Suicide in a young man from hair loss reported

A balding college student reported that one of his classmates killed himself because he was balding. He apparently left a suicide note connecting his depression with his balding.

This is terrible, but not totally unheard of. In my 26 years in this business, I have become aware of two similar suicides in young men who were so depressed, that they took their own lives. One of these men had hair transplants back in the early 1990s when the pluggy look produced terrible deformities in many men who had those awful surgeries.  I remember him well because he came to see me from Ohio to ask about corrective work.  Although I never did the corrective work I recommended, I got to know him following up with him suggesting that he seek professional help for his depression. I spoke to his mother about his depression.  Unfortunately, his mother called me about a month after his suicide to thank me for getting involved with her son. As a father, my heart felt the tragedy all the more. I went back to my extensive phone records of our conversations trying to see how I might have acted differently to have changed the outcome. The problem was that I was in California and he in Ohio and the phone meetings were just inadequate.

If you are reading this and feel that life is no longer worth living because of your hair loss, please contact me and let’s see if we can find you the help you need.