Why are guys in their 30's + as worried about male pattern baldness?

[s.a.f]

and just in case somebody actually tries to use this/Larry David as an example of bald discrimination...hes worth half a billion dollars at least and is one of the most respected comedians/entertainers in the world. So even if he did experience bald persecution throughout his life...he still did pretty damn well for himself.

Yes but Larry has talent unlike the average Joe and Hollywood could'nt care if you were Bald, ugly, racist, evil or a peadophile as long as you make money for the studio's.
Also is'nt it funny despite being successful, respected and worth $100'sm (and being 60+) he is still obsessed with the fact that he is bald.

 

[qball01]

and just in case somebody actually tries to use this/Larry David as an example of bald discrimination...hes worth half a billion dollars at least and is one of the most respected comedians/entertainers in the world. So even if he did experience bald persecution throughout his life...he still did pretty damn well for himself.

Yes but Larry has talent unlike the average Joe and Hollywood could'nt care if you were Bald, ugly, racist, evil or a peadophile as long as you make money for the studio's.
Also is'nt it funny despite being successful, respected and worth $100'sm (and being 60+) he is still obsessed with the fact that he is bald.

exactly...thats more of an indication of him as a person than anything else...hes neurotic and hates people...of course hes going to think people have a vendetta against baldness....

and you're right about the talent part...so why aren't certain bald people then focusing on any talents they may possess and building up a career? Doing stuff like that would take away from the importance of lack of hair...if you can show your worth as a human being through the things you do then the way you look becomes more trivial.

 

[ali777]

ermmm so you guys saying it doesnt matter in your 30's, you are still not 30, correct?

How the hell do you know? So many guys over 30 still care about the way they look and get depressed about balding. you do realize that 30's is not that old. You will still care buddy.

30 isn't really old... 30 is a good age, it isn't even half of the life expectancy so it should be considered as a young age. I feel better in my 30s than I did in my 20s. My 20s were strange. I was an irresponsible adult and I did lots of mistakes. It was all about figuring out who I am and what I want in life.

You know the saying, 40 is the new 30? I actually agree with that. Looking at my family history, I expect 40-42 to be my mid point in life. So, I still have 10 years of "youth" left.

 

[s.a.f]

and you're right about the talent part...so why aren't certain bald people then focusing on any talents they may possess and building up a career? Doing stuff like that would take away from the importance of lack of hair...if you can show your worth as a human being through the things you do then the way you look becomes more trivial.

Because the average/ordinary guy does'nt have any real talent or nothing thats going to be life altering thats the pisser with m.p.b for most guys you start off fairly equal then this comes along and knocks you down a peg or two.

 

[thetodd]

So the question is, why do men in their thirties worry about hairloss? For the same reason a forty year old guy like me does. Who says that when you exit your twenties appearance doesn't matter anymore? I plan on being around another 35 years or so and I'm not going to just give in to mother nature without a fight.

 

[Thinneritgoes!]

ermmm so you guys saying it doesnt matter in your 30's, you are still not 30, correct?

How the hell do you know? So many guys over 30 still care about the way they look and get depressed about balding. you do realize that 30's is not that old. You will still care buddy.

30 isn't really old... 30 is a good age, it isn't even half of the life expectancy so it should be considered as a young age. I feel better in my 30s than I did in my 20s. My 20s were strange. I was an irresponsible adult and I did lots of mistakes. It was all about figuring out who I am and what I want in life.

You know the saying, 40 is the new 30? I actually agree with that. Looking at my family history, I expect 40-42 to be my mid point in life. So, I still have 10 years of "youth" left.

Yes that is EXACTLY what I am saying. Just didn't come out right.

Its not like you hit 30 and say "oh well, I'm older now. I don't care about my hair!" you still feel the same way

 

[HatPrisoner91]

As above.

Now i know balding is never something people will enjoy

BUT

If you're thinning at 35 i really dont see why it should impact someone on a deep mental level.

Yes, start finasteride because its just a tablet a day. Why not?

But really.....its your early 20's - very early 30's is what matter. This is the time of your life when you're likely to be most affective by it socially etc.

When you get to 35 chances are you'll already have met someone and in most cases be married with children, have your career established as well as your friend circles. In that context, a few hairs shouldn't serve to distort that in any way. Life at this point is much less superficial than in youth

This is why i really am trying to maintain my hair so far as possible until i get to that point. I mean, if i go bald and it affects me in the hunt for a wife etc, or even a job (it shouldn't though) then this is where male pattern baldness makes your life difficult.

Am i not right? I see why young guys will inevitably stuggle but the older you get not only should baldness become more "normal" but it should also have less of a bearing on anything important in your life beyond your own vainity.


Bottom line for me is its the young guys that actually substantively suffer in the scheme of male pattern baldness.

Your whole post is logically flawed. You say it matters in your 20's and early 30's. Then you say the person is "established" at 35. Not if the hairloss ravaged you. Again for me, I don't get people doing nuts over some thinning. Yes it sucks but it's not THAT dramatic a change. But if a person is bald and looks like *** at 21 years old, then I feel for them because there is nothing they can do.

