Photo by Susan Guynn Matthew Masser, 25, said he started shaving his head because "my dad's bald, and my grandfather. I figured it was coming."

Whether it's in the genes or by choice, be bold and bald. It's all about attitude.

Matthew Masser recently shaved his head. "I used to have shoulder-length hair, then I cut it short. But I got tired of paying for haircuts; paying full price and half bald," said Masser, 25, of Thurmont .

Now he sports a clean-shaven head -- shiny and smooth. "Honestly, I don't care if I'm bald. My dad's bald, and my grandfather," Masser said. "I figured it was coming."

It's true, but not inevitable, that about 95 percent of male baldness is due to genes, according to the American Hair Loss Association. It's called androgenetic alopecia. Male pattern baldness is the most common type of hair loss in men. By the age of 35, two-thirds of American men will experience some degree of hair loss and by the age of 50 about 85 percent will have significantly thinning hair.

Typically it starts with a receding hairline and hair thinning on the crown, according to the National Institutes of Health. The hair loss meets in the middle leaving a rim or horseshoe-shaped band of hair running from ear to ear, like former James Bond actor Sean Connery sports these days. HairLossHeaven.com says Connery started to lose his hair in his 20s and wore a toupee in most of the James Bond movies. Now toupeeless, he's been named one of the world's sexiest men several times.

"It certainly doesn't keep the women away," said Abie Hayes, of Frederick , about her husband Mike, who was in his early 20s when he started losing his hair. "He was that way when I married him. He's very relaxed about it. Like he says, 'It's what God gave him.'" The AHLA says about 25 percent of men with male pattern baldness begin the process before they reach the age of 21.

Mike, now 48 and a Georgia native, says his hair thinned gradually over a period of about 10 years.

Was he uncomfortable being young and bald?

"Not really. It ran in the family. It wasn't something I wasn't expecting," Mike said. Two of his younger brothers were bald before he was.

"I still have hair, it's just really short," he said. "I hardly ever think about it unless we're out in the sun."

Short cut to a new look

Barber/stylist Sandy Miller says some of her male customers with thinning hair are not happy about pending baldness. "About half complain about it," said Miller, owner of Men's Oasis Barber Shop and Spa in Thurmont . "Those in their 50s and 60s, they don't care."

There are products that claim to help slow the progression of hair loss or stimulate hair growth, but they can be expensive, she said.

"I just suggest a style that's comfortable for them," Miller said. "There are hair styles that give the illusion of thicker, fuller hair and allow men to wear the styles of today."

Head-shaving is one option, but Miller said that can be high maintenance and could require a daily shave, which most men do at home.

Masser said he shaves his head about every three days. "It takes about 10 minutes" with shaving cream and a razor.

John Stillrich has been a barber for 15 years. He says he can joke with customers who have thinning hair because he, too, has a receding hairline. "Most of them will joke about it, but they're not happy about it," said Stillrich, co-owner/manager of Gentleman's Choice II in the Frederick Shopping Center. The running barber joke is to "leave it a little long on top."

Comb-overs don't work, Stillrich said. Never did. "Everybody knows you're trying to hide something." He said he sees a few men who cling to the comb-over, but most end up shaving their head or going short.

That look can be a drastic change and sometimes it takes three or four visits with shorter and shorter cuts to get "buzzed all the way down," Stillrich said. Most like the short look and "wonder why they didn't do it years ago."

Treatments, but no cure

There are only two FDA approved products that have been clinically proven to stop or prevent hair loss, according to the AHLA: Finasteride (Proscar and Propecia), originally developed to treat enlarged prostate glands, and the lotion minoxidill (Rogaine), which was originally used in another form to treat high blood pressure.

Surgical hair restoration or transplant is another option. For this procedure, DHT resistant hair from the back of your scalp is transplanted into the balding area, according to the AHLA. Men with male pattern baldness have inherited hair follicles sensitive to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a by-product of testosterone. Those follicles begin to shrink, shortening the hair follicle's life and the affected follicles stop producing hair.

Christina Johnson, owner of Studio She in Frederick , offers hair integration for men and women. The hair piece is backed with netting through which the person's hair is woven for a natural look. They can last three to five years.

"It's one alternative," she said, as are laser hair restoration, which claims to stimulate hair growth. Treatments are done over a period of time and it is expensive, Johnson said.