# Balding



## Damaged Goods (Jan 9, 2021)

Why does the media refer to the guy with the fringe on the sides and around the back as "balding"?  I mean those guys are as bald as any male gets, with the exception of some on chemo or those who have certain rare medical disorders.

"Balding" should be used for those who still have some feathers on top and will probably lose still more hair


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## Murrmurr (Jan 9, 2021)

Good point.

Maybe it's to _distinguish_ us from guys getting chemo or who have alopecia or whatever, but if so it's totally unnecessary. 20 years ago I was balding. Now I'm bald. You can be real about it, it's okay.


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## Damaged Goods (Jan 9, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> Good point.
> 
> Maybe it's to _distinguish_ us from guys getting chemo or who have alopecia or whatever, but if so it's totally unnecessary. 20 years ago I was balding. Now I'm bald. You can be real about it, it's okay.


Plus we got great testosterone.


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## Murrmurr (Jan 9, 2021)

Damaged Goods said:


> Plus we got great testosterone.


If testosterone can kill hair follicles, then mine are absolute warriors.


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## Phoenix (Jan 9, 2021)

In the winter I always want to knit hats for bald guys.  Brrr.


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## Murrmurr (Jan 9, 2021)

Phoenix said:


> In the winter I always want to knit hats for bald guys.  Brrr.


It would be a worthy cause, and much appreciated.


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## Phoenix (Jan 9, 2021)

I find it interesting what happens to the body as we age. Where hair ends up and where it takes a leave of absence.   I assume in Sacramento it does not get toooooo cold.


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## Murrmurr (Jan 9, 2021)

Phoenix said:


> I find it interesting what happens to the body as we age. Where hair ends up and where it takes a leave of absence.   I assume in Sacramento it does not get toooooo cold.


After you spend over half a year in 80 to 100 degrees, 40 feels pretty dang cold.


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## Phoenix (Jan 9, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> After you spend over half a year in 80 to 100 degrees, 40 feels pretty dang cold.


That's quite the difference.  Guess it's better than 40 below.


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## Murrmurr (Jan 9, 2021)

Phoenix said:


> That's quite the difference.  Guess it's better than 40 below.


If it ever got 40 below here I think we'd all just give up and let ourselves freeze.


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## Phoenix (Jan 9, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> If it ever got 40 below here I think we'd all just give up and let ourselves freeze.


Cute.  You could always put some of that in the freezer and take it out to cool things off when the fires show up.


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## Murrmurr (Jan 9, 2021)

Phoenix said:


> Cute.  You could always put some of that in the freezer and take it out to cool things off when the fires show up.


Great idea! Think my congressman will go for it?
We actually rely heavily on the mountain snow, but there hasn't been much of it in a while.


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## Damaged Goods (Jan 9, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> After you spend over half a year in 80 to 100 degrees, 40 feels pretty dang cold.


Yeah, I set the thermometer at 68F and walk around inside wearing a hooded jacket.  And all along I attributed that attire to a combination of old age and low bodyweight without considering loss of follicles. 

And to think that in high school, one of my nicknames was forest top.


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## Phoenix (Jan 9, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> Great idea! Think my congressman will go for it?
> We actually rely heavily on the mountain snow, but there hasn't been much of it in a while.


It depends on his political affiliation.  So you aren't getting the kind of snow we are this year in Oregon? I'm not sure what the depths are, and if they are still below normal. It's just been a while since we've had this much. Every year is has been less and less here.


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## Murrmurr (Jan 9, 2021)

Phoenix said:


> It depends on his political affiliation.  So you aren't getting the kind of snow we are this year in Oregon? I'm not sure what the depths are, and if they are still below normal. It's just been a while since we've had this much. Every year is has been less and less here.


We haven't even had much rain. A few days with a little off-and-on drizzle, warm and sunny in between. Usually that means a wet spring, but there's been nothing usual about this year.


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## Phoenix (Jan 9, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> We haven't even had much rain. A few days with a little off-and-on drizzle, warm and sunny in between. Usually that means a wet spring, but there's been nothing usual about this year.


Yes, that's true for all of us on the West Coast.  Did the fires hit your area?


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## Murrmurr (Jan 9, 2021)

Phoenix said:


> Yes, that's true for all of us on the West Coast.  Did the fires hit your area?


No but we had weeks on end when the air was smoky and dark.


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## MarciKS (Jan 9, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> No but we had weeks on end when the air was smoky and dark.


All that stuff from those fires spread clear into Kansas.


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## Murrmurr (Jan 9, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> All that stuff from those fires spread clear into Kansas.


Yikes!


