What effect would an affordable baldness cure have on the world?

[Fixed by 35]

Just some questions I thought of today:

1) Will the person who cures baldness become a corporate demi-god of Bill Gates proportions?

2) Will men actually use a baldness cure in statistically significant numbers, or do most men just not care?

3) Will having hair be considered that important once everyone can have as much hair as they want?

4) Will there be enough barbers in the world to deal with the increased demand?

5) Will all the meathead poster boys for baldness suddenly get hair?

6) Will the world move closer to a meritocracy, as pretty boys can no longer rely upon their looks to get them promotions and plaudits in lieu of any talent (and conversely formerly bald talented men are no longer overlooked)?

[KeepTheHair]

2 and 3 are interesting

[RichardDawkins]

I would be sad if Bruce Willis and Jason Statham and Patrick Steward would get hairs. Because they look really strange with hairs and also very unatrractive imho.

There are guys who are really better of with the balding look i think it suits them and iam jealous sometimes :-)

To your questions

1) He or She wouldnt be a demi god but i think rich and important over the years

2) I think most men dont care of give a rats ass about it but some will join message boards to ask for this if it actually works

3) No i doubt it because if we all got hairs then there is no place for rebells anymore, but then those guys with Prison Break Buscuts will be da Shit i can guarante you that.

Yesterday i had so much bad luck on a day that i sat here and asked myself " Oh great i bet if i would get my full head of hair, people would call me happy and bald look would be totally considered sexy and then they kick me out of the club"

4) Yep

5) I hope not or if, they just shut buzz their head bald again

6) This was never the case in the first place :-)

[Weedwacker]

I doubt the person who invented the baldness cure would be lauded like a Bill Gates. Bald men would worship the person - but I think he would be lightly teased by society like any other figure involved in the industry. If the cure worked on any Norwood stage then I think he would become a multi multi- millionaire.

I think a good number of men would use it given (and this is the point) it is affordable. If it's the cost of a transplant, many would not be able to afford it - especially in this horrible economy, which is getting worse. By the way, the American dollar is weakening and the U.S. has 14 trillion in National debt. When inflation comes, and it will come, many would/could not spend thousands on a hair cure. The world is rapidly changing economically.

Another important aspect of this is that most men don't care about their appearance - so going bald isn't a big deal to them. Men are trained not to care how they look, whereas women are. Most bald men look like crap; however, I don't think many of them care.

If such a cure came about, there would have to be a massive public awareness and marketing campaign because, how many times have we been told there is a cure for hairloss on infomercials, as well as radio advertisements? Many simply would not believe it. They would think it was another scam.

I doubt the meatball men would get hair; they like the steroid, criminal freak look.

I doubt the world will ever be a meritocracy; people are too stupid for that. The world will remain an oligarchy/aristocracy politically, and a talentless fraud everywhere else (such as television and the music industry). However, I think that bald men who would choose a cure would fair better in their professional and social lives.

[Fixed by 35]

The cure will be like Apple computers; it'll take a while for people to realise hair loss cures are not crap anymore and then demand will explode.

I think the cure will have a cosmetic surgery price on it, at least at first. I do wonder whether I should invest more heavily in the research for a nice gain!

[Weedwacker]

I am skeptical about a cure coming about. Does anyone honestly believe this will happen? It seems like a fantasy to me. I remember using this 'hairloss' lotion when I was 17. It looked like shampoo, and came in what looked like a shampoo bottle. I massaged it into my scalp twice per day. This was my first exposure to the world of hairloss 'cures'.

It takes money from Venture capitalists to fund these biotech companies. I believe that many of them are legitimate with their science (such as Aderans and Histogen). The problem is getting enough financial investment to keep their research going - which often doesn't happen. However, I think the clinical trials of these companies actually produced, which is promising; therefore, they have a better chance of obtaining more capital.

If a true cure came about, I would be very interested if I knew it was valid - and if it was reasonably priced. I am in college now and, when I get out, I will have student loan debt. Further, inflation is about to hit the U.S., so who knows what will happen. I will be earning a better than average salary - but I will by no means be wealthy.

I believe the wealthy would eat a cure up like water, and therefore, it would sell. There are obviously many wealthy men who are wearing pieces now. Many middle class men, I presume, would buy it as well.

I am thinking of starting a biotech company called Bald and Desperate Sciences, LLC. I will form the company with a millionaire, and I will be the spokesman for the company (I have solid public speaking skills). We will seek to turn the company into a corporation, and after the acquisition of more capital, we will hire a few scientists. We will develop a new product called BFCP (Bald **** Confidence Potion). It won't grow hair; however, consumers will be lead to believe that it does. It will contain a proprietary concoction of cat piss, vitamins and a meatloaf matrix designed to regenerate enervated hair follicles.

