Losing your hair can be tough to deal with, especially if it starts to disappear years earlier than you imagined.
If your barnet has always been your crowning glory, you can feel like you’ve lost some of your identity when you first start to go bald. But if you want to carry on looking and feeling like your usual confident self, you need to accept it and own it.
Some careful hair styling can cleverly disguise a receding hairline and provide you with a bold new look, and you can get this at home with the Gillette All Purpose Styler and Beard Trimmer. It’s designed for even trimming, close shaving, and precise edging - everything you need for a sharp new ‘do.
How to Tell if Your Hairline is Receding
It can take years for guys to go fully bald, but it can be hard to admit when your hairline is starting to recede. If you stay in denial, you’re more likely to end up with a hairstyle that ages you and only draws more attention to your uneven hairline.
Signs of a receding hairline include your hair starting to thin at the temples, your hairline beginning to peter out into an M shape, and noticing more hair falling out onto your clothes or your pillow at night.
Although stress can speed up your rate of hair loss, it’s your genes that have the biggest impact on when you’re most likely to start losing your hair. Illness and some medical treatments can also lead to hair loss in men.
Hairstyles for a Receding Hairline
Here are our top recommendations for cleverly hiding a receding hairline:
The Short Back and Sides
A short back and sides hairstyle works for most men - lots of guys adopt this as their signature look, even if they’re not trying to disguise hair loss.
The Gillette All Purpose Styler and Beard Trimmer comes with three interchangeable combs (2mm, 4mm and 6mm), so you can choose exactly how short you want your back and sides.
Play around with the hair on top of your head with styling products to create more of a textured crop hairstyle, if you prefer.
Take the classic short back and sides one step further by attaching one of our ProGlide Razor Blades to your All Purpose Styler and shave that shorter hair around the back and sides into an undercut. Confidence is the key to pulling off this look, so be bold and go for it.
The Faux Hawk
A Mohawk would certainly be one way to distract from a receding hairline, but a faux hawk hairstyle is a softer, more sustainable choice that you can actually get away with in the office. If you’ve always had long, thick hair, this is the look to go for.
Keep the back and sides of your hair short and neat, but keep your hair long on top. Use gel to style your locks into a quiff or use wax to play around with texture to create the illusion of movement and height to take attention away from your receding hairline.
You want to leave plenty to run your fingers through and to give you the option of slicking it back, styling it into a tousled look or even curling it so you can continue to let your personality shine through your hairstyle.
The (Modern) Comb-Over
The comb-over has earned itself a terrible rep over the years, but when it’s done right, it can actually be an effective and stylish way to cover up thinning hair - trust us.
Start by using a fine comb to create a neat side parting, starting from one of your temples or wherever your hair is thinning the most to cleverly use it as the focal point of your hairstyle.
By combing your longer hair to one side and neatly trimming below the parting you’ve just created using your beard trimmer, you’ll create the illusion of a full, sweeping hairstyle, helping you to feel slick, smart and like the best version of yourself.
Just keep in mind that if your hair starts thinning on top, you’ll need to reassess your look or you’ll risk falling into that category of men giving the comb-over a bad rep.
The Crew Cut
Styling your hair into a crew cut can provide you with a little extra control over the look of your hairline, allowing you to trim the hair on the top, back and sides of your head to a short length all over for a smart, neat finish - something that can be achieved with the Gillette Styler, a well-placed mirror and a helping hand.
The crew cut first came to mass popularity in the 1920s, when many Ivy League rowing crew members sported the look to help with keeping their hair out of their eyes while competing. It's remained a timeless look and suits men of all ages, so you don't need to worry about it being a clear sign that you're trying to disguise a receding hairline.
The Buzz Cut
A buzz cut isn’t quite as extreme as a clean shave, and it can be a really smart look if you keep it neat with regular trims.
This is one of the reasons why it pays to own our All Purpose Styler and Beard Trimmer - you can trim your hair every few days at home if you need to, without having to spend all your time and money on trips to your barber.
The buzz cut is probably the easiest haircut you can give yourself - just make sure you stick with the same trimmer comb each time for an even length all over.
Then, every couple of days when you shave your facial hair, spend an extra few minutes trimming the hair on your head to keep yourself looking your best.
The Clean Shave
The ultimate way to disguise a receding hairline is to simply shave all of your hair off, but that takes guts - and the right shaving technique.
When you’re ready to take the plunge, spend a few moments getting to know your head, feeling it all over with your hands to check for any skin tags or moles that you’ll need to avoid with your razor.
When you’re ready to start shaving, treat your head hair like you would your beard. Start with your trimmer - going straight in with a razor on longer hair is just asking for a painful tangle.
After you’ve removed most of the length, lather up with a shaving gel or foam - we recommend our SkinGuard Men’s Sensitive Shaving Foam or Fusion5 Men’s Sensitive 2 in 1 Active Sport Shaving Gel for shaving over the delicate skin on your head.
Your All Purpose Styler comes with a Fusion5 ProGlide razor blade included - attach it to the gadget and use it to shave your head for the best results. The Styler is specially designed to navigate every curve and contour of you head, letting you achieve a comfortable, smooth shave all over.
Tools to Fix a Receding Hairline
Aside from the Gillette Styler, a shaving gel or foam, and a supply of Fusion5 ProGlide blades, your toolkit for disguising a receding hairline should also include your ability to grow facial hair.
Well-groomed facial hair can distract from the lack of hair on your head - just remember to keep your beard and ‘tache neat and trimmed, so you always look and feel your best.
Check out the top beard styles to find the right style for your face shape.
