Column | Struggling with baldness

The crown is where it starts for most men. Often in combination with the inlet. Gradually, like a silent army, disaster advances, especially after the age of fifty. Baldness – a form of nudity that no one wants.

In women, hair may become thinner, but in men it is more likely to experience total loss. As long as it remains limited to the inlet, there is not much to worry about. A slightly receding hairline, oh well, no one notices. But in the meantime, a clear cut may have started on the top of your head that has been hidden from your observation for a long time. Because who regularly uses a mirror to inspect the back of their head?

Not me. And so it was a nasty surprise when, after the haircut, the hairdresser did something he rarely does: he crawled behind me with a hand mirror to show that he had done his job properly.

I mainly saw pale skin showing through thin hair. “Wow,” I said disappointed, “that’s the truth.” “There is still plenty left,” he consoled, “and you just have to think: you are not the first.”

Now I understood why the haircuts took shorter and shorter periods, which made no difference to the rate. We were waiting for the moment when only a few blades would struggle to hold on to the scalp and the hairdresser would teasingly ask: “Long or short?”

Now I understood why the haircuts were getting shorter and shorter. We had to wait for the moment when only a few blades were still struggling to hold on

Although it was somewhat part of my age, I still thought with inevitable envy of older men who had kept a full head of hair. Ruud Lubbers in the past, professor Wim Voermans, who is almost visibly proud of it now.

I was talking about it with a friend who is still young enough to think in solutions, not in defeats. “Something can be done about it,” he shouted, “have you seen Davy Klaassen?” Davy Klaassen is an Ajax football player who has had his best days, just like me, and who walked around the football fields for years with a shiny bald scalp, but suddenly started a new season with an exuberant head of hair. And, unlike Ajax, his crest stood bravely.

“He has had a hair transplant,” I said. “That is a very difficult struggle. Didn’t see me.” “Not so gloomy,” he said, “there are other options. There is a lotion with good results.” He looked up the name for me: Minoxidil.

At home, I looked online with extreme skepticism for further information. A lotion against baldness? It sounded like quackery. But to my great surprise, it wasn’t too bad, and I must immediately add that this part is not paid for by Minoxidil, although I do not rule out the possibility that they secretly transferred a million to my account out of gratitude – I will pretend that I didn’t notice anything.

Dermatologists also confirm that Minoxidil is an effective drug. It ensures blood flow to the hair follicles, I understood. You have to apply it every day for the rest of your life, and it can have unpleasant side effects, such as itching and headaches. Unfortunately, it mainly works for people under forty.

“I’m too old for this,” I told my friend. “And a headache every day – I don’t want to think about it.”

I will, however, ask my hairdresser to leave out the mirror from now on.

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