A bald spot on the crown can have a significant negative effect on a man’s self-confidence, and it can affect his social and sometimes, even his professional life. However, you will be happy to know that, in many cases, getting a great haircut for men who are balding on top can be enough to mask this problem.
Approximately 85% of men experience hair loss during their lifetime [1]. That is why many skilled hairdressers have made it their professional goal to design amazing hairstyles for balding men. Adopting the most suitable one for you will showcase your strand strengths and disguise your crown hair thinning. At the same time, it will keep you away from bad haircuts which only emphasise the bald spots you are trying to hide.
However, while the best hairstyles for men with thinning hair can temporarily help your look, they will not solve the underlying problem. If your hair is falling out due to a type of alopecia, such as male pattern baldness, your condition may progress until it becomes too advanced to hide. That is why it is important to see a trichologist from the first signs of hair thinning and balding, to get diagnosed and receive the best hair loss treatment for men in due time.
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There is no better way to escape the hassle of constantly having to hide your balding crown than to shave it all off. A clean shaved head exudes confidence and masculinity and it particularly compliments more athletic figures and square or oval faces.
You can match this style very well with some rugged facial hair. The good news is that if you have male pattern baldness, you may stand a better chance of growing a full, healthy beard. That is because while an excess of the male hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) can lead to pattern hair loss, it can help your facial hair grow and may reduce your chances of developing a patchy beard [2].
If shaving your head completely sounds too extreme, a sexy stubble can be just what you need. This rugged style goes excellently with a 2-4 day old beard and it can be rocked by thinner men just as well as by muscular ones.
Made popular by famous action star Jason Statham, it works best on more mature individuals. Since it keeps your hair very short, your balding crown should not create a visual discrepancy.
If you have a thinning spot on top of your head but are not experiencing frontal balding, you can try a slicked-back style. This involves using hair gel or mousse on your strands and combing them towards the back of the head.
This style works especially well for men whose hair is medium length, so the slicked-back strands can cover your thinning area. And if you want to give it a more masculine look, you can always try it with a high fade, which can also help mask temple hair loss.
This very stylish haircut works well to disguise hair thinning at the top if you still have enough of it around your hairline. That is because it involves combing your frontal strands up and then backwards, creating a volumised ridge. This will draw attention away from the balding areas on your crown, which may become less visible, especially on tall men.
However, it is not ideal if your frontal hair is dwindling as well, as it can give your quiff a sparse appearance.
This army classic works well for all ages, builds and face types. And it has enough variants to suit most preferences. Since it is a short style, it can disguise a thinning dome. It works best with a high fade, but it can also be worn with a flat top.
However, if you are balding at the crown, it may be best to stick with the shorter top length to avoid increasing the contrast between the fuller and sparser areas.
The crew cut is very similar to the buzz cut, except it has shorter hair on the sides and back of the head and slightly longer on the crown. If you are feeling adventurous, It can work very well combined with a faux hawk and a beard.
This style agrees with any age, from teenagers to silver foxes. And if you would like better top coverage, a messy, textured cut can disguise some of the thinning.
Ideal for men with wavy or curly hair who enjoy longer styles, the bro flow can give you a laid-back, youthful vibe. It can also create the appearance of a fuller head of hair because your curls can disguise balding spots. All you need to do is to comb your hair backwards and let it flow naturally. If needed, you can use a fixating product to lock it in place (don’t worry, hairspray does not normally cause hair loss).
However, this style only works if there is sufficient hair in your frontal area to ensure that your balding spot is not visible through it.
If your hair shedding on the top is not very pronounced and you have abundant hair at the back of your head, a pushed-forward crop may be the best solution. Combing your hair forward can mask the thinning area and give you a trendy look. The French crop is most suitable for men with wavy hair, though a textured cut can also produce a good visual effect.
Men who have a bald spot on the centre of their head but full strands on the sides can try an asymmetric side-swept hairstyle. This involves letting your hair grow out on half of your head and combing it over with a parting, leaving its frontal part longer than the back. The other side of the head can be clipped shorter or, if you are feeling adventurous, it can be shaved off entirely.
It is a creative haircut ideal for artistic, non-conformist, youthful personalities. At the same time, it is one of the best male hairstyles for a receding hairline or uneven hairline because it disguises irregularities in your frontal area.