 

[HatPrisoner91]

By the time you're 40 you should be settled down with a wife and kids, so you don't really need to worry so much about looking good.
Granted, if you look bald/abnormal, you'll still be treated differently by society, so I can understand oldies caring about going bald - it's only natural to dislike it.

But for people in their early 20's going bald it's a whole different kettle of fish. What wife would want kids knowing they'll suffer the curse of early male pattern baldness? Most women would rather pick a more genetically capable partner.

Oh really? What if you are not with one? What if you get divorced or seperated as many do? Should you put up with crappy treatment because you don't think you can get anyone else good?

Again, people who are talking about others when they have NO IDEA what it's like, is just ignorant. I can talk about people whining about being a NW2 because I was one at one point. I can talk about people in their early 20's because I was one. I don't go into cancer forums and talk to people there about what they should do because I have no idea what they are going through.

 

[DoctorHouse]

Colin and Cuebald, promise us you will at least give us an update on you life when you are over 30 if you ever stop posting here. I can't wait to hear your viewpoint then. You think life ends at 30. It only begins. You think you never stop worrying about yourself. HP is right. You have no idea how your life will be in 10 years from now. No one does. Now a days, the white picket fence, a wife and kids is becoming a fairy tale. Divorce rates have hit the all time high. There is so many single and divorcees out there that for some life may begin again at 40, 50, or 60. You just don't know what your life will become in the future even if you have it all mapped out in your 20's.

 

[Mens Rea]

As above.

Now i know balding is never something people will enjoy

BUT

If you're thinning at 35 i really dont see why it should impact someone on a deep mental level.

Yes, start finasteride because its just a tablet a day. Why not?

But really.....its your early 20's - very early 30's is what matter. This is the time of your life when you're likely to be most affective by it socially etc.

When you get to 35 chances are you'll already have met someone and in most cases be married with children, have your career established as well as your friend circles. In that context, a few hairs shouldn't serve to distort that in any way. Life at this point is much less superficial than in youth

This is why i really am trying to maintain my hair so far as possible until i get to that point. I mean, if i go bald and it affects me in the hunt for a wife etc, or even a job (it shouldn't though) then this is where male pattern baldness makes your life difficult.

Am i not right? I see why young guys will inevitably stuggle but the older you get not only should baldness become more "normal" but it should also have less of a bearing on anything important in your life beyond your own vainity.


Bottom line for me is its the young guys that actually substantively suffer in the scheme of male pattern baldness.

Your whole post is logically flawed. You say it matters in your 20's and early 30's. Then you say the person is "established" at 35. Not if the hairloss ravaged you. Again for me, I don't get people doing nuts over some thinning. Yes it sucks but it's not THAT dramatic a change. But if a person is bald and looks like *** at 21 years old, then I feel for them because there is nothing they can do.

I didn't say it "only" matters at that age, im just saying that is the age that it is by far the hardest..

Didn't you just reitterate my point by saying the hardest time is "looking like an *** at 21". Someone with a bald head at 40 hardly looks like an "***". Isn't that what im saying? Baldness becomes less and less of an issue at 40+ for a myriad of reasons.

 

[Mens Rea]

Colin and Cuebald, promise us you will at least give us an update on you life when you are over 30 if you ever stop posting here. I can't wait to hear your viewpoint then. You think life ends at 30. It only begins. You think you never stop worrying about yourself. HP is right. You have no idea how your life will be in 10 years from now. No one does. Now a days, the white picket fence, a wife and kids is becoming a fairy tale. Divorce rates have hit the all time high. There is so many single and divorcees out there that for some life may begin again at 40, 50, or 60. You just don't know what your life will become in the future even if you have it all mapped out in your 20's.

True maybe im a little old school!

But my thread title is "why are guys in their 30's+ AS worried about male pattern baldness?". Im not implying it becomes a non-issue (although for most men i know it has) but certainly it's significance drops

You could argue with the new-age divorce rates etc puts more pressure on the older guy to look his best. This is probably true, but baldness at an older age isn't in any way looked at the same way as baldness at a young age it almost merits a seperate section the differences are so clear

 

[uncomfortable man]

I understand where you are coming from colin, but you must understand that a vast majority of us older bald guys lost it during those tender twenties and suffered from it. Baldness is a persistent reality in our lives that takes some getting used to, which takes time. Time being the important factor here.

 

[qball01]

IMO it all depends on what part of hairloss bothers you....for me its simply being so young...I know that I wouldn't have nearly as big an issue with going bald and then shaving my head in like 5-10 years when its a whole lot more common and I've done a lot more in life. I'm fully convinced that from a social/women perspective its not nearly as big a deal by that time as long as you're able to live and behave like a real man and not let it destroy your self worth...(easier said than done obviously).

However, I can completely understand somebody who starts losing it in their thirties or even forties being devastated because theyve had their hair for a lot longer and for them...it could signal getting older..(age = mortality, mortality = death) which could bring about a host of psychological problems. So for me..I think baldness should be less important from a VANITY point of view the older you get, but it can just as big an impact for other reasons. IF anything I think guys who lose it so young like me are forced to either confront it and get over it the best we can..or be completely miserable for our whole young adult life...And I'm definitely not such a big fan of the second choice.

