Hair plays an important role in our social lives. Upon meeting someone, one of the first things you notice is their hair.
Almost every society in the world associates luxurious hair with youth, beauty, and good health.
Hair is also associated with power and has been since biblical times. Samson, a Herculean figure, tells Delilah he will lose his strength when he loses his hair.
Shelly Friedman, DO, a hair transplant surgeon in Scottsdale, Ariz., and founding president of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery, says hair is also a key part of the male psyche.
Men often feel self-conscious, and less attractive to the opposite sex when they are losing hair and usually resort to wearing a cap or a hat to hide it.
A survey was conducted on men experiencing hair loss and stated:
“Over 70% of these men reported hair to be an important feature of image, and 62% agreed that hair loss could affect self-esteem. The realization that they were losing hair was linked to concern about losing an important part of personal attractiveness (43% of men), fear of becoming bald (42%), concern about getting older (37%), negative effects on social life (22%), and feelings of depression (21%). Reduced self-confidence in personal attractiveness was also reported by 38% of men who were not in stable romantic relationships.”
Hair loss may cause the person to limit social activities. Some people avoid seeing friends and stop going out except to work.
In fact, surveys have shown that around 40% of women with hair loss have had marital problems, and around 63% claimed to have career related problems.
For women, it can be more devastating, frustrating, and worse for women. Men are expected to go balding. And some men simply look “more distinguished” with a receding hair line.
The research also indicates that women tend to be more upset than men by their hair loss.
A 1992 study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology that compared the psychological impact of hair loss on men and women found that women had a more negative body image and were less able to adapt to the loss.
In fact, it has been scientifically proven through studies that women tend to suffer more emotionally and psychologically than men on losing hair.
The results of these tests showed that women were much more worried about the way they looked than men. They tend to feel insecure about their appearance and how the world and the people around them will accept them.
This is simply an unacceptable way to live. Especially if a solution exists.