If you’re experiencing hair loss, or even just considering shaving your head for the first time, you’ll be wondering what you might look like bald.
Good news – there are ways to look into the future and see yourself with a bald head. I tested each of them out so you can judge for yourself which is the best.
In the article below, you’ll find out which is the best mobile app to use, which website can help you see how you’ll look bald, and how to use Photoshop to virtually shave your head.
How to see what I would look like bald
There are a few ways to check what you’d look like bald without actually having to shave your head.
Thanks to the miracle of the internet, there are numerous apps, websites, and software programs that allow you to ‘try before you buy’.
Here are the main ways to check what you’ll look like before you decide to brave the shave.
How to see what you’d look like bald using a mobile app
There are a few mobile apps on the market that allow you to see what you’d look like bald.
However, some are better than others, so I’ve tested them for you to show you which are the best. To do this I used one of my favorite memes, Confused Nick Young:
I would have used my own face, but I’m already bald so it would kind of defeat the point really. Also, I wanted to really test out how good these apps were so I used a picture where the head is at an angle and the subject has black skin (that will become relevant below…)
I fed Nick and his bewildered face into six bald filter apps, with varying results. Here they are, from worst to best:
6. HairBeardLite
Avoid this one. As you can see, I didn’t even get as far as importing Nick as this app wanted a payment of around $3 to use the filter.
There’s no point paying for this when there are apps that do the job for free. Especially given that the image they’ve used to show you how good the app is looks like the poor guy has had the top of his head sliced off.
5. BaldFaced
Okay, so this is where Nick being a black guy becomes relevant. Although I’m not sure exactly who would have this skin tone…
Even the whitest of white men would have trouble getting a sunburn this bad. Maybe this is the app for you if you have a hairy lobster and you want to see what they’d look like bald?
(A quick PSA: If you do end up shaving your head, be aware of how important sunscreen is. Find out everything you need to know about sun safety in my guide to tanning a bald head safely.)
4. Bald Editor
I got a good result from this one. You can choose from a good selection of bald head layers to overlay onto your subject, and rotate them to match the angle of the head in your picture.
Select from the complete color palette to match the skin tone of the person you’re baldifying. You can even add a beard, if you so desire.
Unfortunately, this app isn’t well maintained. As you can see, I made a great picture, but it wasn’t possible to export it.
Even when you get rid of the ad covering the download button, the button itself just links you to the stock image website where the developers found the download icon.
This is a shame, because the actual core functionality of the app produces a decent preview of a bald head. Use Bald Editor if you don’t mind using a screenshot as I have.
3. BaldPhotoEditor
This app is fine. It’s easy to use, with a good choice of bald heads. It’s relatively easy to position your chosen scalp over the hair in your photo, but here’s the catch: they’re all white guys’ heads.
I’ve used the most tanned option to virtually shave poor Nick’s head, but you can see the line. It gives you a good idea of what he’d look like bald, but it’s quite the oversight to assume only caucasian men go bald.
2. Bald Head Photo Booth
BHPB is another app with a range of bald head overlays to choose from. Again, they’re almost all white, and this is the closest I could get to Nick’s natural skin tone. It’s pretty easy to use, which is why it appears so high on the list.
1. BaldBooth
Yep, the guys who made you old, fat, and ugly in other apps can also make you bald.
The user experience of this app is really good. By taking or importing a front-facing picture, you can fine-tune markers for your eyes, ears, and eyebrows to prepare the app for the bald filter.
Once done, the app automatically overlays a bald head, making it the only app that doesn’t rely on your ability to manually place a bald head onto your subject.
Not only does it give a fairly close match to the skin tone of the actual photo, but it also gave Nick the delightful horseshoe look (bald on top, hair on the sides).
Top marks, and congratulations to the team at PiVi and Co who developed the app.
How to see what you’d look like bald online
If you don’t want to use your smartphone, there are also websites that can show you what you’ll look like bald online.
If you want a professional to edit your photo rather than relying on an app, this is the option for you. Upload a photo at TheBaldCompany.com and they’ll get back to you with a digitally-altered image via email.
If you’re wondering why any company would take the time to do this for free, wonder no more. It’s a great way for TBC to build a list of email addresses of people who might just be interested in their grooming products in the future.
How to see what you’d look like bald using Photoshop
If you have mad Photoshop skills, you don’t need an app or a website to see what you’d look like with a bald head.
Simply use a front-facing picture of a bald person, and carefully crop the head away above the eyebrows and just above the ears.
Then use a front-facing picture of your own head, preferably without your hair covering any part of your face. Photoshop allows you to overlay the bald head on top of your own head, and if you want it to look extra-convincing you can use the brushing tools to blend the two layers together at the join.
Every photo will be a different challenge depending on the angle of the head and the amount of hair, but as you can see, just a few minutes of work can produce decent results.
Finally, you can cut the background away if needed, and voila. There’s your preview of what you’d look like bald, courtesy of Photoshop.
So… should I shave my head?
Hair loss is a difficult thing to deal with and it’s natural to consider taking the plunge and going bald.
Shaving your head has a number of benefits, and even if you have a full head of hair and you’re thinking of trying out a shaved head, I say go for it. If worst comes to worst and you hate it, it will grow back.
If you’re balding, don’t be pressured into shaving your head for the wrong reasons. Hair loss is stressful, and not everyone is comfortable with buzzing or shaving their head, right away. Many aren’t willing to accept that it’s the only option, and rightly so.
People should be free from pressure to make a certain decision, and hair systems, medication, SMP, and transplants are legitimate solutions.
The main thing is not to delay taking action, because balding is a terrible look. Personally, life as a bald man has been good to me and I’d recommend that anyone experiencing hair loss at least tries the shaved head/buzz-cut look.
Many people agonize over hair loss only to find that they’re relieved when they shave their head because they’re free from worrying whether people can tell they’re losing their hair.
By taking action they feel a sense of control, rather than the helplessness of knowing they’re losing their hair. If you can have the confidence to face the world as a bald man, it’s an attractive quality to have.
Finding out what you’ll look like in advance is one way to make the transition easier. But if you don’t like what you see, take a look at this article that’s full of advice on how to look good bald.
Then, if you’re ready to take the plunge, first make sure you have the right tool for the job. Or, if you want to test out a buzz-cut first, here is my recommendation for the best electric razor for shaving your head.
