Is Harry Styles going bald? And why does that even matter?

Harry Styles has been dogged for years by rumours that he is balding. 

The rumours have been so persistent that in August 2022 in an interview with Rolling Stone UK, the musician shared that his friend, Kid Harpoon is "completely obsessed" with the gossip. He also confirmed he hadn't gone bald.

However, new photos of Styles sporting a fresh buzz cut — his famous floppy fringe entirely shaved off — have only breathed new life into speculation about the singer's hypothetical hair loss.

This kind of scrutiny into celebrities' lives is nothing new, but it's interesting that something as common as male-pattern baldness and other types of hair loss — especially in young male-presenting people — is treated as something both shameful and embarrassing.

The fear of baldness

"I inherited my dad's hairline," says writer and musician Jordan King-Lacroix. "It's a high receding hairline that recedes more as I get older."

Jordan plans to shave their hair when it reaches a critical point of recession.

"I currently have long hair, but as my hairline recedes, I know that look is going to be less appealing.

"I don't want to end up with a mostly bald top and a ponytail. So, I have plans to just cut my hair when the hairline gets too high … I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of. It's just part of getting older."

Jordan is about the same age as Harry Styles, and even without the hordes of clamouring fans, recognises the pressure on young male-presenting people around baldness.

"I think the pressure is one I put on myself because my identity and self-image is wrapped up in me having long hair."

"I've definitely heard people — including my dad — express fear about going bald, though sometimes it's hard to tell if baldness is the issue or if it's the definitive sense of getting older."

Sophia Frentz is a non-binary person who is just starting testosterone, and says that the fear of hair loss is very real in the trans community too, saying it definitely contributed to their reluctance to start testosterone therapy.

"One of my biggest concerns about starting testosterone was actually the fact that I might lose my hair," Sophia says. 

"A lot of the changes that can happen with masculinising hormone therapy are things I would find affirming, even things like acne and nose hair, but the risk that I would lose my hair or that my hair would thin is something I'm genuinely really concerned about."

The pressure of hair loss

It's clear that hair loss is a valid and shared fear for many people — but where does that pressure come from?

"I think public attitudes largely come from commercial depictions of baldness," says Glen Jankowski, a senior lecturer in health and critical psychology from Leeds Beckett University.

He explains that many of these negative interpretations seem to be driven by businesses promoting their products by associating baldness with disease, isolation and even suicide.

"The loss of strands of dead cells from a head logically should not result in any meaningful psychological or physical health consequence. But the interpretation of that loss by others can lead to psychological distress."

Despite the negative depiction of baldness and hair loss by businesses, Dr Jankowski says evidence and research finds balding men are usually fine with their lack of hair.

"Brilliant work by German researcher Dr Dirk Kranz found balding men who were trying to combat their hair loss were more statistically distressed than those who simply accepted it," he says.

"I also think we should try to avoid scrutinising an individual's response to their hair loss. I think we should try to give them space and time to make a decision that they feel best suits them."