PSA: Haircuts and product matter a lot

big_head

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If you still have hair up to a Norwood 3 or Norwood 4, do not underestimate the psychological power of a good haircut.

If you are receding or thinning, the worst thing you can possible do is let your hair grow out, especially on the sides. I'm receding to around a NW3 (not quite there yet but soon) and I'm thinning on top. I used to grow my hair out when my hair was much thicker and that's one of the reasons I didn't notice my hairloss until it was too late.

Nowadays I stick to a shorter sides and back and a bit more left on top. Right after this haircut, with some pomade in it, it looks good enough to be stylish and not really balding to the average person. But if I let it grow out like I used to, I get thicker sides and back that puff out, and a disgusting, wispy, thinning top. The contrast makes me look like a 50 year old balding man. It just screams BALDING when you see the thick sides and thinning receding hairline. It's terrible, especially with no product. I look at this image and feel hopeless and disgusted, and it's my fault for being lazy and not keeping up on the grooming.

A good haircut will not regrow your hair, but having a bad haircut will just make your balding look 10x worse than it needs to, which will make your self image way worse and send you into a depression. Find out what haircut you look best with, whether it's an undercut, a fringe, a Caesar, a buzzcut, whatever, and stick to it. You WILL regain a small sense of being in CONTROL again, which is definitely one of the big reasons hairloss messes with your head, your loss of control. Hell, even my friend who is thinning badly looks pretty good and no girls ever notice his thinning if he keeps the sides and back short.

Fight your baldness with medication and in the mean time, get a trendy haircut that compliments your balding the best you can. Use product every day. Don't hide your hairloss with a combover, make it look as good as you can with a good cut, go to a really good barber. It will psychologically make you feel much better.
 

shookwun

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Sides need to be faded and tapered. Short on top, half inch around crown, and mid scalp. Inch at the front

Side part it.

The more you hide the harder it is in the long run. I wish I in hindsight I never did the comb over. Gotta own the look, regardless of how **** it looKS.
 

oye_rg

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Sides need to be faded and tapered. Short on top, half inch around crown, and mid scalp. Inch at the front

Side part it.

The more you hide the harder it is in the long run. I wish I in hindsight I never did the comb over. Gotta own the look, regardless of how **** it looKS.

Nice tips for the haircut. Quite eager to see what it might look like. Have you a picture of someone about NW3 with this type of haircut?
 

Shubham23

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Can you guys please share your hairstyle. I am also a NW3 and find really difficult to style my hair especially with receding hairline on the left temple. I usually keep short on side and long on top so that the scalp looks fuller.

It would be great if u can share ur hairstyle.
 

yadayada029

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The OP's advice is gold. Leaving the top modestly longer then the closely cropped sides can be an effective strategy to improve appearances. I learned a while ago not to let the top grow too long as it does highlight how much less hair there is up there relative to the sides.

The undercut if you can sport it is a good choice, as is the faux hawk http://www.latest-hairstyles.com/mens/thin.html.
 

shookwun

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Something along the lines of this, but side part the hair. Avoid combing the hair forward and giving the illusion of a full head... it makes you look insecure.

Side part, and emphasis on making the forelock the focal point of the style with a bit of a flip.

have the sides tapered along, ear, and nape towards the temple points and gradually thicken as you go up.

clean-cut-buzz-short-style-for-a-man.jpg
 

yadayada029

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Another thing I would add, that the website gets wrong, never use gel's or shinny pastes. Use matte finish pastes only, and fluff that stuff dry so your hair doesn't stick together. If it isn't already obvious, sticky or wet hair products like gels will make you look balder. Matte finish pastes make your hair look fuller. Dry styles, that are textured look trendy, full, and distract from the hair you don't have, highlighting what you do.
 
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