Hairstyles for Those With Thinning Hair

First, a word about the word "balding" I have found that "balding" can span the entire progression of hair loss. From the initial thinning of hair at our temples in our 20's to the shiny dome some of us have later in life.

If you are at the beginning of your hair loss journey and only have a thinning of hair at your temples, then doing a search for "hairstyles of balding men" will give you relevant results. However, if your hairline is receding and/or have thinning in the back, the "balding hairstyles" search results will only be an exercise in frustration.

The top results I got when recently searching for "hairstyles for balding men" was this:

"Short styles that work with your receding hairline are the best for balding men. Opt for a simple buzzcut, high and tight, or crew cut if you want something low maintenance or are starting to go patchy. If your balding is more a receding hairline, but you've got length and volume still, there are more options. Choose styles like taper or skin fades with a pompadour or slicked back, an Ivy league, or a comb over parting with your widow's peak."

I'm sorry but if you have a receding hairline, you likely have a bald spot developing in the back and a "high and tight" hairstyle is only going to bring attention to those developments. And a "skin fade with a pompadour" is certainly not going to happen. In my opinion, if I have enough hair for a pompadour, I'm not "balding".

Instead of looking for help from the Internet, I strongly suggest you ask for honest advice from your style-conscious friends. They will 1) know your age and will suggest something age appropriate and, 2) they will know what's going on style-wise and will suggest something that will look good on you.

Another option is to go to a high-end barber. These professionals will take in your hair loss situation, your type of hair, the shape of your head and even your skin tone to come up with a hairstyle that specifically fits you. Be careful though: Many barbers will think you want to cover it up and will create a hairstyle that is some form of comb over. 

Warning: Depending on how advanced your hair loss is, there might not be a hairstyle that is going to help you.

To illustrate the situation above, here is my personal journey.

My hair loss had slowly progressed and for many years I was keeping it pretty short. At some point I realized the short hairstyle just wasn't working anymore. I decided there were two paths open to me: Go longer or shave it all off. I decided to go long and stopped cutting my hair. At first it wasn't looking good and I was wearing my baseball cap ALL. THE. TIME. But I kept growing it out to see if it would reach some level of acceptability.

It actually looked OK when I was wearing my cap. It looked like I had a healthy head of hair... until I took the cap off. With the cap off, I had what they call a "skullet" - party in the back, no business up front.

Once it got long enough, I tied it up in a little "samurai" pony tail. This worked great for the bald spot in the back of my head but I looked fairly stupid so it's only something I did around the house.

At this point I decided to be a little scientific about what to do with my hair so found a hairstylist in town that had great reviews from men. I figured if she has a lot of male clients, she probably has some experience in dealing with guys losing their hair. At my first appointment I explained that I wanted to find a hairstyle that would work with my particular state of baldness. I asked her to work with the length my hair was at that point and then I would live with it for 3-4 weeks and if it wasn't working for me, I'd come back and have her go a little shorter and repeat the process until I hopefully found a length and style that worked. I think the 2nd or 3rd haircut was close to working but it required too much of my time styling it to be practical (for me). In the end, I thanked her for helping me make the decision to shave all my hair off. It was not a slight against her abilities as a barber. It was just the reality of my hair loss.

Another thing I did at this time was to start paying attention to other men's hair. I ignored the guys with great hair and kept my focus on those with advanced states of hair loss. I soon realized that I didn't like the balding look I had and decided a full bald look was better for me. The "for me" part is a very important part of your hair loss journey. What feels good to you, is not the same thing as what feels good to me. Some men are OK going full bald - and it becomes more acceptable every day - but some are not.