A few weeks ago, I started tweeting with Iain Sallis, a trichologist with a particular fascination for the psychological impacts of hairloss, and he certainly has some interesting things to say. Here he kindly guest blog's for us here at Pretty Bald, giving insight into his own experiences with patients that he's met along the way... Enjoy!
“So
what! You're not going to die from going bald or loosing a bit of hair...so why
are you worrying! It's not life threatening”
These
types of statements are all too common if you speak to some misguided (and
lets face it ignorant) people about hair loss; the medical profession has a
tendency to dismiss hair problems as frivolous or people having a ‘slight case of
vanity’. This, coupled with the socially awkward problem of talking to
someone about it in the first place can leave sufferers upset, vulnerable and
confused as to their problem.
As a
Trichologist my job is to help people with hair loss and scalp problems; I see
the devastation it can cause in a person's life almost daily and it always
amazes me how attached people are to this dead fibre that serves no physical
purpose to our lives! More so than our nails or skin, our hair seems to have
become a manifestation of our psychological well being. People know how important hair is to them
(especially if they have suffered hair loss or thinning) I just think people do
not realise why hair is so important
to us socially and psychologically.
The
importance of hair is ingrained into our history and our psyche from us being
little... just think of stories such as Rapunzel, Samson and Dahlia, these
stories teach us that beautiful princesses have beautiful hair, and a man with
a full head of hair denotes strength and power (much like a mane of a lion).
Through the ages ‘hair’ has denoted social standing:
- It told us who the warriors are in a tribe (the Mohawk) or who we should be ashamed of; socially the cutting off of a woman’s hair used to be a punishment for promiscuity in some parts of the world until the mid 1900s... of course the men never had their hair cut, just the women!
- Even the colour of hair has a large affect on us; red hair used to be the sign of a fiery temper, blondes are supposed to have more fun but may also be seen to infer a person to be dizzy or dim?
- Many women (and men) change their hair colour and cut when something significant has happened in their lives; it is a signal to them and everyone else that says I have changed or moved on...I’m a new person!
- Grey hair is now seen as a sign of ageing, however, when we were more of a tribal animal, grey hair may have been a rarity (as we would not live for very long) so grey hair would denote the seniority and wisdom that would come with being around for so long! Again a positive unfortunately turned into a negative.
The
lack of knowledge of hair disorders makes for very frustrated and worried
people who quite easily fall into the hands of companies who tout their
‘miracle cures’ at a great cost (both emotionally and financially) to the sufferer.
Hair loss on its own is not life threatening, but in many cases it acts as a
‘red flag’ to an underlying problem that need to be addressed. The
psychological effects of losing your hair usually far outweigh the physical
effects though!
- Men - Usually feel as though they cannot talk to friends or family about hair loss as they shouldn't be bothered about it...just one of those things, right? If you’re worried about your hair, you’re classed as vain and it’s definitely not masculine to be worrying about your hair (the average bloke down the pub will have little sympathy with a mate who starts talking about his worried hair line).
- Women – To admit that you're losing your hair can subconsciously feel like you're losing your femininity, youth, looks and in turn your self confidence...not exactly the easiest subject to bring up with friends or family!
We live
in a world where perfection is rammed down our throats through every media,
magazines, T.V and Films. This only serves to isolate the person with a hair
problem as you very rarely see women suffer with hair problems in the media
(unless they’re unfortunate enough to suffer from it in whilst the glare of the
media spot light, and be strong enough to confront the problem in the full
glare of the supportive but fascinated media). The common disguise is hair
extensions, which can mask thinning and fine hair, but which can also lead to
exacerbating the very same issues they are trying to cover. Hence every now and
again you will see a drastic hair change as the hair would have got so bad it
cannot hack it any more…fortunately for them, they also have a army of stylists
to cover the problem in a different way!
With
men the last resort is the shaved look, frowned upon until the past couple of decades,
but thanks to celebrities such as David Beckham this look hit the mainstream
and all of a sudden a shaved head is cool…not strange; a guy who shaved his
head before this were looked upon as a thug (a bovver boy). When I was growing
up the only bald guys on TV were Kojak and Yule Brynner (and Duncan Goodhew of
course!) all of which stood out due to their complete lack of scalp hair. Other
follicularly challenged men such as Bruce Willis decided to go down the toupè
route until he decided to shave his head too…then he became hot property
again?!
A New
scientific study show that men and women who tried to hide a hair problem were
rated, less confident and less attractive by a survey group, whereas people with a
shaved / bald head were rated more
confident and so more attractive; why? The scientists behind this social experiment concluded that the survey
group subconsciously realised the subjects in the first group were trying to
hide something, which then transferred to a lack of confidence in the person's
mind. The group
who did not show the tendencies to hide, were rated more confident…hence more
attractive!
For
women, the cultural change of “fashionable baldness’ has not taken place as
hair and ‘beauty’ are far more intertwined in the female psyche than the male!
Take
all of the above then focus it through the lens of medial consumption, the
obsession with ‘whoever’s’ new hair cut, colour, style…we are consumers and we
CONSUME our idols, celebrities (for want of a better word)...They are not
allowed a ‘bad hair day’ therefore, (sub-consciously) neither are you!
It’s
only when our conscious brain takes over, which argues the fact that “you are
not your hair”, you can be feminine, beautiful and worthy WITHOUT this strange
‘dead’ fibre growing out of your scalp that you can place hair loss into
perspective….so why does it still niggle you, prick the back of your mind??
I have
been told that our subconscious is not logical; it is there to keep us alive,
so, if in the past the females that ‘looked’ healthy (i.e.: fit, good
skin, healthy hair etc) made our brains think they would make good mates, they henceforth had a better chance of perpetuating our species…this may be the
reason why we ‘feel’ hair is important, the same way good teeth and good skin
are, as a marker of ‘health’.
So, how
important is hair really? Well, in truth the answer is “it is as important as you
make it” as the lack of hair has no
significant health implications. Hair is all important to our psychological
health and well being, so what happens when you have to learn to live without
it, to re-program your brain to let go of this superfluous fibre!...maybe you
can tell me?
Iain Sallis M.I.T
A.I.T
www.hairmedic.co.uk
www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald
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