25 mate. I'm following the same pattern as my mom's brother's and they went bald young.

 

[Dante92]

From what it looks like, I'll be nw6 by age 25 mate. I'm following the same pattern as my mom's brother's and they went bald young.

I am not even responding to treatments, I hope you are.

 

[Endmymisery]

I am not even responding to treatments, I hope you are.

I have my finasteride tablets ready but I'm too afraid to give it a go... Sigh, the thought of losing more hair on it or being fucked for life with the side effects is scary to me. I know many people don't get sides while on it, but it seems many do get sides after they quit it and they experience a crash. Idk if they ever fully recover from it either.

 

[kj6723]

I have my finasteride tablets ready but I'm too afraid to give it a go... Sigh, the thought of losing more hair on it or being fucked for life with the side effects is scary to me. I know many people don't get sides while on it, but it seems many do get sides after they quit it and they experience a crash. Idk if they ever fully recover from it either.

From the sound of things you'll get on it anyway when your hair hits the breaking point. May as well start now and begin your follicular recovery

 

[sisenegonan]

One time in my early 20's when I shaved my head, this girl I knew expressed serious resentment towards me for it. Asked "Why did you shave your head!?" with a resentful look on her face, and acted all disgusted towards me that day, like I'd wronged her. I wasn't dating her or hooking up with her or anything. It was this weird aversion towards me removing my hair even though it had nothing to do with her and no affect on her whatsoever

Long back I decided to rock the shaved look. My own colleagues from my floor commented me. However the colleagues I rarely meet (met during orientation) were genuinely worried if I was sick, had cancer, or have some 'religious issue' with my hair. Was quite alarming. Like you too, a girl who normally won't talk to me asked why I cut it. When I said it was less and didn't really look good, her reaction was 'so what?'. I am sort of glad I am shifted to a different floor with only 2 of my colleagues from orientation, but would love to have them gone too.

At this point, I hate to admit it but its easier to relate myself/talk to older people, especially the ones that don't know the real me.

 

[Saurabhaj]

 

[kj6723]

Long back I decided to rock the shaved look. My own colleagues from my floor commented me. However the colleagues I rarely meet (met during orientation) were genuinely worried if I was sick, had cancer, or have some 'religious issue' with my hair. Was quite alarming. Like you too, a girl who normally won't talk to me asked why I cut it. When I said it was less and didn't really look good, her reaction was 'so what?'. I am sort of glad I am shifted to a different floor with only 2 of my colleagues from orientation, but would love to have them gone too.

At this point, I hate to admit it but its easier to relate myself/talk to older people, especially the ones that don't know the real me.

It's amazing how hair is basically how people asses your vitality, and how much life one has within oneself

 

[Jack Ito]

If you're young and only just beginning to show signs of male pattern baldness then you likely won't ever see the day you go full Norwood 6/7. From here on it's like a game of maintenance. If you used all the various treatments and procedures available throughout your youth then by the time you're older you'll likely still have most of your hair and an alternate solution, cure.

 

[Bklyn_23]

It's amazing how hair is basically how people asses your vitality, and how much life one has within oneself

Even more than this - and what really pisses me off - is that some people (read: some women) will judge your overall genetic quality on your hair alone. You can have literally EVERYTHING else going for you - even face - but yet somehow you're "genetically inferior" just because you're losing your hair. What a joke.