Posts Tagged ‘hair loss’
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
Hair often plays a starring role in literature and theater productions worldwide. We can find hair loss tales everywhere from Greek mythology to Broadway and the silver screen. No doubt, human beings have a reverence for their hair. Our literature contains many details and clues about the role that plays in our relationships. Quite a few hair tales feature women’s hair. These are often love stories, featuring long hair!
Remember the fairy tale about Rapunzel who was forbidden to see the prince who had captured her heart? Well, these kids devised an ingenious plot that involved Rapunzel letting down her long “golden hair” to make their trysts possible. They were soon discovered and Rapunzel was given a haircut. However, the story has a happy ending when the two are reunited in the future and they live happily ever after.
William Sydney Porter (also known as O. Henry) was a prolific author of the early 20th century. His tale, “The Gift of the Magi” is a poignant Christmas story about hair. It captured his readers’ hearts and helped to make him famous.
Two lovers who live in abject poverty search for ways to get each other a present for the holidays. She spots a beautiful chain that she wants to give him to put on his pocket watch. He finds a set of tortoise shell combs that he wants her to have to put in her knee-length hair. So, he sells his watch in order to buy the combs for her. Meanwhile she sells her hair to a wigmaker so she can buy the watch chain! Both were shocked on Christmas day, but as the story goes, they were so madly in love that they were thrilled by the sacrifice that each of them had made. Besides, eventually her hair grew back. But the story ends without him getting a new watch for the chain.
Long hair has been fashionable for women throughout history. The theme of the lure of a woman with long hair is timeless. It is usually paired with attractiveness and love. That is just one of the reasons that hair loss for women can be more traumatic than many realize.
Tags: attractiveness, hair loss, haircut, literature, long hair, love, mythology, O. Henry, Rapunzel, womens hair loss
Posted in Natural Hair Growth | Comments Off
Saturday, June 6th, 2009
Hair loss treatment has turned some new pages in recent years. For the current generation of Americans, there are more options than ever before. For the majority of people, these are not reasonable options; they cost far more than the old standbys, wigs and toupees. Some “new” hair loss treatments do not pass muster, and they cost an arm and a leg. Besides that, the consumers who buy these products lose money that they could have used for something truly beneficial.
We could naturally expect that the aging population of the planet would be running to get the latest proven hair loss treatments, if any of them had a high success rate. Moreover, if all these hair growth treatment claims were true, wouldn’t consumers spread the good news by “word of mouth”?
One “new treatment” is the laser comb. Its looks like a replay of an old idea used in beauty parlors during the middle of the 20th century. At that time, cosmetologists used a contraption that held a special fluorescent bulb; the wavelengths of the fluorescent light spectrum were touted to help restore dead hair follicles to life. This device has passed into obscurity (for obvious reasons).
The cost of the laser comb ranges from $370 to $500, depending on the seller. That is a hefty investment for any product that has no independent, unbiased test results. The manufacturer does NOT claim that the comb restores dead hair follicles. However, consumers who are losing hair are urged to use the product to prevent further hair loss.
The laser comb received marketing clearance from the Food and Drug Administration in 2007. However, this agency does not have the authority to require test results for this kind of consumer product before the fact.
The FDA’s medical device clearance procedure is not the same as the one used for prescription medications. It merely certifies that a device is similar in function to a device that is already on the market. That is hardly a resounding endorsement of the effectiveness of the laser comb.
Therefore, consumers who invest in the laser comb must do so at their own risk. Unless consumers suffer injuries from its use, the FDA can only require that the laser comb manufacturers change the wording of their advertisements if it is turns out to be an ineffective hair loss treatment.
Tags: hair follicles, hair loss, laser comb, treatment
Posted in Natural Hair Growth | Comments Off
Saturday, June 6th, 2009
Bald men do not get a date with the prom queen and women with thinning hair are not likely to date the captain of the football team. Of course, few people experience hair loss as early as high school; however, our cultural views about hair loss are usually firmly set by the time we reach adulthood. It does not take a scientific study to prove that hair loss can affect your social life, and your career.
The news is rife with stories of discrimination against overweight people. Most politically correct people will now call them weight challenged, but does that even begin to undo the average person’s first impression of people with substantial girth?
We assume that they have no discipline and self-control. Even when they have a relatively proportioned body, attractive facial features or a great head of hair, our cultural prejudices will kick in. We either ignore them, try to fix them, or make jokes about their condition.
With few legal cases on the books, it is difficult to prove that the weight challenged suffer from unfair discrimination in employment. However, certain jobs, including the military, do impose weight restrictions on potential applicants. So, career opportunities for people whose weight exceeds the standard can be limited.
