What Are the Best Balding Men’s Haircut Styles?

There are some great balding men’s haircut styles that can help you look cool, trim and stylish even with balding or thinning hair. A lot of guys experience balding at some point in their lives, but it doesn’t need to throw off your look. 

All you need is a new haircut to fit the changing length and growth of your hair. Check out these top hairstyles plus some tips for guys with balding or thinning hair. 

Stages of Baldness

Knowing the androgenetic alopecia cycle can help you plan your look as it runs its course. According to the Hamilton-Norwood scale — the measure of the extensiveness of hair loss affecting half of all male quinquagenarians — there are the seven stages of male pattern baldness: 

• Stage 1: The initial stage begins in adolescence. Some boys with full cranial hair may appear to have a broader forehead because of their hairline, but actual baldness comes later.

• Stage 2: Seeing your brow’s uncovered area expand signals the start of hair loss. About one in four men experience this before becoming an adult. Your frontal hairline may recede by approximately 4/5 of an inch, and you may also observe slight evidence of alopecia at the top of your skull.

• Stage 3: Noticeable vertex balding characterizes this stage. More of your temples’ scalp will be visible if you experience fast frontal recession.

• Stage 4: At this stage, most of the hairline is bald. The hair in your temples is higher, and the top of your head may begin to look like a lake.

• Stage 5: The band of hair connecting two sides of your head thins. 

• Stage 6: You enter this stage when you lose all your hair on the crown. Your vertex resembles a bay, shaping the remainder on the sides and the back.

• Stage 7: The last stage of baldness progression leaves your pate completely bare, while the back and sides stay hairy in varying thickness and density.

6 Best Balding Men’s Haircut Styles

You can still look great even if your hair is thinning out. Balding is totally normal for guys. In fact, an estimated 70% of men experience balding as they age, with 25% reporting balding in their early 20s! 

So, thinning or balding hair is definitely not something to be ashamed of. You just need to adapt your hairstyle to balance out thin, receding or balding spots. There are a lot of great balding men’s haircut styles you can get, but we’ve picked out the top six. 

1. “Number Two Blade All Over”

Sometimes a basic haircut is the best one. A simple all-over buzz cut is one of the best balding men’s haircut styles. It’s easy to get and maintain, requires little to no effort to style, works with any hair texture and easily hides balding. 

You can simply ask your barber to use a number one, two or three blade all over, depending on how close you want your shave to be. Channing Tatum often has a clean number two buzz cut while John Legend’s is a bit longer with a number three blade. 

Pro tip: Grow a clean, trimmed beard to balance out a tight buzz cut. 

2. The Caesar Cut

The Caesar cut is a staple among men with balding or thinning hair. It retains a bit of length but not so much that bald spots get highlighted. It’s clean, sharp and works for guys of pretty much any age. This style works best for men with straight hair. 

Actor Jude Law often has a Caesar cut, along with many other celebrities, such as Ryan Reynolds and Antonio Banderas. 

Pro tip: Keep the sides tight to balance out thinner hair on top. 

3. The High and Tight

The high-and-tight is one of the coolest balding men’s haircut styles. It’s especially good for younger guys, but anyone can look great with this cut. It disguises balding and thinning hair by keeping the sides and back much shorter than the top, making it look like you have more hair on top as a result. 

This is an especially good cut if you have curly, textured hair since curls tend to get volume a bit easier than straight hair. Get the sides and back tapered and lean into the wavy or curly texture of your hair on top. 

Celebrities with the high-and-tight cut include John Boyega, Charlie Hunnam and Brad Pitt, who styles it with a pompadour on top. 

Pro tip: Consider getting creative with a design buzzed into your sides to make your high-and-tight cut really pop. 

4. Modern Army Cut

The modern army cut, also called a military fade, is a shorter variation on the high-and-tight. It’s ideal for guys who have receding sides since they’re shaved mostly down to the skin. Get a tight shave around the sides and back that fades slightly with just a bit of length on top. 

This cut is somewhere between a buzz cut and a high-and-tight. It can work for guys with any hair texture and it’s fairly low maintenance. If you have a bald spot near the back of your head, this cut can be a good option for hiding it. 

Pro tip: Learn to shave your sides and back so you can keep this cut looking tight and trim. 

5. The Balding/Skin Fade

The balding fade or skin fade is one of the best balding men’s haircut styles, especially if you’re a younger guy trying to balance out some premature balding or thinning. This haircut is really popular right now, even among guys who aren’t balding. It’s slick, sharp and versatile. 

A skin fade shaves the back and sides down to the skin, hence the name. It fades to the top where it’s left long. It’s a lot like a longer version of the modern army cut. Celebrities sporting this style include Colin Farrell and Adam Levine. 

