(The Shruti Special)

Baldness is a common condition that affects people of all ages and genders but is primarily seen in older males. 40 to 50 percent of men have lost at least a portion of their hair by the age of 50. Approximately, between 16 and 30 percent of men lose a significant amount of hair before turning 30. Some people experience balding as early as high school, which is a somewhat young age to be confronted with the inevitable passage of time.

“Shit, I should’ve done this a lot sooner!” I thought as soon as the hair clipper passed over my head.

My hair has never been of very high quality. I started noticing a receding hairline around my temples when I was 17 years old, and by the time I was 18, it was obvious that I would soon grow bald. My uncle had the same hair, so I’m sure it was genetics, but it could have also been a little bad luck.

I first resented it a lot since my friends could go to the barbershop and get fashionable haircuts while I couldn’t. I’m fortunate to have wonderful friends who never teased me, even though they occasionally cracked jokes. Most of the time I was okay with that, but after it occurred multiple times per day and it really hurt me

When I started losing my hair, I felt somewhat helpless since, in a sense, I was losing a part of myself against my will. At age 18, I worried a lot about how women perceived me and assumed they would find me less appealing. I used to virtually always wear a hat back then.

I was fortunate to be able to discuss it with my parents. They even offered to pay for a hair transplant, but I ultimately decided against accepting their offer. Was this treatment truly the answer? And for how long would it even look good? I couldn’t help but wonder.

I started getting pretty bald towards the back of my head a few years ago, so I made the decision to fully shave it off. After that, I immediately regretted not doing this sooner as soon as that hair clipper passed over my head. Everyone complimented me on how beautifully it fit me, and my friends offered their support as well.

I only shave now once a week to keep it looking clean. I still frequently don hats, but only because I enjoy doing so. Since every pot has a cover and there are plenty of lids, I don’t believe that my head-shaving has ever prevented me from dating. – Jeroen van Nieuwpoort, a 28-year-old manager at a facility for persons with mental problems.

“I’m not ashamed of my balding, I’m extremely upfront about it.”

My relatives warned me that I would become bald when I was 20, and it did. Baldness runs in the family, and my brother underwent a hair transplant in Turkey. Personally, I don’t want that because my hair loss hasn’t really affected how I feel about myself.

However, my hair was really thick up until the age of 23 when it started to thin out. The middle of my head eventually developed a bald spot, albeit it wasn’t really obvious at first. Whether on purpose or not, I started altering my hairstyle.

I used to see the barber every month to maintain a nice haircut because my hair grows quickly on the sides. The barber once gave me advice on how to use a cover spray to conceal my bald area. I tried it once, but I didn’t think pretending I had hair there was cool.

I’m not ashamed of my balding and am extremely upfront about it, And want to demonstrate to society that discussing men’s appearance is acceptable. – Vinod Douglas, a 26-year-old industrial designer, and project manager

“I was very insecure while I was getting bald, but now I see it as something special.”

“I feel a little terrible for males who are half bald when I see them wearing hats. Everyone goes through their own process, which I completely understand, but I believe it’s liberating to chop your hair off and just wear the look.

When I was 19, I started losing hair on the crown of my head, which was really intense and made me feel insecure. I took solace in the knowledge that I wasn’t alone because I had a friend who was already bald. I checked around to see what my options were and discovered that they were very much limited to a hair transplant.

Your hair follicles die as you bald: Drugs can slow the process down, but they also have a number of negative side effects. I used to use some kind of powder on my hair to make it look thicker for a while, but I knew that was simply delaying the inevitable.

It was acceptable for friends to make fun of my hair, but if a complete stranger said something, I’d be incensed. I once spent the entire night at a party flirting with a girl when a guy approached, stood next to us, and began to talk in an intentionally demeaning manner about the bald spot on the back of my head. I was in awe, as well as the female.

Even though I didn’t like it on me, I would wear my hair in the back in an effort to cover the bald area. When I was 23, I made the sudden decision to completely shave it off while on vacation with friends. At first, it was shocking, and I had to adjust. I had positive feedback, but I just couldn’t see it for myself. I allowed it to grow back over the ensuing few months, but I was aware that there was a limit because my hair was no longer attractive.

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I felt empowered once my partner suggested that we cut it off at some point. I was quite insecure when becoming bald, but now I think it’s something special, and my girlfriend even finds it attractive.

Except for remembering to cover my entire head with sunscreen throughout the summer, I don’t even think about it anymore. – Rens Peters, a 26-year-old teacher, and MA student