Career discrimination against bald people and those who are losing their hair is one of the hidden costs of hair loss. Our cultural perceptions of competency and leadership potential are tied to a genetic message hardwired into the human psyche.
In the days of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of early humanoids, the strongest men were appointed to track down dangerous predators like the saber-toothed tiger. Even those who were charged with hunting down the beasts that provided food had to meet certain requirements of speed, strength and virility. The bald and the old need not apply. With survival a priority, the subtle discrimination against people with hair loss took root in human culture.
We all know that appearance can affect career opportunities. Many people in line for management and corporate leadership positions go to great expense to hide any evidence of hair loss. They dress for success by investing in the right clothing, shoes and other career props. They also realize that they must treat hair loss aggressively before it affects their career opportunities.
Being the most competent and qualified often is not enough if your competition has more hair!
Tags: bald, baldness, career opportunities, cultural prejudices, discrimination, genetic message, hair growth, hair loss, hidden cost, strength, thinning hair, treatment, virility
Posted in Female Hair Loss, Natural Hair Growth | Comments Off
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
The story of Samson’s hair loss is probably one of the most famous tales in history. We all know how this story ended, but only a few people have heard this tale from beginning to end. The question many people never asked is why Samson believed that he should not cut his hair.
According to the Old Testament, Samson was a Nasserite. These people had a special role within the Hebrew community. The religious community chose many of them for this role. In Samson’s case, his parents claimed that an angel foretold his birth, his rise to leadership and his extraordinary feats, including freeing the Hebrews from bondage under the Philistines.
One of the restrictions that the Hebrew religion placed on Nasserites was that they could never cut their hair. There were additional prohibitions that Samson had to observe as well. These included avoiding wine and any fruits of the vine.
His long hair intrigued all the women in Samson’s life. His wife, his concubines and of course his mother went to great lengths to keep his hair healthy and well groomed. The Old Testament does not contain any records of how often Samson washed his hair. Nor does it contain any information about his shampoos or his other hair grooming aids.
Obviously, Samson lost the same 50 to 100 hairs daily that everyone else does. However, we can assume that Samson had a hair care routine that kept his hair from thinning. He must have done something to keep his head free of lice that affected so many people during that time in history. His hair care practices must have also included some ways to keep his hair follicles healthy too.
We can follow the story of the adult Samson for more than 20 years. By the time Delilah cut his hair, he was of prime age to begin seeing the effects of male pattern baldness. Unfortunately, the story ends shortly after that historic haircut, so we will never know whether Samson’s locks would have continued to grow until he reached a ripe old age!
Tags: Delilah, grooming, hair, hair follicles, hair loss, haircut, Hebrews, male pattern baldness, Nasserite, Samson, shampoos
Posted in Female Hair Loss, Natural Hair Growth | Comments Off
Friday, May 15th, 2009
Before the 20th century dawned, most people took care of their hair at home, sometimes with the assistance of a talented, trusted family member or friend. The local pharmacy was the main place to go to discuss problems like thinning hair or approaching baldness. Naturally, the pharmacist would oblige customers by providing a hair tonic or pomade that had no proven scientific results. People also relied on home remedies that had varied degrees of success.
Our culture now expects modern science to provide a cure for every imaginable disease. Our government and pharmaceutical companies spend millions annually studying disease processes, hoping to isolate causes and find cures.
Conduct a search on Google for hair loss treatment and you will get over 15 million results. A Microsoft Live search returns double that number of websites (31.2 million). A Yahoo web search returns a staggering 52 million website results. These numbers do not include forums and blogs where hair loss sufferers discuss their attempts to find the right product or treatment that will help them grow their hair back.
Why are there so many websites touting cures? If we average the results from Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, we will still have more than 32 million hair loss treatment search results Reputable sites like WebMD and Mayo Clinic show up in search results along with private physicians, organizations, hair loss clinics and even Wikipedia. That is either a lot of treatments or a lot of malarkey! Even if they all worked, do you know the long-term success rate and the potential side effects?
How will you ever find time to review the websites that even have some scientific information, let alone those that just lead to “the hottest new version of 21st century snake oil”?
Before you choose a hair loss treatment, separate the snake oil salespeople from reputable people in the medical community. Ask every question that you can think of, including success rates, side effects, whether usage is required for a lifetime, and so on. There is no stupid question when it comes to your health and your hair loss treatment.
Tags: causes, cures, hair loss, health, side effects, treatment
Posted in Natural Hair Growth | 1 Comment »
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
In the 21st century, hair loss has become a full time preoccupation for many people. It’s possible that the aging of the U.S. population has spurred the growth of the hair loss industry. On the other hand, since our lifestyles involve more stress than ever before, it’s likely that the number of people who suffer from hair loss is significantly higher in these times. Environmental chemicals and untested health and beauty products are also creating new ways to lose hair. Ergo, more people need ways to regrow their hair after the damage has been done.