Pro tip: Try out different hair products to improve your texture and volume on top, which can balance out thinning hair. 

6. The Roger Sterling

The Roger Sterling gets an honorable mention among the best balding men’s haircut styles since it is best for guys who have thinning hair or minor balding. It doesn’t work as well for guys with significant balding. 

This hairstyle is perfect for men who want a clean, polished look. It’s a trim, elevated cut that’s great at disguising receding hairlines and thinning hair. The Roger Sterling has tight sides with a bit of length left on top that gets combed into a side part. 

Pro tip: Don’t let this cut get long, especially if you have thinning hair. 

Tips for Men With Balding and Thinning Hair

If you’re going for one of the best balding men’s haircut styles, you can also use a few handy tips to maximize the look of your new trim. These tips will also help you take care of your scalp to minimize further balding. 

Grow a Beard If Possible

One of the best ways to balance out thinning or balding hair is by growing out your beard. There are so many ways to trim, shape and style a beard. You can use a classy, well-maintained beard to draw attention away from your balding hair and elevate your look. 

This is an especially helpful trick if you have a lot of balding on top. Go for a simple buzz cut and focus on your beard instead. Make sure you pick a good beard shape for your face shape and keep the length under control. 

Don’t Leave Your Hair Long

Some guys are tempted to leave their hair long when they start to experience balding, but this is usually a bad idea. Remember, if you’re experiencing balding or your hair is thinning, length is not your problem. It’s your scalp that’s changing. 

Leaving your hair long when you’re starting to go bald results in a thin or bald scalp with long hair around it. Usually this draws much more attention to your balding scalp. It may give the impression that a guy doesn’t know how to adapt to his balding or thinning hair. 

The best balding men’s haircut styles are designed to make you look cool and sharp with your thinning hair. Lean into those styles and don’t be afraid to let go of longer hair. This will project more confidence and show people that you know how to rock your hair no matter what length it is. 

Be Careful About Hats

Guys with balding and thinning hair have to pay more attention to their scalp health. This is especially true if you’re hoping to treat your scalp to prevent or reverse your balding. 

So, be extra careful about wearing hats frequently. Hats can dry out your scalp and trap oil from your hair and skin that may worsen your balding and/or thinning hair symptoms. Go for a haircut designed for your thinning hair instead. 

Emphasize Textured Cuts

A textured head of hair involves snipping off the more voluminous sections to make the thinner ones less prominent. This trick will create an illusion of fuller strands, allowing your hair loss to progress without anyone noticing.

Cutting your hair uniformly can mask your bald spots. How short should you go? Attach a guide comb #4 to your clipper to reduce the length of your strands to half an inch if you have a round face. Use a guard comb #3 to cut your locks to 3/8 inches if your face’s shape is square, diamond or oblong to soften your facial features.

Want to look badass while going through the second stage of baldness? Embellishing your hairstyle with one or two razor slashes on one side will draw attention away from your receding hairline and give your head a new center of attraction.

When In Doubt, Own It

Nothing exudes more confidence than a man comfortable sporting the power donut. Think of Jack Nicholson, Larry David, Sean Connery and Ed Harris. These men are the epitome of “bald is bold.” They walk with an aura of unassailability, facing the world unbothered by their naked scalp.

Donning the power donut is a sign of acceptance, not a white flag. It’s your way of telling everyone that you embrace the new you and broadcasting that you have a positive body image.

Not resisting the will of nature differs from leaving your cranium’s remaining hirsute parts unkempt. Only a few men can pull off Albert Einstein’s hairdo and look fantastic, so keep your hair from overgrowing to appear neat.

Shave your entire head if most balding haircuts are off the table. Having a chrome dome will eliminate your bare scalp areas and boost your attractiveness, making you appear more masculine, dominant, intelligent and successful. Compare before-and-after photos of Bruce Willis and Vin Diesel and see which versions of them look more manly. Billionaire Jeff Bezos looks the part because of his bald head.

Ready to cut your hair off and embrace your baldness? Use a clipper with a #1 or #2 guard to shave your strands down to 1/4 or 1/8 inches. It’s one of those balding haircuts that will dramatically change your look if you have a mop of hair. People will note the difference but appreciate the character your shaven head lends to your appearance.

Keeping It Trim

Length is the name of the game when you have balding or thinning hair. Make time for more frequent visits to your barber to get your haircut cleaned up so you can maintain a length that blends in or disguises any balding. With one of the best balding haircut styles for men, you can rock a clean, trim look that stays stylish even if your hair is growing differently than it used to.

Originally published 11/5/2023 – Updated 2/26/2024