The Rite of Passage

Everyone has insecurities, and the majority of people will encounter a change in their appearance as they age. I myself am no different, which is what I will be reflecting on. My experience isn’t a journey across the land, and it has nothing to do with women, drugs, school, or an event that took place. My experience is a different type of journey, and I am talking of course about “loosing my hair”. Yes, it’s that special time of my life I knew was coming and the ritual has begun. I will take a look in depth at what is taking place, why is this happening, and what type of battle will this be? I hope you enjoy my reflection upon the first-hand experience of male pattern baldness.

I was just a boy when my step-mother was yelling at my father. I couldn’t understand what was going on, or why it was happening. It turns out my father was getting the clippers ready to shave his head down to the skin! This is something my step-mom was not thrilled about. However, I was excited at the chance to see my dad with absolutely no hair. “Why are you going to do this dad,” I asked? It turns out my father was shaving his scalp so he wouldn’t be like all the other guys who had noticeable hair loss on their head. I couldn’t understand what the big deal was or why it was important.

It is now my turn to start losing my hair. And even though it’s not too noticeable yet, it is indeed happening. I am starting to develop the condition known as “Parking Spots”. This is a favorable form of hair loss that can look quite good on males. It’s where the hair recedes in the front of the head at the sides. To be honest, I’m trying to welcome the change as best I can. My only significant concern is that I’m 19, and it may be difficult to score dates in college if it gets too bad, too soon! I’m trying to refrain from the avoidance behaviors I catch myself doing. Such as washing my hair lightly, or combing it in certain styles to mask the change. Either way, I must stay positive…the last thing I want is to be a dude with a comb over.

There are many types of hair loss, and here are some of the names I call the different “Forms”. As mentioned there are the Parking Spots, and I’ve already gone into detail about them. Next there is the Skin Yamika. This is the one I fear most due to its deceptive nature. You have the “illusion” of a guy with a full head of hair, just to surprise everyone with a giant patch of skin in the back of your head. Then there is The Island, where the form of Parking Spots meets in the middle of the head. This creates a small patch of hair in the front of the head, and tends to be quite noticeable. The final form I will name is the “Coldest Sack”, which is the most advanced form of baldness, where the entire middle area of hair is gone.

So what can I do? My dads chose to shave his head completely bald for a long time, and some males get surgery to cover it up. Other males will get hair plugs, and some will spend hundreds of dollars on Rogaine. I don’t find any one of these options favorable. When I shave my head, people say I can look mean due to my brute facial structure. And getting surgery isn’t an option for me either; it’s not worth the risk, or losing all that money. Hair plugs can be quite obvious and tend to look ridiculous. The popular option of using expensive treatments isn’t appealing to me either. This can be very costly and only works as long as you’re taking them.

This leads me to the option of doing nothing! I’ve decided no matter how bad it gets, I will try my hardest not to fall into the gimmicks or techniques used to hide my baldness. Going bald is something that just happens. It will happen to a lot of men, and I’ve decided it’s something that should be embraced. It’s a rite of passage that signifies you are indeed a grown ass man. Not to mention that some guys look good with their baldness taking over! I’ve even known a few women who prefer it. The way I look at it is…if there is a god, he is taking away some of my good looks to balance how wise I’m getting:D.

That is my journey on the path to going bald. Luckily it hasn’t hit me too badly yet, and some people I ask say they can’t even notice a change. Others say that I’m being paranoid, and it’s just me being insecure. Whatever is happening, I accept the fact that I will probably be caught in the genetic cycle of losing my hair. Which direction it will turn I’m not quite sure yet. Whatever happens though, as long as I can succeed and perhaps find a woman who cares about me, I accept this change with open arms. Men will do all sorts of things to hide this noticeable and sometimes embarrassing condition. But hey….some research shows that it can happen because of more testosterone flowing through the male’s body. Who knows whether that’s true or not, it may just be something to tell myself, to gain sleep at night, and self-esteem during the day!

Not funny. At all. Why did you even post this?

....i dont know about funny, but an enjoyable read non the less!

I only read the first few sentences but in the spirit of being a smart ass I think you mean "losing my hair" instead of "loosing my hair."

That was driving me insane. I was well into the 3rd paragraph and still thinking about it. So much so that I wasn't really absorbing what I was reading. I stopped reading, and went to reply about the error, but the post I'm quoting was here already. So now I'm telling you the events that occurred throughout my reading of this thread. I'm sure you were all curious.