The bald-faced, bald-headed truth

April 9, 2026

I’ve just discovered I’m a Norwood 6. That might sound like a golf ball or maybe a motorboat, but it’s not and has nothing to do with the classic book of the same name either. It refers to the above scale of male pattern baldness, which has become an obsession and a source of stress for plenty of dudes.

We used to see hair loss as a natural, inevitable result of aging. My father and uncle had high foreheads, so I wasn’t surprised when my follicles began to take flight around the time I turned 30. Like the young men in the “tressless” group on Reddit, I felt self-conscious about it. But in the mid-80s, we didn’t have drugs to repopulate the scalp.

Today finasteride and minoxidil (formerly Rogaine) are the GLP-1s of the hair-challenged. A 2024 survey showed finasteride prescriptions for men over 25 surged by 200% over the last seven years, boosted by telehealth and socials. Reddit is buzzing with posts about dosages, the shedding phase, the best shampoos etc, and tons of “progress pictures” that capture every millimeter of new growth.

Many of these guys just want to look their best or not look old. Some fret that even a small bare spot will send women running. Sadly, others are in darker places, saying their baldness makes them feel “fucking ugly,” and panicking over signs their drugs have quit working, which can happen. The Cleveland Clinic warns, “If you stop taking this medication, the effect will be reversed within 12 months.” BTW, the potential side effects include ED and reduced libido. That alone would stop me from ever ingesting the stuff, even if the alternative is to end up a full Norwood 7, like a billiard ball.

Back in the day, if you didn’t want to get plugs or join the Hair Club for Men, the only “treatment” was the infamous comb-over. I tried that but eventually realized I looked ridiculous, especially in a stiff breeze, and gave up trying to camouflage nature’s work. I found a woman who liked my looks anyway and still does, though my dome has steadily denuded over the years we’ve been together.

The other day I read an article that says finasteride is, “rewriting the rules of masculinity.” Stop the presses. Masculinity doesn’t sprout from your forehead, brothers; it lives in your heart, mind, and soul. You don’t need a full thicket to be a success in love or anything else. The gent just below is at least a 5, maybe a 6, but he’s doing alright.

Originally published at http://daveswanauthor.wordpress.com on April 9, 2026.

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