Read about some hair tips, styling tricks, and clothing hints you can use to offset that “aging” look that your hair loss may be giving you. Keep people’s focus off your hair, and on other more important things…As seen in a murder case last year when a bald man got furious when a friend tore off his wig, impaired self-esteem is the most serious problem for those losing their hair.. According to a survey by Professor Kim Hwi-jun at Kyunghee Medical School, 69.8 percent of balding men reported peer teasing about their condition, and 89.3 percent of unmarried men suffering from hair loss thought that their condition would erode their chances for romance.
However, the disadvantage can turn into an advantage with a tactful hairstyle and coordination. Image consultant Kang Jin-ju suggested a number of ways to look attractive with little hair.
The reality is that most people are not going to even make a conscious note of your hair. How many people do you see every day that have thinning hair and you’ve never really paid attention to it? Maybe now that you’re losing your hair, you notice more, but before that, as a teenager, did you walk around going “Man, that guys losing his hair”? Most likely not, unless the person looked really bad with it.
The stigma with the young professional man experiencing hair loss is that of “Aging”. Not only to himself, but to others, thinning hair or a receding hair line is first and foremost associated with getting older. Looking older. Being older. For those losing their hair prematurely, this is absolutely the biggest difficulty they face. It seems to signal the end of youth, and that can be a huge blow to self esteem and self confidence. But there are some things you can do with your hair, and clothing, and accessories that can completely offset the appearance of aging. It’s all Human Psychology 101 (well ok, maybe 400), and the experts have some tips.
Kang advises men to shave their hair short, keeping it shorter than 1 cm, rather than trying to hide the bald area awkwardly with long hair. In this way, baldness is little noticed. “Depending on one’s workplace, dying their hair in a soft brown tone is another solution”, she added.
Using Subtle Highlights & Hair Products
Guys with minor thinning in the front can really mask the thinning with the right coloring and styling products. Assuming you have that 1 to 2 inch messy straight hair look thing going, another great idea is to get the tips highlighted. This all depends on the color of your hair, but if its dark, getting a slightly lighter, almost unnoticeable tint to the ends, while the roots stay slightly darker, will play a big role in creating an illusion of density at the base of the hair. A layered hair cut where the hair lays flat on top of itself, while hairs further forward grow out from under them … also can play a big role in masking overall thinning. Also with this type of hair cut, the products you use can play an immense roll. We can’t stress this enough. For the photos you see here, Paul Mitchell Wax Works (White tube) and Tigi Bed Head Power Trip Gel were used to almost completely cover up the thinning.
Use the Power Trip Gel on the slightly damp hair first (hair that has been towel dried only). Just a thin layer. Lightly blow dry the hair so that it is about 90% dry (Not too much!). Apply a thin layer of the Wax Works to the palm and fingers of your hand (I know it, feels gross, oh well), and slide your hands down the hair, from top of head down to front, then from front, back. At this point you will have a very pliable styling environment to work in. For a good 10 minutes you can use a brush to make the hair go wherever you want it, and it wont harden up. You can use the hair dryer at this time to really thicken up the hair (you will be amazed how well this works), but don’t overdo it. It takes a lot of practice but once you get it down, you beginning thinners can really hide it!
Note – guys with dark brown to black hair, make sure your stylist bleaches you out first, and then adds color, down to the correct tint. If they just try to lighten your hair, you will turn orange. They should know this, but verify with them first.
Clothing and Accessories to “Youth-enize”
Wearing glasses is another good camouflage, according to Kang. “It draws down the gaze of other people and makes a wide brow look narrower”. She suggested round plastic rimmed glasses, which give a gentle and intelligent look. Blue tone suits, which make people look younger, are also recommended. “Gray suits stand for authority and power, but make you look older. Ties and shirts should also be blue, since high contrast coordination also makes you look old”. Kang explained. Accessories such as bags, belt and watch should be of simple and young design.*
“Bald people may look old but gentle. The focus of coordination should be in maximizing the merit, rather than trying to hide the baldness,” she said.
