If you go over to any bodybuilding competition, you may find that most of the bodybuilders there lack some good hairstyles. (Not everyone can look as good as me…just kidding)
So- why is this? Why are bodybuilders bald?
Well, not ALL bodybuilders are actually bald. However, most are. This is mainly because ‘roids can cause hair loss, and it’s better to shave the whole head to look more attractive. Additionally, some hairstyles can lose you points and take away the focus of muscle on your body, a shaved head can make you actually look ‘bigger’.
Let’s cover this more in-depth!
‘Roids Cause Hair Loss
This is the biggest one of them all. Unfortunately, ‘roids cause hair loss.
Now, there are tons of different performance enhancers in bodybuilding, and technically speaking- not all of them cause hair loss.
But, generally speaking, most roid users will experience heavy hair loss or bald spots as a result of their roid use.
This is because those roids cause an increase in a hormone called ‘DHT’. DHT causes hair growth everywhere EXCEPT the head- I’m not sure how our evolution messed this one up…
DHT is created when enzymes convert testosterone in your body to well, DHT. The more testosterone you have, the more DHT you will end up producing.
In most men that are not using performance enhancers, their body has a regulated amount of testosterone to DHT production that allows them to grow body hair without sacrificing lots of head hair.
However, when this goes out of wack- the balding happens.
Now, generally speaking, this doesn’t cause complete baldness of the head. This causes weird spotting where parts of your head have hair and other parts don’t.
Most bodybuilders at this stage get their heads shaved to hide these bald spots. It looks more attractive and more professional too.
General Bodybuilding Causes Hair Loss
Now, you don’t need to be using performance enhancers to see hair loss in bodybuilding.
In fact, general bodybuilding causes hair loss- although not as extreme and usually not that noticeable.
You will certainly notice the hair loss in someone using performance enhancers, but the hair loss in natural bodybuilders is hardly noticeable- here’s why:
In the above section, I discussed how your body converts testosterone into a hormone called ‘DHT’. ‘DHT’ produces hair across your body, but causes you to lose hair on your head. (Again, weird that it works this way, but it’s a long complicated science thing that none of us reading [and writing] this care too much about)
Now remember guys- bodybuilding increases testosterone. I’m sure you’ve noticed this, but bodybuilders can see a decent increase in testosterone levels after a good weight-lifting session.
Let’s put it all together. The increased testosterone from your workout session now correlates to more DHT, causing you to lose hair on your head, even if you produce more of it on your body.
But, since that increase of testosterone is natural and not as massive as we see in performance enhancers users, and our body is able to adapt to this quickly.
That’s why most bodybuilders don’t see massive hair loss, but just tiny amounts here or there. (Or maybe this is just all a big excuse about why I have a receding hairline…)
Obnoxious Hairstyles Can Lose You Points in a Competition
Now, generally speaking, bodybuilding judges aren’t going to really care about your hairstyle during a bodybuilding competition.
However, if you have an obnoxious or obscene hairstyle during a competition you can lose points.
An example of this may be some weird new spike haircut you’ve tried to pioneer on your own to impress the judges. Chances are, they won’t take too kindly to it.
Now, there’s nothing wrong if you’ve got a ‘normal hairstyle’ that looks professional and well kept. In fact, it may win you some points (if you’ve watched Pumping Iron, you may know what I’m talking about!).
But because of this, a lot of people prefer to just shave off their heads and not risk anything. Plus, it saves you from having a bad hair day.
Remember, a bad hairstyle can cause you to lose points, but you won’t lose any points if you’re clean-shaven on your head.
Being Bald Makes You Look Bigger
As crazy as it sounds guys, being bald makes you look bigger. It’s literally an optical illusion.
The smaller your head is, the bigger your body looks. This is important in bodybuilding competitions where judges are trying to judge how big your body is.
If you have a super-wide and tall haircut, it will make your overall body frame look smaller.
Now, for most people with “normal” haircuts, this really won’t apply to you. But, for people that like to spike their hair up (like me) or have a mohawk- these will make your body look smaller.
You need to remember those judges are sitting far away from you and at you from their booth. They aren’t up close and they cannot judge things perfectly, they can only see what they can see.
Having huge hair is detrimental in the optical illusion game.
And if you don’t believe optical illusions are important in bodybuilding, you may want to read my article answering why bodybuilders tan. It covers in-depth how tans make you look much bigger.
Not ALL Bodybuilders Are Bald
There are quite a few bodybuilders that compete with hair, so don’t feel discouraged if you like your hair and want to compete.
Just keep it smaller, don’t have anything obscene or obnoxious, and make sure it’s well kept. You certainly don’t want dirty, fringed, and gross hair on that bright stage- it will stand out like a sore thumb.
Concluson of Why Are Bodybuilders Bald?
We covered a lot in this article, so here’s what you need to remember:
- Not ALL (most) bodybuilders are bald or have their head shaved.
- Roids cause significant hair loss.
- Most bodybuilders experience a little hair loss to a small degree.
- Having big hair styles or a ton of hair makes you look smaller on a bodybuilding stage.
Hopefully, this article helped. Thank you for reading!
