Here’s one for the guys, some interesting information from our guest blogger – Lee Walters from thehaircentral.com ~ Enjoy!
Male Pattern Baldness
Male pattern baldness is a condition that affects so many men, it seems odd that some men would choose to go bald in spite of the fact that they are blessed with great hair. Some would say it is downright insulting to men who have the male pattern baldness gene for one to go bald by choice. But the facts tell a very different story.
Even though men dread going bald as though it is a terminal disease, the fact is that bald men are actually perceived as being stronger, more assertive and sometimes even taller than their follically blessed counterparts.
A Study Conduct by Experts
In one study, a group of researchers from Barry University in Florida wanted to know why the gene that triggered male pattern baldness continued to survive through the generations even though it seemed to have a negative perception in society. If it indeed has a negative effect on social interaction, then the gene should have eventually died out.
One of the researchers, Dr. Frank Muscarella speculated that male pattern baldness evolved as a way to signal dominance without being perceived as a threat. In this study, participants were asked to rate a group of men on four independent scales – physical attractiveness, aggressiveness, appeasement, and social maturity.
The results showed that bald men rated the highest in social maturity and appeasement or diplomacy, and they rated the lowest in aggressiveness. In the metric of physical attractiveness, they rated lower than men with good hair but higher than men with receding hairlines. These results confirm Dr. Muscarella’s initial speculation about bald men being more dominant, at least in perception.
The fact that bald men appear to be less physically attractive than men with good hair does not actually affect their success with women. It is a well-known fact that women do like physically attractive men, but they are equally attracted to men who display social dominance and maturity.
With these facts in mind, it does not seem to be all that strange to shave one’s head despite the absence of male pattern baldness. After all, hair is not the only thing factor that contributes to physical attractiveness.
Going bald is actually a great strategy for those of us who are not blessed with other attractive features like high cheekbones or square jaws. So whether or not you have male pattern baldness, we suggest you give it a shot and see how it works for you. If you have male pattern baldness, then no one will know because you already shaved your head.
And if you don’t have male pattern baldness and don’t like the way you look with a cleanly shaven scalp, then you can always grow it back. However, we think you just might surprise yourself if you take the plunge. If you need advice on shaving your head for the first time, just head over to Lee Walter’s blog (https://thehaircentral.com/best-razor-for-shaving-head/) to see some options for the best razors to shave your head bald.
Making Your Hair Grow Thicker
If you do decide to shave your head, then you may hear a lot of myths associated with it, the most common one being that if you shave your head, your hair will grow back thicker.
First off, we would like to point out that since this article is aimed at men who do not have male pattern baldness, this would hardly be a bad thing. If you find that you don’t like a cleanly shaven scalp, then you would simply let it grow back at twice the thickness!
Unfortunately, this has been proven to be a myth by several scientific studies. You can even think about it logically – if shaving one’s head caused the hair to grow back thicker, wouldn’t that make it the number one treatment for male pattern baldness?
The reason this myth exists is due to the nature of hair growth. The hair that is visible above the surface of the skin is actually a string of dead cells. The live part of the hair is actually underneath the skin and is known as the “follicle”.
Unshaved hair tapers at the end. Shaving cuts the hair off just above the surface of the skin, leaving the follicle intact. When the hair regrows, it initially appears to be thicker because of the straight cut created by the razor. The taper takes time to reappear. There are other reasons that affect this perception as well. Unshaved hair has not yet been exposed to sunlight and other chemicals that may be floating in the air. These exposures do contribute to the appearance of one’s hair. Diet and medication are also factors that play a part in the apparent thinness or thickness of one’s hair.
Whether you enjoy the shaving experience or just want to get rid of all that hair as soon as possible, we have covered it all so that you don’t have to waste time sifting through tens of thousands of Google results.
Just roll the ATX All-Terrain Razor from HeadBlade over your scalp for a quick and comfortable shave, or use a Merkur safety razor for the closest shave possible. Even if you are not keen on investing in the best tools, you can achieve the rugged look of stars like Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson with the cheapest shaving foam and triple blade razor. After all, there is a reason that the Gillette Mach 3 is so popular – because it really works!
So what are you waiting for? Get rid of all that pesky hair, put your chrome dome on display, and go out and turn some heads!
