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Common Hair Problems Men Experience As They Age

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Technology is a beautiful thing – literally. It’s helping us come up with so many ways to tame our mane. For guys, in particular, the hair product industry has exploded.  Hair can be a symbol of manhood for men. It’s also how we show personal style that evolves as we age. Unfortunately, with time our manly mane changes. Suddenly we aren’t able to pull off the styles we rocked before. Plus, there are other hair issues that have cropped up making regular upkeep a necessity.  Today we’re tackling the most common hair problems older guys have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Thinning Hair

This is easily the problem that plagues older men the most. Thinning hair can be caused by a number of things, including male pattern baldness (MPB). Male pattern baldness is a genetic condition that affects millions of people. MPB or not, 66% of men notice their hair is thinner by age 35. By age 50 around 85% of guys have noticeably thinner hair compared to their younger years.

Extreme Solution: Hair transplants are the only surefire way to replace follicles that have been lost. You can try monoxidil treatments but it will only work on hair follicles that are still productive.

Easy Solution: Hair building fibers are the latest product helping men fill out their thinning hair. You just sprinkle them on and the fibers grab onto hairs making them much thicker.

Graying Hair

They always say it’s better to gray out than fall out. This is little condolence to guys that are watching their hair change colors. At first, it’s just a touch of gray along the temples and in the beard. No big deal. It makes you look distinguished and adds a little character. But then the gray starts to spread and suddenly you look years older than you actually are.

Extreme Solution: The fix for gray hair is dye. But dying your hair so that it looks natural is a tricky process. Things can go south really quick if you aren’t careful. If you’re just starting to see gray or only have a few patches it’s best to spot treat. When the majority of hair is gray the best solution is to blend it away using a color treatment that has peroxide in it. This will prevent full saturation of the color so you look like you have less gray hair rather than a helmet of hair dye.

Easy Solution: Own it. The term silver fox is popular for a reason.

Dandruff

Dandruff isn’t so much a hair issue as it is a scalp issue. White flakes of skin come off the scalp and cake up your hairstyle or fall onto your shoulders. When cases are more severe you can experience comfortable itching as well.

For some reason, dandruff happens to men more often than women. The causes can range from not shampooing your hair enough to having a skin sensitivity (contact dermatitis).

Extreme Solution: Men that have a lot of dandruff that doesn’t respond to over-the-counter treatments should go see a dermatologist. There’s likely to be an underlying skin issue that has to be addressed before you can correct the dandruff problem.

Easy Solution: Use a daily dandruff shampoo. This is the recommended first step to try to correct dandruff before moving on to other solutions.

Coarse, Brittle Strands

One of the less common signs of aging hair is change in the texture. Slowly over time hair becomes more brittle and coarse to the touch because it loses moisture and elasticity. This is more a sign of the wear and tear hair goes through over the years than anything else. The more you chemically treat hair and style it the rougher it will look with age.

Extreme Solution: Swearing off all chemicals and styling. It will help hair recover, but the possibility of just letting your hair go all the time is pretty low.

Easy Solution: Take a vitamin that helps restore hair’s strength and structure. The nutrients vitamin B, biotin and silica are all good for your hair.

As you can see there’s no shortage of solutions for aging hair. Our philosophy is to start with the early solutions as soon as you notice a hair problem. When it’s warranted then you can start considering the more extreme options.

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2 thoughts on “Common Hair Problems Men Experience As They Age”

  1. Always monoxidol, they say it does not work on the front of the head. I still have used it.
    Paul Mitchell makes a leave in conditioner. That helps particularly in colder months or after hair coloring. I have even used a few drop of coconut oil. Help with fly away hair. Grooming lounge makes stuff to make your hair look thicker. Everyman Jack also makes a thickening grooming cream. Works good for me and is less than $10.
    Bond

  2. Thank you Sharpologist for addressing the needs of older guys. While the forums seem to be slanted toward younger guys, many older guys are wet shavers and have been so for many years. Not being in the target demographic, we older guys are usually left out in the cold when it comes to issues affecting us. It would be most welcome if you would address other issues peculiar to our cohort — such as thin skin, trembling hands, etc. I am sure you can think of others.

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