Society’s emphasis on hair

“So what if you’re going bald — it’s only hair!” Statements like that
can make your blood boil when you first start losing your hair.
Most people are cavalier about hair loss when they’re not the ones
losing it and are unsympathetic to the plight of the victims of hair
loss, but when their hair starts falling out, they’ll be looking for
miracle cures, too — you can be sure of it.
Hair loss isn’t life threatening, but it can be an extreme threat to
self-esteem. Studies show that hair loss can lead to feelings of
shame, depression, frustration, helplessness, and anger. It also can
result in feelings of sexual inadequacy and loss of self confidence.
Today, hair is something of a status symbol; you can find thou-
sands of products devoted to hair care, which only emphasize the
problem for those experiencing hair loss. Many men now have
their hair styled rather than just getting it cut at a local barber
shop. Television gives the impression that a full head of luxurious
hair is the norm, implying that those who are losing it are some-
how abnormal.
Hair is also used as a method of self expression, a way to say who
you are. A “bad hair day” can ruin your week; a “no hair life” can
derail your career, your love life, and your self-esteem, but so can
anything, if you let it.
Before you can fix a problem, you have to realize you have a
problem. Denial is your enemy; you can’t fix what you can’t admit.
This book will teach you what you need to know about keeping
your hair before you lose it or getting it back if you waited too
long. The good news is that there are solutions to hair loss, no
matter where you are in the hair loss process.
Why men worry about
losing their hair
Twenty-five percent of men will show signs of balding by age 30 and
50 percent by the time they’re 50. While women can rearrange their
hair to help disguise hair loss or resort to extensions or wigs, men
sometimes don’t have enough hair — or wear it long enough — to
utilize these options.
Studies have shown that self confidence levels both inside and out-
side of the workplace can be affected by hair loss, and that correct-
ing hair loss can have huge psychological and career benefits.
The devastation of hair
loss in women
Women lose hair, but not in the same ways as men do. However,
severe hair loss can be even more devastating to women than it is
to men. Hair loss may be a serious blow to a woman’s self-esteem,
in large part because of cultural norms, society’s concept of femi-
ninity, and the expectation that a woman should have glossy, luxu-
rious, well-kept hair. We know that because the magazines women
read tell them just that.
As much as half of the female population suffers from hair loss at
some time in their lives. Women’s hair loss tends to differ from
men’s hair loss both in cause and in the way the hair is affected.
Women’s hair loss is generally widespread, with thinning all over
the scalp rather than loss in certain areas; rarely do you see
women whose hair loss leaves them bald on top with a healthy
fringe around the edges like the typical look of male pattern
baldness. In Chapter 4, we look at the unique challenges of hair
loss in women.
For women, thinning hair may be caused by a number of medical
conditions which, when treated, may restore their hair. This book
covers these issues in Chapter 6.