Mature men often prefer this neat, down-to-earth style, which is perfect for a silver fox. It is easy to style and wear, as it only takes creating a side part and combing over (or backwards) the larger portion of your hair. You can lock it in place with a bit of gel or hairspray to keep it looking fresh throughout the day.
This style is worn best by men with a square or oval face, and it can be particularly sensual if you are greying at the temples. However, it only works well if your central balding isn’t very advanced. Otherwise, it might result in a poor, see-through combover.
A voluminous, high hairdo such as the pompadour is bound to attract attention. However, you need to have full, healthy hair on your frontal scalp to be able to pull it off.
To achieve its spectacular volume, the hair needs to be blow-dried, and a round brush is used to roll it backwards in a tall mound. Hairspray is then added to lock it in place. The hair on the sides can be clipped shorter or faded off entirely. A well-done pomp can steal the show and mask crown thinning and it is also versatile enough to accommodate temple recession.
A well-positioned man-bun can hide mild to moderate balding at the crown. It is also a trendy, youthful look, adopted by many athletes and movie stars. Moreover, it is easy to style at home, all you need is a brush and a hair tie.
However, caution must be applied because a top knot can cause hair loss if worn excessively, as it can trigger traction alopecia. Alternating between this hairstyle and other, looser ones is the healthiest option for your hair.
While the mohawk is reserved for the most daring, the faux hawk is a fresh, modern haircut that anyone can enjoy. It is obtained by combing up the hair on the sides of your head so it can meet in the middle, creating a pointy ridge.
However, it is nowhere near as tall or conspicuous as a mohawk and the sides are not shaved off. Since men with male pattern baldness usually have healthy hair on the sides of their heads, they can hide the balding spots in the centre under the eye-catching, full-looking faux hawk.
A Caesar cut is a classic, short hairstyle with a small, often tapered and potentially choppy fringe. Its length helps disguise a thinning crown, while the bangs can mask a receding hairline. It is generally a good haircut choice for balding men, as it is an unassuming style which highlights your face and beard, diverting attention away from the problem areas on your scalp.
If your top balding is advanced but you’d still like to showcase your remaining hair, there may still be a good option available. You can always try wearing a beanie (or a bandana in hot weather) to cover your bald spot.
Many celebrities have adopted this style, and it has become increasingly trendy in the past years for bald and full-haired men alike. This look can give you a hip, artsy vibe and allow you to make the most of the hair that you still have.
A large bald spot on your crown partially or fully surrounded by a puffy ring of hair may be the poorest styling choice from an aesthetic point of view. That is because it is the least appealing of both worlds – you are not fully bald, but you don’t really have hair, either.
Moreover, this style can age you and give you a dull vibe. You may be much better off shaving your head clean or opting for a seductive Statham stubble instead.
If your balding is advanced, there is not much you can do to fix or mask it short of getting a hair transplant. While a comb-over can work for mild or moderate hair loss, an extensive bald spot is difficult to cover this way. More often than not, men simply try to mask their bare crown by combing a few strands from one side across it. These rarely remain in place, especially in windy weather.
Furthermore, if they are thin and see-through from the get-go, the attempt to mask your baldness is as obvious as it is unsuccessful. Opting for a hairpiece or shaving your head would often be a significant improvement for your appearance.
Braids, cornrows and dreadlocks can look amazing on full afro hair. However, if your hair is sparse, they will appear thin and pitiful. And a bald spot on your crown will only be highlighted by the hairstyle around it, as it will leave a large, empty space between what is supposed to be evenly-spaced braids or locs.
Moreover, these tight hairstyles can enhance your hair shedding by inducing traction alopecia. Unless you are open to getting a hair system for your balding spots, it is best to opt for a hairstyle that uses your curly hair texture instead of hiding it.
Wearing your hair long while the top of your head is smooth and shiny can be a confusing look. Similar to the power donut, you are neither bald nor do you have long, luxurious hair. Wearing a beanie or a bandana can let you showcase your remaining hair if you enjoy growing it out. Or you can get a natural-looking hair transplant which would allow you to sport a full mane once more.
But aesthetically speaking, there is usually a choice to be made between adopting a bald look and letting your hair grow out.
A spiky hairdo may sound like a good idea if your hair is thinner because it is flashy and provides texture while being more forgiving with dwindling areas. However, if you are experiencing significant thinning at the top of your head, sparse, feeble spikes would only draw attention to the empty spots in between them. A faux hawk can be a much better option if you are going for a pointy, dynamic hairstyle.
