It really is all about loss, isn’t
it? Some would disagree and cry "vanity, it’s
all vanity!" Let’s forget for a moment about
hair specifically, and talk about what happens when humans
sustain a loss of any kind.
Well, we grieve. How we grieve depends upon myriad factors:
our personalities, racial and ethnic background, age and
gender, our emotional state at the moment, the culture
of the day. Whether we’ve lost a spouse through
death or divorce, a limb from an accident, a breast because
of cancer, or our financial stability via job change or
economic hard times, we will all experience grief in our
own way. This is not to say that all losses are equivalent;
obviously they are not.
We all cope with these losses in different ways, and society
as a whole grants us "permission" for a certain
degree and measure of grief. After a certain, rather poorly
defined period of time, we are to get over it and come
to some sort of acceptance of our fate. Our acceptance
may be minimal or grudging, our coping dysfunctional,
but we move on.
Some people decide to not just accept their fate, but
to take action, to utilize some device or procedure to
ameliorate or lessen the impact of their loss. Society
as a whole has prevailing attitudes regarding these choices,
as do different individuals. Certainly no one would belittle
the cancer patient who chooses a breast prosthesis or
implant, or who wears a wig to disguise her hair loss
from chemotherapy. Neither would we deride those utilizing
prosthetic limbs, or even a man having a silicone device
in place of a cancerous testicle that had been removed.
The motives of the burn patient having reconstructive
surgery to repair a ravaged face are understood by all.
Well, you may say, these are functional parts that have
been lost, a bit different from the overarching vanity
of hairpieces or hair transplants. Is that really always
the case? The post-menopausal woman certainly doesn’t
"need" the breast; her breast-feeding days are
long since finished. The man recovering from testicular
cancer can do fine with just one, in fact, he can survive
with none. The burn patient will get along just fine physically
without the missing skin.
The point is this: regardless of the attitude of the culture
of the moment, loss of any kind affects people in different
ways. Some individuals with hair loss do fine. They may
feel "bald is beautiful" and shave their heads.
Actor Yul Brenner never grew out his hair after shaving
it for his role in "The King and I"; his entire
career became based on that "look". Others,
however, feel the loss, or impending loss, of their hair
acutely. They may become depressed and anxious, their
self-esteem may plunge, and they may become more and more
withdrawn from the world. Their various attempts to disguise
the balding may inhibit their desire to run, swim, or
perform any exercise, or to be outdoors where sweating
or the blowing of the wind might occur. They often begin
to avoid intimate contact with others. These can constitute
major negative effects on physical and psycho-emotional
health. Is it then, "just vanity" to attempt
to recover the loss that many experience with balding?
We think not.
Men and women express many different motives for desiring
hair restoration. Perhaps they wish to look as young as
they feel, or they may see it as a gift to themselves
for all the hard work they have done. Some see it as a
step up in the business world, or they may see it as a
requirement if they work in the entertainment industry.
Women often strongly identify their femininity with having
long, thick hair. Some people simply see their desire
for attractive hair as integral to their overall sense
of wellbeing. Regardless of the motives, which may be
complex and multifold, the decisions need to be educated
ones; often the desperate patient becomes easy game for
the unprincipled wig maker or surgeon who plays on their
fears and panic for immediate financial gain. This can
lead to wasted money, or at worst, cosmetically tragic
consequences.
