All the Hair Loss, All the Panic

All the Hair Loss, All the Panic
 Posted by Robert on August 28, 2001 at 09:06:32:

I have been at this (allowing my hair to grow long) for almost a year now (October), so I am certainly no expert, but I make a few observations, especially for those who fear they are losing their hair.

1) Some of us may actually be losing our hair. Look at your immediate relatives, male and female. Are they balding? It is hereditary. If that is the case, consult a physician about the use of Propecia or other drugs that can affect heriditary balding. Others of us may have another organic problem that a physician could help diagnose.

2) For most of us, my guess, growing our hair long represents a significant (and for many of us, a first)change in the experience of our own hair. I have never had hair this long. My hair was probably, in 40 years, never more than 3 inches long, and usually never more than 2 inches long. For 40 years I knew and experienced my hair as thick and strong and straight. Now that it is 8-9 inches long, it doesn't feel as thick as it did when it was short, especially around the scalp. It is really a matter of hair size and length relative to space! It's a physics problem! Now, it has some waves in it. Point is, the change in length can give you a radically different sense of your hair.

3) Because the individual hairs are longer, you notice them when they come out, both in the shower and when you are walking around. Before, when short hairs came out, I never noticed. Now, when I am washing my hair it feels like a whole handful of hair. In fact, it may be only two or three hairs, but they are long enough to wrap around my fingers and hang on. When an occassional hair comes out and sticks on my shirt, I notice it. I never noticed short hairs before because they probably floated out into the world before they grabbed my shirt.

4) Hair growth, or loss, is not an overnight deal (unless you're very sick). Beyond basic hair care measures, well attested to on this site and other places, there is nothing you can do for your hair; you cannot really speed up the process, or slow it down (unless the aformentioned drugs are useful to you.) Growing hair long takes us through all the stages well documented here. And, like it or not, it takes us all through a sort of initiation into the club. I think it's kind of cool. When I say "awkward" stage, everyone here knows, sympathizes, and encourages me through. Where else does that sort of comraderie happen? (Of course, in my opinion, it should happen in lots of places--that's another essay!).

A recent experience. When I look around at my immediate relatives, I can see that my hair (thickness) is like my mother's, and the receding line at my forehead, to the sides, is very similar to my grandfather's, mother's side. I have a pretty good idea how my hair will go, all things being equal. I'm not wild about the receding hairline, but when my grandfather died at 87, he still had hair, only receded! Last week, while at a local yard sale, I ran into a fairly well-known business man in our area who has mid-back length hair and most often wears it in a ponytail. We talked for a few minutes, and then, I noticed that his hair recedes very much like mine. I never noticed that before, but for a couple of years I have admired his long hair.

Sometimes I think we can get a little too panicked about what we think is or is not happening to our hair. Let it be. Let it grow. Enjoy what you've got. Look around. While you will find plenty of others whose hair is different, you will also see plenty whose hair is very similar to your own, and which looks good. Regardless, it's your hair. It's the only hair you will ever get. You are the only one who gets to grow it and show it. Accept it as it is, or cut it off. But, don't be miserable about it. This morning in Afghanistan, Hindus and other non-Muslims are being forced to wear yellow armbands. Life does get much worse than hair.

Robert

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