Posts filed under 'Hair Loss'
Male pattern baldness for many men is a fact of life and the statistics are overwhelming when you consider 1 in 3 men will have male pattern baldness at some point in their lives. Whilst many are content to let nature take it’s course, for other men its not as simple as that as hair is a core part of our physical identity and losing it is often a emotionally painful process. Although there are many forms of hair loss treatment for male pattern baldness the question of whether to wear a hair piece is an inevitable question that men will ask themselves.
Perhaps what divides opinion about hair pieces is the sheer range of quality on offer and many people will either have known or seen someone wearing a bad toupee. The fact that someone will have put themselves through wearing something like that just goes to show that for some, being bald is the worst case scenario.
Of course there is always the other end of the spectrum and high quality hair pieces made from real human hair and fitted by experts can be a revelation. Some are so impressive that it’s almost impossible to tell the difference. Of course you get what you pay for and these alternatives can be expensive. So what are the alternatives and should men embrace baldness?
In today’s society thankfully its become more acceptable to have a shaven head. Just look at the amount of film stars, soccer players and fashion models that now sport shaven heads. Bruce Willis, Will Smith, Billy Zane and Vin Diesel have embraced the bald look and it has done them no harm at all. A recent documentary in the UK followed one man in his early twenties as he tried various hair loss treatments along with hair pieces and after posting photos of himself with and without hair on www.hotornot.com he found he had a higher score with his bald photo. There is certainly plenty of evidence to suggest many find bald men sexy.
Ironically men’s self esteem has probably never been at a lower level. In today’s highly pressured western society men are expected to have great jobs, make lots of money, be better lovers and look perfect at the same time. Whilst taking care of how you look isn’t necessarily a bad thing its important to take a step back and realise what’s truly important. Being comfortable in your own body is a far more attractive quality than we give credit for. Life is for living and it’s about making the most of what your blessed with so stop saying “I wish” and start saying “I will”.
January 25th, 2008
Recently I was listening to one of my favourite radio stations here in the UK, Talksport, and heard an advert by Regaine (a popular male pattern baldness treatment) in one of the commercial breaks. I was surprised and actually quite annoyed by the less than ethical methods used during the commercial. For those of you that haven’t heard it already it goes something like this.
The advert starts with a very masculine deep voice talking about how fantastic it is to have great hair but over the course of a few seconds the voice gradually morphs into a much higher and puny sounding voice stating that when you start to lose your hair you can , well, lose your mojo. If you watch “The Green Wing” (If not why not!) then the weedy voice sounds exactly Dr. Alan Statham (seen below).
Now we already know that one of the main things that male pattern baldness effects is self esteem and for many men, losing their mojo is an understatement. This is a major emotional trigger for those affected by hair loss and I find the way in which the commercial was written to be cynical and exploitative to say the least. Surely companies can find a better way of advertising hair loss products without resorting to such tactics. If I was affected by male pattern baldness and was interested in doing something about it I’d be wanting to hear about the benefits and price of such items, not how it makes me feel less of a man. Honestly!
Now I have nothing against Regaine or its products and I understand that as a hair loss remedy its fairly decent. I also accept that companies are in this sector to make as much money as possible and that’s just the nature of being competitive in our capitalist market. However I do feel a company as well placed as Regaine could have employed a better, less sleazy way to promote its product.
Any man suffering from male pattern baldness shouldn’t be made to feel worse then they already do and companies such as Regaine would do well to stay clear of such advertising methods. I sincerely doubt it would affect their bottom line compared to other sales methods. Men should also learn to celebrate their bald look and try and focus on who they are inside. If as a guy, you feel that your self esteem is lower as a result of a receding hair line then why not focus on building your self esteem instead. It is after all far more important than how many hairs you have on your head and I doubt that someone like Bruce Willis has many self esteem issues. I’ve talked to many women about how attractive they find men and the bald look is more popular than you think so don’t panic into thinking its the end of you being an attractive male.
