Guys these days go bald on average at a much younger age than before, many (including me) start going bald at 19 or even earlier. That said, it is often difficult for men to accept the fact that they are losing their hair, especially when they are young and have no other bald members in their family. No one in my family is bald but me and it started at a tender age, so here are some facts that I did my best to ignore until it was too obvious to run away:

Hair on the pillow

While it’s normal for men to have a few strands of hair on their pillows in the morning (or a sheet if you’re like me and sleep without a pillow), anything over 10 strands is an early warning sign. You certainly may not be going bald if you take a good look at your pillow for the first time and notice a lot of strands, but that’s only because the strands have built up for days. If you clean your tuft pillow every day and you still notice more than 10 strands when you wake up in the morning, that’s the number 1 sign.

Hair in the shower and on your towels

Relative to number 1, hair loss in the shower is generally 10 times greater than on the pillow if you are balding. If you decide to shampoo your hair and find your hand almost covered in hair, don’t give yourself an excuse like “oh that’s just because I didn’t wash in a week” that will keep you in denial. If there is hair on your hand and visible hair on the shower floor without you having to make an effort to find it, you are probably on your way to becoming a handsome bald man. Speaking of excuses, here’s a great post on 10 reasons why men’s ‘hope’ is causing your baldness.

Hair ruffled clumsily in the wind

The fact is, you don’t become noticeably bald until you’ve lost more than 50% of the density of your hair. This means that you can be in denial for more than 2 to 3 years (on average). Even when you are in denial and no one notices or points out that you are losing your hair, the wind will make it much more difficult for you to hide the fact. Often when a light wind passes, it is not all the hair that is lifted, but mainly the parts that are less dense. Because the locks are so thin and have not formed a dense mass like when you have a full head of hair, the slightest gain will make these locks stand up and that’s not the look you want to have.

For example, Donald Trump shows a perfect example of what this would look like. It’s something I started to notice when I looked at my reflection when I was outside and saw some strands awkwardly moving over no one’s head but my own.

Grand Strand total is over 100-150

At the end of the day, 100-150 strands should parachute from a healthy head of hair. If you see hair down the drain, on your pillow, on your girlfriend’s face too often, the grand total of strands for the day is probably well over 150. As obvious as it is, sometimes it’s hard to accept, but Think about it rationally and it should be clear that it is time to buy your new razor.

The blatantly obvious signs

To be completely open and honest, I couldn’t accept the fact that I was going bald even though I had gone through most of the common stages of baldness. Even as the hairline started to recede, I looked at friends and celebrities with slightly taller hair lines than I used to and was convinced that I was ‘maturing early’. I can say from experience that when the bald patches become visible and the hairline starts to recede, it’s time to buzz or shave our heads and embrace it like a champ.

It is not easy to accept that you are going bald, especially if you are young and your first instinct is probably to seek medication. The fact is (and you can find out the hard way if you want), NO COMPLETE CURE for MPB has been invented yet and anything out there on the market can have damaging side effects and make things worse. As difficult as it may be, it’s best to gradually embrace it and use support forums like SlyBaldGuys (a large supportive community of proud bald, owners of life) to help you make the transition.

Either way, you can only deny it for a while until you have to deal with it like a man and shave it off!

So if you are sure that you are going bald, do not hide it. At least dare to try shaving it!

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