Step away from the comb: 4 common grooming mistakes made by balding men
If you’re losing your hair but aren’t quite ready to accept it, chances are you’ve got a few tricks up your sleeve to disguise any bald patches. But are they as foolproof as you think?
We’ve rounded up four of the biggest grooming mistakes that balding men make when trying to cover up/distract from their thinning hair, along with some nifty alternatives that just might do the trick.
The modern comb-over
Yes, we all know to avoid the more traditional comb-over look – you know, the one your dad may have sported in the nineties, with a few wispy strands delicately balanced across an essentially baldpate.
But you might not be as far away from that as you think. Plenty of balding men still grow the hair they do have that little bit longer, thinking it will add some volume and distract from the thinning. Brushing it forward to disguise a receding hairline, say, might seem like a great style choice, but in reality it’s pretty obvious what you’re doing.
Do it differently: Try scalp micropigmentation (SMP) to cover thinning areas. This clever little procedure uses pigments injected into the scalp to mimic the effect of hair. You can either use it to disguise bald patches or go the whole hog and shave your head for a buzz cut look.
Blow drying for volume
Perhaps you’ve noticed your girlfriend using the volumising attachment on the hairdryer to give her locks a boost, and decided to try it for yourself? You wouldn’t be alone.
A lot of men like the volumised look that can be achieved by blowdrying close to the roots of the hair. Look a little closer however, and you’ll see that what you’ve actually done is to suck all the moisture out of those roots. This leaves the hairs looking wispier than ever.
Do it differently: Try holding the hairdryer a little further from your scalp. (Experts recommend about eight inches.) Using a round hair brush whilst blow drying can also help to add volume without losing moisture.
Compensating with facial hair
There’s nothing wrong with a bald head and a beard together. But if you’re trying to make up for hair loss by growing more hair on your face, it might not be the best combination. Particularly if the facial hair is no great shakes either.
A balding man with a bit of fuzz on his face is only drawing more attention to his thinning locks.
Do it differently: A shaved head goes much better with a beard than a balding one. If you can’t quite summon up the courage to go completely bald, consider trying SMP and opt for a buzz cut.
Partings, generally
We may have recommended against brushing your hair forwards to disguise your receding hairline, but a severe parting isn’t your friend either, once your hair starts thinning.
Because most balding men start to lose their hair at the top of the head, a centre parting is only going to draw attention to it. And a side parting starts to stray into traditional combover territory. So what is the best option to disguise hair loss?
Do it differently: opt for a shorter style, and either embrace your bald patches, or try SMP to create the illusion of a full head of hair that you have decided to cut short.
If you want to find out more about SMP or if you have any other questions about your own hair loss, then please get in touch with us at HIS Hair.