[Weedwacker]

I am skeptical about a cure coming about. Does anyone honestly believe this will happen? It seems like a fantasy to me. I remember using this 'hairloss' lotion when I was 17. It looked like shampoo, and came in what looked like a shampoo bottle. I massaged it into my scalp twice per day. This was my first exposure to the world of hairloss 'cures'.

It takes money from Venture capitalists to fund these biotech companies. I believe that many of them are legitimate with their science (such as Aderans and Histogen). The problem is getting enough financial investment to keep their research going - which often doesn't happen. However, I think the clinical trials of these companies actually produced, which is promising; therefore, they have a better chance of obtaining more capital.

If a true cure came about, I would be very interested if I knew it was valid - and if it was reasonably priced. I am in college now and, when I get out, I will have student loan debt. Further, inflation is about to hit the U.S., so who knows what will happen. I will be earning a better than average salary - but I will by no means be wealthy.

I believe the wealthy would eat a cure up like water, and therefore, it would sell. There are obviously many wealthy men who are wearing pieces now. Many middle class men, I presume, would buy it as well.

I am thinking of starting a biotech company called Bald and Desperate Sciences, LLC. I will form the company with a millionaire, and I will be the spokesman for the company (I have solid public speaking skills). We will seek to turn the company into a corporation, and after the acquisition of more capital, we will hire a few scientists. We will develop a new product called BFCP (Bald **** Confidence Potion). It won't grow hair; however, consumers will be lead to believe that it does. It will contain a proprietary concoction of cat piss, vitamins and a meatloaf matrix designed to regenerate enervated hair follicles.

Correction: led, not lead.

[Weedwacker]

I have nothing to do tonight, so I think I'll post again!

They cannot cure any of the hundreds of cancers, so don't think they will be able to cure hairloss. A war on cancer was declared in 1970 and, after billions of dollars spent on research, nothing. There isn't one cancer that can be cured. There are far more people around the world working on that than there are people working on a hairloss cure.

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade - but don't get your hopes up. People have to realize that a cure is unlikely and, therefore, they ought to have low expectations. If you set the bar too high you will just set yourself up for disappointment.

[gmonasco]

Will the person who cures baldness become a corporate demi-god of Bill Gates proportions?

Probably not, since baldness will most likely be "cured" by a corporate entity, not by a single person. It's also likely that the "cure" will be a series of incremental improvements rather than the sudden discovery of a magic bullet.

[Weedwacker]

The cure will be like Apple computers; it'll take a while for people to realise hair loss cures are not crap anymore and then demand will explode.

I think the cure will have a cosmetic surgery price on it, at least at first. I do wonder whether I should invest more heavily in the research for a nice gain!

What research?

[BaldingJugZ]

I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but lets try to view this from a financial stand point. Yes, the person to come up with a true cure for baldness would be rich as hell. However, drug companies make more money from 'treating' baldness than curing it. The same goes for cancer. It sounds bad but that's reality. Drug companies make billions from treating cancer rather than curing it. Cancer research and baldness research companies always struggle for funds because of the above.

Very pessimistic view, yes, but something to think about

[gmonasco]

However, drug companies make more money from 'treating' baldness than curing it. The same goes for cancer.

Such statements presuppose that a "cure" for either would be a one-time treatment rather than an ongoing one, a circumstance which is rather unlikely.

[ohlife]

I don't get why you assume that the company that cures hairloss is one that could've instead invented a treatment like propecia..surely it doesn't work like that

[Weedwacker]

I don't think anyone would hold back a baldness cure because no one is making a ton of money now off of hairloss drugs. A very small % of men actually seek any drug treatment for their hairloss; therefore, if a real cure came about, it would surely make more money.

Some may argue that the transplant industry would not like to see a cure - but again, I doubt that either because many men are not candidates for transplant surgery anyway. I think many men who would seek a cure would be those who cannot get surgery.

This whole situation comes down to funding. How long can a company do research before it runs out of money? However, if the clinical trials of Histogen, Aderans, Acell etc. prove fruitful, there is a greater chance they will receive more capital to continue their research. Their results do look as though they have some promise; we will see. All one can do now is have some hope.

[Fixed by 35]

As an investor, this is where it gets complicated. Which research do you fund; which will deliver a return? I've always been quite risk averse when it comes to investing, so my natural instinct tells me to invest in every product in the clinical stage. However, were all the products to be successful some, such as hair cloning, would never take off. Histogen, with its injections, would wipe the floor with a hair transplant.

It's odd to think too that in about a decade, there will probably be a choice of treatment. A lot of people say there will be no advance in the next ten years because of bitter experience of waiting; however, I'm not so sure that their pessimism is well founded.

As baldness is becoming more ostracised from the media than ever before (I very much doubt Patrick Stewart would have as successful a career starting now for example) an effective treatment becomes more important. It is also reaching the point that the hirsute are sick of having to take bald people as they come and want a treatment just as much as we do, because baldness is scruffy and unsightly, shaved or not.