It’s only natural for Americans to expect the medical community to provide real relief for hair loss problems. After all, we can send a man to the moon, so why can’t we prevent or cure baldness?
So far, we know quite a bit about hair loss causes. Scientists have identified and classified the most common and unusual causes for hair loss, by gender, age, and ethnicity. We can even predict a genetic predisposition to some types of hair loss. Treating hair loss, even when the cause is known, isn’t as simple as it might seem to the ailing victims. Unfortunately, the science of hair loss treatment is relatively new, compared to astronomy, chemistry and physics.
Hair loss science must focus on preventing system malfunctions. The human body produces chemicals and fluids to regulate interdependent systems and processes. Our intake of vitamins, minerals, proteins and other nutrients determine how well balanced and efficient these self-regulating systems are. A malfunction in one process can affect other systems. That’s why an untreated iron deficiency may not only result in tiredness and shortness of breath, but also hair loss.
The science of hair growth must focus on helping the body recover from a disease state or system imbalance. In order for scientists to help us regrow hair, they must provide the correct intervention - chemical, herbal, nutritional or psychological that each individual requires. Then your body can heal itself and rebalance the affected systems and processes that contributed to your hair loss.
Tags: baldness, chemicals, hair growth, hair loss, hair loss causes, intervention, nutrients, protein, stress, treatment
Posted in Female Hair Loss, Natural Hair Growth | 1 Comment »
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
You should not be surprised to find out that a majority of American men may lose all or some of their hair before they leave the planet. Women tend to fare slightly better than men, but only by a few percentage points.
There really is no body of statistics that we can use to assess our nation’s hair loss. The Census Bureau is great at counting people and things. The upcoming census in 2010 will give us a snapshot of the population’s housing, employment, education and more.
For a picture of the condition of the nation’s hair, we will need to make our own calculations. Once the numbers in, you will not have to wait for the 2010 Census to figure out where you stand.
In 2006, the oldest baby boomers, born in 1946, turned 60. The Census Bureau counted 78.2 million boomers at the beginning of 2006. Of this number, 48.2% were males and 50.8% were females.
Boomer Hair Loss
Since 66% of all men become completely or partially bald by age 60, we can project that at least 24.8 million boomer men will experience hair loss in the near future; and some of them are already bald.
The Census projections show that there were 39.7 million boomer women in 2006. The onset of menopause is one of the most common causes of hair loss for women in this age group. The risk of hair loss or thinning hair increases to 50% with menopause.
Therefore, by 2006, at least 19.8 million boomer women could be expected to face hair loss. The incidence of hair loss for women increases steadily after menopause, although women never quite catch up with men.
Interestingly, the Census Bureau projected that 7,918 boomers would reach age 60 each day during 2006. This amounts to 330 new 60-year-olds every hour! The youngest boomers, born in 1964, will reach 60 by 2024. By 2030, the total number of boomers between ages 66 to 84 is projected to be 57.8 million.
Even though the total number of baby boomers will decrease in the future, the hair loss statistics won’t change much. The Census Bureau projects that almost 55% of those still living will be female; roughly 45% will be male. That means that our nation is still looking at a bumper crop of balding boomers in the next 20 years!
Tags: baby boomers, bald, balding boomers, baldness, Census Bureau, hair loss, menopause, statistics
Posted in Hair Loss Products, Natural Hair Growth | Comments Off
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
Hair has been a hot topic forever. Hair care has its own unique history, just like hair loss. No culture or society seems immune to this fascination with hair. Along the way, hair played a starring role in the attraction of the opposite sex and attractiveness to potential mates. Of course, that makes thinning hair and baldness even more important.
Prehistoric cave drawings suggest that men dragged the woman that they chose home by her hair. That may be a myth, but do you suppose that having no hair made it harder for prehistoric women to get a suitable mate? Of course, being dragged around by your hair could lead to early baldness. So, hair was probably a Catch 22 for the women of that era.
Hair Care Practices
Did we develop hair care practices as part of the mating ritual? If not, where do society’s hair practices come from? Early Christians and Muslims shared the philosophy of making women cover their hair. This practice lost popularity in one religion. However, the Catholic church still frowns on uncovered heads, apparently for women only. The nuns also cover their hair to this day, but the priests get to display their crowning glory for all to see.
Hair Styling History
Some hairstyles have been popular during specific eras in history. A few finally died a well-deserved death. The beehive and the 1920s permanent wave immediately come to mind. Both these hairstyles were made possible by the invention of technologies that helped women torture their tresses with heat, chemicals and tension, sometimes all three, at one setting.