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## MarciKS (Jan 9, 2021)

My lungs were in bad shape when all that was in the atmosphere here.


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## Murrmurr (Jan 9, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> My lungs were in bad shape when all that was in the atmosphere here.


Yeah, I almost convinced my doctor that the spots on my lung x-rays is NOT from cigarettes.


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## Phoenix (Jan 10, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> No but we had weeks on end when the air was smoky and dark.


We had smoke and orange skies here too, but I'm sure it wasn't as bad as it was where you are.


Murrmurr said:


> Yeah, I almost convinced my doctor that the spots on my lung x-rays is NOT from cigarettes.


I don't smoke, but I get tired of them always blaming everything on smoking.  It negates the message.  They don't do the same with drinking.  I assume the alcohol lobby is stronger.


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## win231 (Jan 10, 2021)

"Balding" implies that it's an ongoing process & has not reached its final state, so there's still some hope left.     
"Bald" implies that it's a done deal & all hope is lost.


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## Phoenix (Jan 10, 2021)

win231 said:


> "Balding" implies that it's an ongoing process & has not reached its final state, so there's still some hope left.
> "Bald" implies that it's a done deal & all hope is lost.


The hair on my legs is balding.  There's a lot less of it now and I only have to shave them once a week instead of every day, and what does grow in is not as bristley.   To me this is a good thing.


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## Murrmurr (Jan 10, 2021)

Phoenix said:


> The hair on my legs is balding.  There's a lot less of it now and I only have to shave them once a week instead of every day, and what does grow in is not as bristley.   To me this is a good thing.


Maybe we go out the way we came in...relatively hairless.


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## Phoenix (Jan 10, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> Maybe we go out the way we came in...relatively hairless.


That's totally possible.  I was amazed when my mom was in her upper 80s all the places she no longer had hair.


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## Knight (Jan 11, 2021)

Balding is natures way of transferring head hair to bushy eyebrows, long nose hair & keeping the inside of ears warm. Once completely bald all those areas are full of that transferred hair. 

The time spent trying to hide balding by doing that dumb flip over would be better spent keeping the newly flourishing hair areas trimmed & less visible.


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## Murrmurr (Jan 12, 2021)

Phoenix said:


> That's totally possible.  I was amazed when my mom was in her upper 80s all the places she no longer had hair.


At the risk of sounding like a weirdo, I know what you're talking about.


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## Murrmurr (Jan 12, 2021)

Knight said:


> Balding is natures way of transferring head hair to bushy eyebrows, long nose hair & keeping the inside of ears warm. Once completely bald all those areas are full of that transferred hair.
> 
> The time spent trying to hide balding by doing that dumb flip over would be better spent keeping the newly flourishing hair areas trimmed & less visible.


I've never seen anyone go completely bald. Always a few tufts or wisps left.


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## Phoenix (Jan 12, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> At the risk of sounding like a weirdo, I know what you're talking about.


Now, she was not the generation that shaved everything for greater pleasure.


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## Murrmurr (Jan 12, 2021)

Phoenix said:


> Now, she was not the generation that shaved everything for greater pleasure.


No, I get it...neither was my mom...whom I bathed twice a week for a few years.


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## fmdog44 (Jan 12, 2021)

Recall the play "Hair"? Good song.


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## Phoenix (Jan 13, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> No, I get it...neither was my mom...whom I bathed twice a week for a few years.


So you took physical care of your mom.  That's admirable.  I know women who have done that, but few men.


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## Murrmurr (Jan 13, 2021)

Phoenix said:


> So you took physical care of your mom.  That's admirable.  I know women who have done that, but few men.


Well we (4 men) only have 1 sister. We all took turns caring for mom when she had symptoms of dementia (except our brother who lives far away). The symptoms started a few months after our dad died. Or maybe we just started noticing them then, like maybe they were more apparent with dad not there to sort of hide them, or cover for her.


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## Phoenix (Jan 13, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> Well we (4 men) only have 1 sister. We all took turns caring for mom when she had symptoms of dementia (except our brother who lives far away). The symptoms started a few months after our dad died. Or maybe we just started noticing them then, like maybe they were more apparent with dad not there to sort of hide them, or cover for her.


Even so, most guys I know don't do it.  They might for their spouses, but not their mothers, at least not when  it came to bathing her and such.  Good on you.


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## BlissfullyUnawareCanadian (Jan 22, 2021)

Phoenix said:


> In the winter I always want to knit hats for bald guys.  Brrr.


My husband is RCAF so has the short military cut (and he is balding). I bought him what he fondly refers to as his “old man hat”... a brown felt knit hat with a pompom on top. It’s his favourite toque.


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