 

[s.a.f]

IMO it all depends on what part of hairloss bothers you....for me its simply being so young...I know that I wouldn't have nearly as big an issue with going bald and then shaving my head in like 5-10 years when its a whole lot more common and I've done a lot more in life. I'm fully convinced that from a social/women perspective its not nearly as big a deal by that time as long as you're able to live and behave like a real man and not let it destroy your self worth...(easier said than done obviously).

However, I can completely understand somebody who starts losing it in their thirties or even forties being devastated because theyve had their hair for a lot longer and for them...it could signal getting older..(age = mortality, mortality = death) which could bring about a host of psychological problems. So for me..I think baldness should be less important from a VANITY point of view the older you get, but it can just as big an impact for other reasons. IF anything I think guys who lose it so young like me are forced to either confront it and get over it the best we can..or be completely miserable for our whole young adult life...And I'm definitely not such a big fan of the second choice.

Thats the thing about losing it young (which all the 30+ guys on the Impact section did), we are in a way scarred for life by it.
I would bet that in all honesty there are a great deal of bald 50 or 60 yr olds who have been that way for over half their lives but still detest the way it has made them look. Many of them will have had their lives severly affected by it (lack of confidence, the trauma of what it did to their looks, the effect on their ability to pull women, feelings of inferiority compared to their NW1 peers ect ect.And I think that most of the guys on this subforum will be the same.
But speaking from experience whats more important than what age you lose it is the extent that you lose.
Theres guys on here who are NW2 aged 25/26 who think that they've got it worse than a 30 yr old NW5/6. Thats not true at all the more you lose the bigger a part of your look it becomes regardless of age.

 

[uncomfortable man]

True SAF, many people fail to recognize that there is an actual boundary for what can be considered bald or not and that point is advanced NW4. Once you've crossed that line you have become for all practical purposes bald. But these kids continue to clump us into them saying it's all the same while they have options and we don't. It's that simple.

 

[metropolis]

DoctorHouse is absolutely right. I'm 32 y.o. and life really did start for me at 30. For the first time, I have money, a good job and a stable life. I travel all the time. I still have hair (I'm a NW2). Even my sexual performance is better than ever. Don't get me wrong: aging sucks but there are definitely some good points too.

 

[HatPrisoner91]

DoctorHouse is absolutely right. I'm 32 y.o. and life really did start for me at 30. For the first time, I have money, a good job and a stable life. I travel all the time. I still have hair (I'm a NW2). Even my sexual performance is better than ever. Don't get me wrong: aging sucks but there are definitely some good points too.

That one line is what seperates people who are just balding and bald people. Not the same folks.

Hey man, I have some really bad knees from sports. They are painful all the time. It sucks. I should start going to forums where people lost their legs from theie knees down and tell them that I can relate. Lets see if THEY react well..

 

[qball01]

DoctorHouse is absolutely right. I'm 32 y.o. and life really did start for me at 30. For the first time, I have money, a good job and a stable life. I travel all the time. I still have hair (I'm a NW2). Even my sexual performance is better than ever. Don't get me wrong: aging sucks but there are definitely some good points too.

That one line is what seperates people who are just balding and bald people. Not the same folks.

Hey man, I have some really bad knees from sports. They are painful all the time. It sucks. I should start going to forums where people lost their legs from theie knees down and tell them that I can relate. Lets see if THEY react well..

yes but the severity of losing a leg FAR outweighs that of going bald...therefore a Norwood 2 comparing himself to a Norwood 6 is not nearly the same as a man with a sore knee claiming to understand what amputees are going through....when you lose hair you lose something with no actual function...when you lose a leg your entire life changes....Losing hair to most people will at worst mean looking less attractive....the impact of losing a leg is faaar greater (to most people) and if you think otherwise you're deluded. Most sane, healthy people would rather be bald and able to walk than have hair and be disabled and I REALLY hope you would agree, cuz if not...then you have way more problems than just being bald. Learn how to look people in the eye properly before you claim that being bald is the reason for your woes.

 

[cuebald]

The fact remains that NW2 isn't even remotely bald.
Being "Bald" can be considered a handicap of sorts, but being NW2 isn't.

It's the difference from being 1" under average height, to being 10" under average height.

 

[qball01]

I get that you're trying to compare the two....but I'm speaking in terms of impact...its not nearly the same. Being BALD isn't equivalent to being 10 inches below average height....very few men are just above 5 foot...VERY few. Whereas baldness is much more common. And in terms of how people would view a 5 foot man to a bald person...well obviously the individual person has a lot to do with how they're perceived, but it would be much harder for the 5 foot man to be perceived with equal respect to others than it would the bald person...but again, it all depends on the man. The difference between a person being a Norwood 2 or a Norwood 6 and a person being either 5'11 or 5'1 is NOT the same. And how is being bald a handicapp?...a disadvantage yes but thats not necessarily a handicap at all. The bottom line is being bald can only ever hurt how attractive you are...that shouldn't be a dealbreaker in life. ITs just that so many people (and I'll admit myself included in some aspects) place WAY too much importance on looks because they think thats all other people will ever care about....