Hair Loss Can Be a Positive Thing?
Dear Dr Rassman
Your blog is a true beacon in the foggy world that is hair loss treatments and remedies. I am a 24 year old man that is currently being treated by a fantastic dermatologist and together we have been able to hold onto my slightly receded hairline using only FDA approved generic drugs (fin and min).However I would like to tell a story of two important people in my life, both doctors, My father a surgeon and his best friend (my godfather) a general practitioner. In the final year of studying medicine my father worked incredibly hard and was able to secure numerous surgery placements at some top hospitals, his best friend unfortunately feel ill in final year, performed badly and missed many opportunities for work experience and specialist placements. At the same time whilst sick, his wife fell pregnant and by the end of his medical study he was without work, with a child on the way and incredibly concerned about his future well being.
With a great amount of thought and a huge amount of courage he secured a loan and started up his own general practice at the tender age of 25. At the start business was slow as many patients where not comfortable being treated by such a young inexperienced doctor. This situation created a huge amount of stress for my godfather and the high levels of stress paired with poor hair genes lead to rapid hair loss, his hairline and mid-scalp was literally washed down the sink.
However as his hair fell his demeanor and appearance was altered creating the illusion of a much more experienced doctor and it became far easier to market himself and his clinic. Business soon picked up and his financial problems where alleviated. In contrast, my father who has a full had of hair (I get my hair from my mum) struggled for years starting his surgical practice because his full hairline created the illusion of inexperience, which turned off many patients initially.
My point is that hairloss has its positive externalities and as I go into the world of business I am glad that I have a receding hairline as it gives the impression that I actually know what im talking about, even if I don’t. Although I certainly do not want to be bald!
Thanks again Dr Rassman
Thanks for sharing the story with us. I agree with you on one level, but there is a counter argument to your story. It just depends on how you spin it…
In our society, while we associate bald men with wisdom and age, we tend to favor and look up to men with hair in our choices of leaders. Look at politics and leading men in Hollywood cinema as examples. Of the US Presidents of the past half century, only Eisenhower was bald. It’s rare to see a major movie star with heavy male pattern baldness. There’s always exceptions, but if you consider that balding men reflect 50% of the male population, that should tell you something. And without even looking it up, I’m sure a majority of male CEOs for Fortune 500 companies have decent hairlines, as well. I’m not suggesting it’s right or wrong, but it’s society.
Interesting post. And this conversation is one that should be taken into account even when mature men DO choose to undertake hair transplant surgery.
I’ve noticed that some men in their 30s and 40s who have chosen to go through hair transplant surgery sometimes complain that the hairline their doctors transplant is too high or that coverage is too thin. They long for the low hairline of their teen years and for a rather full and thick look.
As this article notes, this can be counterproductive. Having a juvenile hairline with thick hair in your 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond, may make you look younger, but you should ask yourself…is this what I really want? Do I want to look 25 when I am 45?
Having a limited donor area may actually be an asset for these men. It forces them to create an age appropriate hairline with age appropriate thickness that reframes their face, allowing them to look like “themselves” once again while maintaining a mature look.
So the decision to have hair transplant surgery does not have to be an either-or thing. This reminds me of a marketing campaign the Estee Lauder makeup company had some years ago. It said:
“Beauty isn’t about looking young. It’s about looking good.”
Good article, but Dr. Rassman is wrong about the CEO comment. PLENTY of bald people running corporate America.
Hank Paulson, Lloyd Blankfein, Steve Ballmer, Neel Kashkari, Rupert Murdoch, Leo Apotheker and Jack Welch to name a very small few…
Definitely agree here…if it wasn’t for the fact that I started losing hair at 20yrs old..I would have never have gotten myself into the gym and worked out hard for the last 25yrs.
Nowadays the shaved look is in and I advise every guy to think about that option before committing yourself to a lifetime of trying to fight it.
When I was 20, unfortunately a shaved head meant you were either a skinhead or a punk….nowadays not true..my dad and brother both shave it and they look good. I’d love to do that now but unfortnately I got some pretty ugly scars from a scalp reduction I had back when I was young and naive…. hair covers it no problem but cutting it very short or shaving would make me look like a brain surgery patient! LOL!
Eisenhower and Gerald Ford.
Sorry, I should’ve said “of the US Presidents of the past half century that were voted in”
And as for the bald CEOs, that is a small few. But I’m saying the MAJORITY of the top 500 US companies, not a small sample of seven.
Of course Dr. Rassman would try to bring people down who don’t have hair. HIs whole business plays off bald people’s insecurities. He is the reason WHY bald is still looked as a stigma. Because he contributes to the notion that it is not right or you can’t feel good about yourself unless you’re bald.
If he actually cared about people, he would say “thank you for the positive words.” He’s sick.
“I’m sorry i meant “you can’t feel good about yourself IF you’re bald.” My bad. Typo.
Give it a rest, John. If I was pushing hair transplants for a living, I’d have salesman on my staff and I wouldn’t bother to even mention medication to treat hair loss. I’m a surgeon, but if I didn’t care I wouldn’t have over 9000 posts and countless hours devoted to this blog.
Dr. Rassman,
I literally named the first few executives that came to my head. I’m sure if someone actually compiled a list of all the Fortune 500 CEOs (excluding women), they’d have a few hundred more examples.
It would be incredibly naive to believe that a bald person couldn’t get ahead in corporate America, or that somehow corporate America frowns upon people without hair. Most CEOs are incredibly ugly and unattractive, hair notwithstanding. Physical attractiveness, or the lack thereof, doesn’t seem to inhibit progress whatsoever.
No need to be petty.
I was merely pointing out what I stated above — the majority of CEOs. No need to be defensive. Never did I suggest every single CEO would have a full mane of hair, nor did I say a bald person couldn’t get ahead in the corporate world. I would be truly surprised if “a few hundred” out of 500 were bald, as you suggest.
Look at guys like Vin Diesel, or Jason Statham. Both are majorly bald, but both have great physiques, confidence and they walk like men…. They keep what hair that they have neat, very short or shaved and they work on other aspects of themselves to look the best they can. Even if these guys weren’t movie stars…they both would still be major Chick Magnets.