A Theory of Hair

Have you ever noticed that it's surprisingly rare to encounter a homeless man who's bald?

Maybe you have seen a few, but you have to think about it for a second, right? Most homeless men I encounter have a full head of hair. I’m not alone in noticing this:

In fact, this is a very old observation. Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, and other 19th-century novelists frequently described vagrants and social outcasts as having "matted" or "wild" hair. Not bald.

Hugo’s "The Man Who Laughs" (1869) describes Gwynplaine, a vagrant performer: "His hair, coarse and tawny, fell in masses about his shoulders—a wild mane that seemed to protest against society... His entire being spoke of exile from the human flock."

Jack London’s "People of the Abyss" (1903), A nonfiction account of London’s time among London’s homeless: "Their hair was matted and filthy, their faces seamed with grime and hardship... They were men who had slipped through the cracks of the world."

George Orwell’s "Down and Out in Paris and London" (1933) describes homeless men in shelters: "His hair was a greasy tangle, his face streaked with dirt, and his eyes had the furtive look of a man who sleeps in doorways."

There’s even this trend on Tiktok where barbers give free haircuts to the homeless

@happiestofficial

Blessing the Homeless ❤️ @ezelcutz #original #free #haircuts #homeless #manchester #charity #help

This is a pattern I’ve seen all my life. Men with full heads of hair are just more likely to embrace high-variance lifestyles, including extreme cases like homelessness, taking crazy risks or just being a playboy late in life. Meanwhile, balding men seem disproportionately drawn toward stability, responsibility, and conventional life choices.

Of course, this isn't a hard scientific rule. And there are variations in baldness, which complicates things such as timing of behavior change. It’s called the Norwood Scale.

@tom.gillbanks

Which one are you boys?? 🤔 Act fast, its the only way 🤝 Shoutout to @QOVES for making these images that demonstrate the norwood scale rea... See more

But honestly? Hair loss in men just seems to correlate with a particular kind of accelerated mental maturation. The development of what we might call the "supervisor archetype."

As hair starts thinning, a man’s emphasis shifts to financial planning, career stability, and long-term relationship commitment. The balding man begins monitoring his 401K with the same attention he once gave to more impulsive pursuits. Think of the financial budgeting influencer Dave Ramsey. A perfect character of stability that shames wild youths with hair

I don’t think there are any studies done on this. But look at the people in your own life. The men who lost their hair in my family generally seem more grounded, religious and started planning for a life earlier than the men with a full head of hair. That doesn’t mean it’s something that is right 100% of the time, nothing is with social theories, but there does seem to be a pattern.

there are certainly exceptions. But it's difficult to deny there's a noticeable pattern here, one supported by literary and historical evidence.

Conversely, men who maintain thick hair into their 30s and beyond often retain a psychological youthfulness. Their unchanged physical appearance seems to permit an unchanged mental landscape, one less constrained by society's expectations of the mature male.

When I think of the prototypical hobby for a man going bald, it’s something like woodworking.

Samson's biblical story captures this dynamic perfectly. His superhuman strength is tied directly to his flowing locks and it allowed him to live wildly, defying authority and pursuing impulsive desires. Only when betrayed and shorn did he become manageable, controlled. When his hair returned, so did his rebellious power.

In This Newsletter

1) Why Do Bald Men Act This Way? Baldness appears strangely successful from an evolutionary standpoint. It hasn’t been strongly selected against historically, just look around, bald men are everywhere. Yet, losing hair undeniably shifts how society views a man.

2) Hair Transplants and the Spiritual Bald Men: Hair transplants have surged in popularity, but does regaining hair truly transform a bald man's identity or merely alter appearances?

3) Hats Have Been Taken Over By Bald Men: Hats were universally common in the past, then people wore them casually, but now today are worn exclusively by bald men.

Why Do Bald Men Act This Way?

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.