Unless you are Anthony Bourdain, Tony Danza, or Don Henley, chances are you haven’t won the “follicle lottery.”

Most men, myself included, find that by the time they near the age of 35, not only does their hairline recede, but almost even worse, their hair on top begins thinning out significantly.

That combination begins limiting hairstyles for a man. The best response is to start cutting it much shorter on the sides and the back (anywhere between a 2 and 4 guard on the clippers), so that the top looks fuller.

Even then, the top has to be fairly long to distract from the fact that it is indeed thinning. Notice in this picture (below) from this past summer, how you can see how my hair in the front is thinner; I can see scalp in the midst of my hair.

It’s important to me that I am not in denial when it comes to my hair. I embrace reality and don’t try to hide it from the outside world.

So for my hair to look the best, I have to grow it fairly long on top, then pay nearly $20 a month to pay to get it maintained.

But what’s the real advantage of a nearly 35 year-old man having hair anyway?

On the contraire, I have learned it’s actually better, in many ways, to choose to be bald.

1)      Many women like the look of a man with a shaved head. My wife is one of them. She’s never liked my hair when it was longer. But when I keep it short, she never has any complaints. Perhaps the psychology is this: “Bald equals masculine, and therefore, equals attractive to women who are attracted to masculine men.”

2)      It’s free to shave your head. A pair of clippers is all you need; no need to go out pay someone at least 20 bucks for a traditional haircut every month. I prefer the 1.5 guard on the clippers as it perfectly matches the thinner area of my hairline; looking more aesthetic all over.

3)      Men with shaved heads look more confident. Those of us who choose to bald show a strong level of confidence in ourselves in being able to commit to such a fairly extreme, yet butch hairstyle.

4)      Men with shaved heads appear to be taller. By no means am I insecure about my completely average height of 5’9”, but sure, I’ll gladly accept the concept of people thinking I’m an inch and a half taller than I actually am.

5)      It’s less maintenance, both physically and psychologically. Based on the number of hits I effortless earn each day on my YouTube videos about receding hairlines, it’s very obvious that most men A) suffer from thinning hair and B) spend a lot of time thinking and worrying about it. Instead, they could just choose to opt out of that game as I have.

6)      Wearing hats is more practical. When you don’t have any hair to be matted down after wearing a hat, you never have to worry about looking sloppy after removing a hat in public.

7)      It’s officially cool to have a shaved head. Perhaps never before in human history have men who choose to be bald been cooler. It’s sophisticated rebellion. It’s edgy yet classy.

I’m not saying I won’t grow my hair back again, because I know I sporadically will.

But really, I’ve yet to see any incentive to. I’ve yet to how having hair benefits my life at all, whatsoever.

Instead, I only see benefits of choosing not to have hair.

But let’s not simply take my word for it…

I hereby invite you to decide for yourself. I just made this video which contains back and forth footage of me: with a buzz cut, then with hair. Vote which you think looks better by leaving a comment on the video.

Let’s settle this once and for all!