If a hairstyle is not enough to hide the thinning hair on the top of your head, you can always use some baldness-disguising hair products alongside it. Here are some of the best options you can try:
Hair thickening sprays contain small fibres that bind to your natural strands, creating the illusion of greater hair fullness and density. Since they use an electrostatic charge to attach to your hair, they don’t lie flat and lifeless but appear to move naturally alongside it.
This product contains a temporary pigment that is the same shade as your hair. You can spray it on the scalp in your thinning areas. Doing so reduces the contrast between the bald spots and the rest of your hair, making them less conspicuous. This solution works best for shorter hairstyles.
This form of hair tattoo for men uses the same principle of lowering contrast as spray-on hair. However, scalp micropigmentation (SPM) is a permanent procedure which involves using a tattoo gun to inject very small dots of pigment under your scalp skin. However, it is a good idea to use the services of an experienced professional to avoid scalp micropigmentation regrets.
While hair thickening shampoos cannot create the same kind of instant magic that the other products on this list can, they can also help make your hair look fuller. That is because they offer your strands lift and volume, and many contain keratin for hair, which can increase your strand thickness.
Some of them also contain ingredients that can stimulate your follicles for hair growth, such as caffeine or saw palmetto for hair loss. However, while caffeine shampoo has been proven to reduce hair loss in male pattern baldness [3][4], more research is needed to show whether the natural DHT blockers found in saw palmetto and other similar ingredients are effective in shampoo form.
There can be several reasons why a man may develop top baldness. Here are the most commonly encountered:
Also known as androgenetic alopecia, male pattern baldness is a condition that affects most men before the age of 50 [1]. It is caused by a combination of ageing, hormones and genetic predisposition. Its first symptoms are usually a receding hairline and temple hair loss (which can form an M-shaped hairline). Then, many men develop hair thinning at the crown.
If left untreated, this condition can progress to near-total baldness. If you suspect you may be experiencing male pattern baldness, you can check its stage by using the Norwood scale.
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition, which means your white blood cells are attacking your hair follicles. It can cause circular bald spots on any part of your scalp, including the crown (and, more rarely, the rest of your face and body).
If you find you are developing a smooth, hairless spot on the top of your head, with no significant hair shedding in other areas, this condition may be at fault. This normally warrants seeing a trichologist.
If the bald spot on your crown has appeared abruptly and is accompanied by other symptoms (e.g. redness, inflammation, flaking, itching and/or scalp tenderness in one spot), you may be experiencing a common scalp problem.
Scalp psoriasis or ringworm can sometimes manifest with hair loss on a limited area such as the top of your head. Getting the appropriate diagnosis and treatment should also solve your hair thinning in the affected area.
Scarring alopecia is a type of hair loss that destroys the hair follicles it affects, leaving them unable to grow new strands. Lichen planopilaris is one of its most common forms, affecting approximately 1% of the population [5]. Frontal fibrosing alopecia can be another variety, though it is quite rare in men.
A scar from a cut, severe scrape or burn on the top of your head can prevent hair from growing in the affected area. Traction alopecia from a too-tight top knot can also cause your hair to fall out.
Moreover, constant friction from wearing tight, uncomfortable headgear that rubs against your crown for extended periods of time, such as hard plastic headphones may also cause some mild hair loss, mainly through hair breakage (however, this should not be enough to single-handedly cause a bald spot and typically resolves itself when you remove the source of friction).
Depending on what is causing your top thinning, there may be a variety of treatments that can help you curb hair loss and increase your strand density and thickness. Here are some of the most commonly prescribed:
This procedure is performed by harvesting healthy hair follicles from parts of your head where you have them in abundance (e.g. the back or sides of the head) and reimplanting them in the bald spot on your crown. The best hair transplant clinics in the UK have excellent success rates for this procedure, regardless of whether you opt for a FUE or FUT surgery. You can get an idea of our results from our before and after hair transplant gallery.
If you are experiencing hair loss on your crown, the best thing you can do is to book a consultation with one of our top-tier trichologists. They will make full use of their professional toolbox to get to the root of your hair issues.
Depending on your symptoms, they may perform a hair pull test, a dermoscopy or order specific blood tests for hair loss. Once they have the results, they will provide an accurate diagnosis and the most effective evidence-based treatment for your specific condition.
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