Hair care may have taken a turn for the worse when “colorists” started using peroxide and ammonia to bleach women’s hair at the end of the 19th century. When Charles Nessler invented a permanent wave machine at the beginning of the 20th century and the hairstyling industry took a great leap forward.Synthetic hair came on the scene in 1908. Interestingly, it was made from cotton and corn, along with some other available grain products. Could it be that these new technologies used to attack (women’s) hair spurred the need for synthetic hair, wigs and other hair replacements?
Buddhist monks and ascetics often shave their heads. Are they always smiling because they know a secret? Or perhaps they are happy because they have been relieved of our historical fixation on hair as an object of beauty.
Tags: ammonia, baldness, beehive, Buddhist monks, Charles Nessler, chemicals, colorists, hair loss, hair replacements, heat, mating ritual, permanent wave machine, peroxide, synthetic hair, thinning hair
Posted in Female Hair Loss, Natural Hair Growth | Comments Off
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Don’t be a captive of the shampoo culture. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has warned consumers that many shampoos on the market today contain harmful chemicals. Research shows that parabens, sodium laurel sulfate, and many coloring agents should be avoided. Recently, MSNBC took a closer look at the best and worst shampoos and shampoo alternatives in Ditching Shampoo.
One hotly debated trend is no shampoo at all, the “no-poo” movement. Maybe the environmentalists helped to move it to the forefront. Not only can consumers forgo those plastic bottles littering the landfills, but they can also possibly do themselves a favor by not washing every drop of oil off their scalp daily. Now that we’re in a recession, this movement might soon find followers among the millions of consumers who are motivated to save money. Why Daily Shampooing?
No one is sure when the daily shampoo trend started in America (Europeans don’t have the habit quite as badly as we do). Most believe though, that’s only been in the last 30 to 40 years. Perhaps the health and beauty industry has helped to fuel our passion for a daily dose of squeaky-clean hair. One thing is certain, before Indoor Plumbing, nobody except those born to the manor washed their hair more than once a week. Of course, bathing was only a once a week pleasure too, until the early part of the 20th century, as well.
The “no-poo” advocates cite not only history, but also modern science to defend their views. There is no scientific evidence that supports daily shampooing. The alternatives, which have been used for centuries (before Indoor Plumbing) clearly not only have a following, but they also worked well enough for the majority of people.
It’s too late to tell if people had less hair loss before they starting shampooing daily. But if you are concerned about hair loss, you should be concerned about shampooing your hair daily too. Make your own decision. You know you will at least get back the time you spend shampooing daily. You’ll also reduce your exposure to the chemicals in shampoos. Who knows, you might also save a few hairs on your head from early extinction.
Tags: Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, chemicals, coloring agents, environmentalists, hair loss, no-poo, parabens, shampoo alternatives, shampooing, sodium laurel sulfate
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Thursday, April 16th, 2009
You have lost enough hair to consider taking the plunge! If your dermatologist is not giving you any hope for hair regrowth, what other options can you pursue? Baldness is a hard pill to swallow for some people. Comb-overs draw attention to your hair loss. Wigs and toupees, well most of them look like what they are – hairpieces, unless you spend a small fortune get one that really looks natural. Besides, this option always has one little drawback. You must eventually remove your bought hair, hopefully in private. Then you will have no choice but to face reality of your hair loss.
One alternative that is gaining popularity is hair replacement surgery. Only a competent plastic surgeon can tell you whether you are a good candidate for surgical hair replacement. The first factors that must be considered are your age and health conditions that might affect your ability to endure this kind of treatment. Next, the surgeon will evaluate the extent of hair loss, along with the kind of hair loss. Male (androgenetic alopecia) and female (androgenic alopecia) pattern baldness are conditions that usually do not leave the skin of the scalp damaged. Hair loss that results from medical conditions is more likely to have affected the skin. Some medical hair loss may cause scalp scarring, cicatricial alopecia. Scarring can reduce the potential for successful hair transplantation.
Potential surgical hair replacement patients need to make several inquiries to get opinions from more than one practitioner about the possibility of a successful outcome. The American Hair Loss Council suggests that you check any hair replacement surgeon’s references with the Better Business Bureau, your personal care physician, and your local medical association or licensing board. If you need recommendations or want to confirm claims that hair replacement surgeons or clinics make, you can also consult your barber or hairstylist. Once you narrow your choices down, ask the surgeon to give you the names and contact information for one or two former patients. Do not rely on before and after pictures to help you make this important decision.
Tags: alternative, American Hair Loss Council, androgenetic alopecia, androgenic alopecia, baldness, cicatricial alopecia, dermatologist, hair loss, hair regrowth, hair replacement surgeons, hair replacement surgery, hair transplantation, hairpieces, medical association, pattern baldness
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