Baldness has an emotional and psychological impact

[gmonasco]

As men get older they may find that they lose their hair. While this doesn't bother some, for others it can cause a severe emotional and psychological impact.

http://www.4-traders.com/news/Baldne...act--14418196/

[nikemata]

This is true so better not to feel so much about losing hair....

[DepressedByHairLoss]

This is so true. And it's a relief to read an article about hair loss that shows compassion for hair loss sufferers and does not joke about this "disease of the spirit". I wish more compassionate articles about hair loss were written.

[Tracy C]

I wish more compassionate articles about hair loss were written.

To be honest, I believe the reason so much humor gets injected into discussions about hair loss is because there was nothing anyone could do about it until just a short time ago, relatively speaking. 20 years ago we didn't have Rogaine, Propecia, the Laser Comb or state of the art high quality hair transplantation. People have held onto the "It's better to laugh about it than cry about it" state of mind. It surprises me to know that even now there are people who still believe there is nothing anyone can do about their hair loss. Sure you are probably not going to get it all back, but it is possible to get some of it back - and that may be enough for some people.

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

All good points. I generally only get to see the people that are really bothered by the hair loss. However, sometimes people do not care as much to start out with and something changes in their life that makes them more corncerned about not having enough hair. I have had several patients who were married and never even thought about their hair loss and then got divorced and suddenly became very concerned and self conscious about the hair loss.

[DepressedByHairLoss]

Tracy C and Dr. Charles, you both bring up very good points. Actually I strongly believe that hair loss gets joked about all the time because it is simply viewed as an aesthetic or cosmetic condition, rather than the disease that it really is. A lot of people figure that since hair loss is not life-threatening and does not cause any physical pain, then it is fair game to be joked about. Since a lot of the people who do joke about hair loss have never actually experienced it for themselves, they cannot even fathom the devastation and despair that it causes. Hell, before I experienced hair loss, I could not even fathom the devastation that hair loss causes. I think Spencer once referred to jokes about hair loss as being "the last bastion of political correctness" (or something to that effect) and he's totally right. I mean, it is completely reprehensible and unacceptable to make fun of a person's race or ethnicity, yet it's completely acceptable to make fun of hair loss. Yet to me it's equally reprehensible to make fun of hair loss as it is a person's race or ethnicity. Both are issues that a person is born and are beyond their control.

[nikemata]

To be honest, I believe the reason so much humor gets injected into discussions about hair loss is because there was nothing anyone could do about it until just a short time ago, relatively speaking. 20 years ago we didn't have Rogaine, Propecia, the Laser Comb or state of the art high quality hair transplantation. People have held onto the "It's better to laugh about it than cry about it" state of mind. It surprises me to know that even now there are people who still believe there is nothing anyone can do about their hair loss. Sure you are probably not going to get it all back, but it is possible to get some of it back - and that may be enough for some people.

Well said.......

[Follicle Death Row]

It surprises me to know that even now there are people who still believe there is nothing anyone can do about their hair loss. Sure you are probably not going to get it all back, but it is possible to get some of it back - and that may be enough for some people.

It depends Tracy. For some of us men the gene is just too aggressive and the treatments don't work. Eventually (for men anyway), all medications for hairloss lose effectiveness, but for some young men they can make it through their 20s and even to mid 30s before the medications fail. I guess that gives them the chance to have hair when it matters most as young people tend to be more vain and image conscious.

[FlightTL]

Baldness is very difficult on some. I know first hand the pain involved with it. It is not easy.

Wish you all the best.