Now I don’t have anything at all against trying hair loss remedies but I would stress that taking a balanced approach to how you see yourself sans hair, so to speak, is a far more positive way to deal with hair loss. Certainly don’t get sucked into adverts like the one I’ve talked about here, as not having hair has nothing to do with being a positive and healthy male role model.
July 13th, 2007
Just read another article by Caroline Wilson from the Evening Times Online. She covers the story of Zaineb Al Hassani who says going bald as a child after being diagnosed with alopecia helped her learn how to ignore taunts and attributes her soaring confidence to growing up with the condition. She hasn’t bothered with a wig at all which I consider very brave indeed and it just goes to show that everyone reacts differently so extreme circumstances.
Whilst its never easy dealing with hair loss I think its important to take strength from reading stories like this and to try and emulate those who have overcome the emotional aspects of this condition.
Here’s the full article.
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5056218.html
August 24th, 2006
Hello all. I’d like to kick off this post by sending my apologies for not having updated the blog for a while but my recent workload has been hectic to say the least. My wife is also about to have our second child so we have both been a little preoccupied as I’m sure you’ll all understand.
Anyway, I’ve been meaning to cover the topic of female hair loss for a while and I was just about to put pen to pixel when would you know it a great article appears on the Daily mail website! It covers the usual background information about alopecia which most regular readers will know already but also covers the stories of five inspirational women who suffer from permanent hair loss. In my opinion this is what those of us with Alopecia and other forms of hair loss want to read. Other peoples stories. Solidarity brothers and sisters!
So here’s the link to the article and I hope you enjoy it.
August 24th, 2006
I read an interesting article about Mark Oaten (A liberal democrat MP in the United Kingdom) and the effect male pattern baldness has had on his life on the Independant website.
To quote the article.
In a remarkably candid article, the Lib Dem MP describes how overwork and the pressure of living in the Westminster village coincided with “something of a mid-life crisis”. Losing his hair in his late thirties had “knocked me for six” he says. “I started to look noticeably older.”
He found that his thinning locks were attracting more attention than the important messages he was trying to convey about the Liberal Democrat policy on law and order. Television appearances would result in a “barrage of emails” noting his lack of hair. “I became more and more obsessed by its disappearance.”
The article goes on to explain how an estimated two thirds of adult men will suffer from male pattern baldness or androgenic alopecia as it is technically known.
Read the full article here
If you suffer from male pattern baldness then you can read more about natural hair loss treatments via the link below.
Natural hair loss treatment
May 8th, 2006
So do Procerin and Provillus work? Well there has been a lot of talk recently about natural hair loss treatments such as these and whether they work and the feedback from men using these supplements has been positive.
To be honest both are pretty similar and share some of the same ingredients such as vitamin B6, Gotu Kola, Magnesium, Zinc Sulfate and Muria Puama. They essentially work by blocking something called dihydrotestosterone or DHT as it is more commonly known. DHT is the most common cause of hair loss in men and it occurs in the scalp and is the by product of the male hormone testosterone.
Both these treatments are most effective in men within the age range of 18 - 35 as their hair is still in the growth phase. This is because as men get older, their hair’s natural growth cycle cannot keep up with the hair loss. Procerin and Provillus are most effective for those men whose hair is still growing.
Both Procerin and Provillus are reportedly safe to take in conjunction with other supplements and medications for treatment of hair loss. Many users report great success using Procerin and Propecia together for instance as they both target different phases of DHT production. In terms of side effective some men have reported mild stomach discomfort but other then that there are no known problems and both are 100% natural supplements.
It seems experimentation is key here and if you are likely to respond to these treatments then I expect you’ll get results with either. Results are not likely to happen overnight so give it several months before you think about trying anything else.
Most importantly before you try any hair loss treatment consult your dermatologist or doctor.
If you’d like to find out more visit following page on Provillus
November 1st, 2005