Why Men With Male Pattern Hair Loss Like the ‘Caesar’ Haircut

According to historians, Julius Caesar struggled with hair loss for much of his adult life, and yet he also unwittingly or, possibly quite consciously created what is still regarded as one of the best cuts for men with thinning hair.

The ‘Caesar’ haircut is arguably the best way for men with the genetic condition male pattern hair loss to conceal a receding hairline. Longer cuts can often emphasise gaps when hair hangs away from shiny scalps; shorter crops make thinning more visible. Whoever Caesar’s hairdresser was, he knew that a short, horizontally-cut fringe was the best way to disguise shedding at the front of the head.

Modern day hair loss

Male Pattern Hair Loss is believed to be far more common today than it was in Roman times, as experts believe that heightened levels of everyday stress could be exacerbating the onset of the condition in genetically predisposed men.

Various aspects of daily life, from changes in the global diet and nutritional imbalances, to the general increase in emotional and physical stress caused by the pressure of living in a fast-paced, highly-connected society, can have a negative effect on hair growth. All these issues have been linked to both being able to trigger, and speed up thinning hair.

The current generation is thought to be suffering more than most, with hairloss now starting at a younger age in both men and women. Of course, part of the problem could be that, in these days of social media ubiquity, men are more image-conscious than ever before. Millennials are reportedly more worried about hair loss than their older relatives were, and are also more pro-active in seeking treatment.

In celebration of Caesar’s greatest contribution to style (toga notwithstanding), the website menshairstyletrends.com has announced 15 slight variations on the Caesar haircut, many of which would be well suited to men hoping to hide thinning edges. These include ‘The Asymmetrical Fringe’ (a Caesar with a more jagged fringe, weighted to one side) and the ‘Textured Crop’ which the website says “has reinvented the Caesar haircut with layering and a fade.”

A 'fade' haircut is a good option for men with all hair types as it involves keeping the sides extremely short, creating the illusion of a fullness on top. The top can then be left as long as the client wants - for instance, long enough to sweep back over a thinning crown, or with more length in the front to help hide a receding hairline.

A man’s hairstyle never seems more important than when he starts losing his hair. This can happen when he is still in his teens though it is a lot more common when he hits his 30s or 40s. What many men do first is start Googling flattering haircuts for thinning hair, using search terms like “styles for thinning hair” and “haircuts for male pattern hair loss”, and many will have been offered a glimmer of hope by a website or savvy hairdresser touting the benefits of a Caesar-style haircut.

It is all an illusion, however, as genetic hair thinning tends to become more pronounced with each passing year unless steps are taken to intervene.

Treatment is well established

Luckily there are two male hair loss treatment medications which have been both MHRA licensed and FDA approved and are now well established as an efficient and clinically-proven methods for tackling shedding and preventing baldness.

Treatment is usually based around either or both of these two clinically-proven medications, topical applications of high-strength minoxidil formulations - particularly useful for treating a receding hairline or other stubborn areas of hair loss such as a thinning crown - which helps to promote hair growth, and the once-a-day oral drug finasteride 1mg which block the testosterone by-product named DHT (which ultimately leads to thinning hair around the top of the scalp in men with pattern hair loss).

Appropriate hair growth supporting products can also be used alongside these medications. These range from follicle-stimulating home-use devices, cleared by the FDA, and nutritional food supplements for the maintenance of normal healthy hair growth.

The menshairstyletrends article is a reminder of just how liberated many men feel when they experience significant regrowth. Something we hear frequently at both Belgravia's hair loss clinics is how happy clients are when they are able, sometimes for the first time in years, to cut and style their hair in a way they really want, and not have to settle for a hairstyle just because it may temporarily hide the more visible areas of their scalp.