It’s only natural when we are interested in a given topic, that we check out what others are saying about it. If you’ve decided to go on a trip to a new city, you normally do all the legwork to find others’ opinions on the can’t-miss activities, bars, restaurants, attractions, etc. Google might be able to tell you where a certain restaurant is located by giving you its address, but it’s rarely the website or app we visit when trying to find up-to-date reviews and trends. That’s why we gravitate to social media sites for current impressions.
The same is true for all stages of hair loss. Google may give some overviews of basic topics, true. But sometimes, we want in-depth articles to understand the science behind it, and sometimes we want to see how the general public handles the same issues we may be dealing with. That’s the reason hashtags were created – to give us a way to sift through the noise and focus on a single topic.
No matter which stage of hair loss you may be in, there is a community of people in the same boat who are talking about the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly details. Individual opinions and comments will vary, as you may expect, but there is still plenty of chatter out there to be heard.
I’ll leave the deep dive to you if you’re interested in doing so, but here are some general observations about baldness discussions in social media I’ve noticed:
- Bravery
This usually involves someone revealing they are going through a life change and how they are dealing with it. It might be hair loss due to chemotherapy or from alopecia. The videos and discussions usually center around females, as hair loss can be particularly devastating. Female hairstyles have typically held a stronger connection to one’s self-image of what is beautiful and what is not. Females are often seen in tears shaving their hair, and beginning this difficult journey. Those interacting with comments are usually supportive and uplifting.
- Recovery
We see men and women recovering from hair loss showing the various stages they’ve passed to get where they are today. This can be in the form of regaining hair after post-partum hair loss, hair growth after a hair transplant, or beginning the process of trying a bald look and waiting for feedback from the public.
- Acceptance
- Hair transplant – accepting that thinning hair is happening and making a choice to avoid that as their final destination. Some people cannot envision baldness so they decide to proactively seek out other solutions, like a hair transplant, for example.
- Baldness – accepting that baldness is on its way and deciding to not only accept it but to lean in to it. This is someone who chooses to make baldness part of their new identity. And some embrace it so much, they make sure to insist it is included as a main part of their brand. Bald and proud, so to speak. #baldisbeautiful
- Dating
There have been websites and apps launched exclusively for the bald, where having hair is a dealbreaker when seeking a mate or date. They are looking for dates who prefer baldness, instead of filtering those potential dates out. On typical dating sites, if a woman who is not into bald men sees such a bald photo on someone’s profile, they would normally swipe left. But on these exclusively bald sites, those same profiles would be actively sought after.
- Attraction
This is someone posting traits about people they find sexy and want others to discuss it in the comments. In this instance, the posts are often about why they find baldness attractive or not. For those in the positive camp, they usually mention bald men are found to exude dominance, masculinity, and confidence. They explain that appearing more masculine hints at higher testosterone levels, which in turn implies a higher libido. They also go on to explain that baldness is sexiest when paired with good grooming and (the majority of the posts added) a thick beard. Most females said baldness can look great on someone who is in good shape and appears confident, while most females were turned off by baldness on someone out of shape.
Come back next week for more observations, including humor, top-10 lists, and the buddy system.
