HT and braces

[Harry West]

I was thinking about this while driving today:

We are all aware of the social stigma that comes along with getting a hair transplant (if we choose to divulge the info outside of this forum--I for one, do not). But really, how much different is getting a hair transplant than getting braces for your teeth--which, by the way, is widely accepted in this country? None if you ask me.

Getting braces and getting a hair transplant are essentially serving the same exact purpose--improve confidence, improve personal appearance, etc--yet society receives each "corrective" procedure vastly different.

We often hear that men who are balding should accept it and simply shave their heads, while I'd say that people with crooked teeth are actually encouraged to get braces. We certainly don't tell people with crooked teeth to pull their teeth out--granted, teeth actually have a purpose, but still...

Just a thought. Curious what others think or if you have any thoughts on the double standard.

[SpencerKobren]

Originally Posted by Harry West

I was thinking about this while driving today:

We are all aware of the social stigma that comes along with getting a hair transplant (if we choose to divulge the info outside of this forum--I for one, do not). But really, how much different is getting a hair transplant than getting braces for your teeth--which, by the way, is widely accepted in this country? None if you ask me.

Getting braces and getting a hair transplant are essentially serving the same exact purpose--improve confidence, improve personal appearance, etc--yet society receives each "corrective" procedure vastly different.

We often hear that men who are balding should accept it and simply shave their heads, while I'd say that people with crooked teeth are actually encouraged to get braces. We certainly don't tell people with crooked teeth to pull their teeth out--granted, teeth actually have a purpose, but still...

Just a thought. Curious what others think or if you have any thoughts on the double standard.

[Harry West]

Hey Spencer,

Thanks for putting up an audio reply. I enjoyed listening, and I'm glad you liked the post.

Best,
Harry

[mattj]

Spencer, I think you're right when you say that the hairloss industry is to blame, but it's largely by no fault of their own. The stigma attached to transplants and men attempting to do something about their lost hair is a result of the poor technologies of the past, which gave results that were a bit of a joke. Bad wigs and hair plugs. I've noticed that the public generally still refer to plugs, even when speculating about a celebrity who may or may not have had a transplant and whose hair is anything but pluggy.
And this of course is in combination with societal attitudes towards men caring too much about their appearance.

[SpencerKobren]

Originally Posted by mattj

Spencer, I think you're right when you say that the hairloss industry is to blame, but it's largely by no fault of their own. The stigma attached to transplants and men attempting to do something about their lost hair is a result of the poor technologies of the past, which gave results that were a bit of a joke. Bad wigs and hair plugs. I've noticed that the public generally still refer to plugs, even when speculating about a celebrity who may or may not have had a transplant and whose hair is anything but pluggy.
And this of course is in combination with societal attitudes towards men caring too much about their appearance.

Hey Matt,

Thanks for the comment. Feel free to call the radio program tonight to continue the discussion. I think it’s an important one.

Here’s the link to watch LIVE and the studio line.
http://www.thebaldtruth.com/watch-live/

Or through the forum:
http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1076

[Dr. Lindsey]

Mattj is correct. And most of society still thinks plugs are the only way to treat hairloss. Even at my kids' school, at a recent function, 2 other doctors asked me whether they should consider plugs????

A big problem is that like a good nose-job, or facelift, a good hair transplant should NOT call attention to itself. And thus the public thinks of bad ones in all of those categories.

More education from forums like this will only help folks to make better decisions on if hair surgery is a good option for them.

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA