Do Men Loose Their Hair Earlier Now Than 45 years ago?

mmhce · April 3, 2009

I'm not sure which section this question should be posted.

I'm sure Bill will move it to the appropriate section.

I think this question is more answerable by the "older" (though, I'm sure wiser) heads amongst us:

Do Men Loose Their Hair Earlier Now Than 45 years ago?

I hope we DO have, enough men of that vintage here, to give us some answers, and I hope that someone can contribute valuable statistical data (if such exists) about this conjecture.

Thanks.

Mr. GQ · April 3, 2009

i'm still relatively young guy but i'm afraid that that's the case and here is why:

1. food (dietary supplement) - fast food industry boom and generic food industry boom

2. water - more and more chlorine and many new "unidentified" crap is being added to our water supplies.

3. hair dye - kids are trying to be cool nowadays by colouring their hair at an early age as early as age of 7 (no joke i've seen it).

so these are only few but i'm sure there are plenty of more.

interesting link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,342612,00.html

lost my swagger · April 3, 2009

somethin should prob be made clear before some of you take Mr GQs first one out of context... I DONT THINK HE IS SAYING FOOD CAUSES BALDING...

i DO believe that in MALES WHO WERE PRONE TO GO BALD AT SOME POINT REGARDLESS, are having that process sped up... its ENTIRLY possible that outside factors are contributing to this speeding up process...... it my opinion that hairloss IS happening eariler in life more regularly.... grab a parents highschool year book.. LOOK AT THE MOPS!! you will find that maybe 1 in 40 have noticable hairloss... now look at a current one... its doubled if you ask me....

the sh*t they throw into the things we eat these days very well could impact our bodies/hair... the hormones in our meats, the additives, ect ect.. THESE ARE NOT NATURAL THINGS we put in many of our bodies and have been since we were very young....

i DO believe hairloss is something being accelerated.. and i DO believe its very possible that the things we put in our bodies is making the process happen quicker

Mr. GQ · April 4, 2009

the way these fast food restaurants grow their live stock and the way they are pumping them with some mad growth hormones every day, that can't be good health wise can it?

i mean look at Barry Bonds and his HGH experience

also generic food - wtf was wrong with the organic so that we needed that crap huh??? oh yeah let me guess - the benjamins.

Hoping · April 4, 2009

No, we don't lose hair earlier than forty years ago because back then guys wore hats that cut off the circulation to their hair follicles.

mmhce · April 4, 2009

because back then guys wore hats that cut off the circulation to their hair follicles.

TOTAL BS!

Bill - Seemiller · April 5, 2009

No, we don't lose hair earlier than forty years ago because back then guys wore hats that cut off the circulation to their hair follicles.

Hoping,

I'm not sure if you were kidding or if you actually believe that. But wearing hats (even restrictive ones) does not cause hair loss.

Bill

Hoping · April 6, 2009

I was only kidding. I do remember yeas ago going through some old "encyclopedias" my father had in his youth (My dad would be 94 if he were still alive). I wish I kept these books but I do remember reading a section on why men went bald, and it was because of tight hats. Seriously.

As for the question on this thread, since there has never been a "double blind study" of whether men are losing their hair earlier these days, its actually a question thats impossible to answer with any accuracy. We can only guess. And then if so, the question is why?

mmhce · April 6, 2009

since there has never been a "double blind study" of whether men are losing their hair earlier these days,

We do not need a double blind study for this.

A double blind study is used to cancel out the propensity of human error during clinical trials.(i.e. the doctors are equally unaware as to which test samples are placebos and which are not)

This question raises the issue of, if statistical data EXISTS (and correlations can be set up) and can be lent to advance, or negate,

1. the hypothesis that there is a "weakening" of genetic material over the past 5 decades (though I doubt this, since, 5 decades represents only 2 generations),

OR

2. Chemicals introduced into the food chain over the past 5 decades, have had a deleterious effect on the human scalp. (Some people believe that DDT was so powerful/pernicious, it exists in ALL human beings up today...I don't know if this is true or not)

You're right about one thing though; I too have older medical encyclopedias from my dad(from the Cold War days; they had a specific section on nuclear fallout) and their information needs to be refined for contemporary times.

Please be careful.

Dr. William Lindsey · April 6, 2009

I think its no different than 200 years ago, except now we have blogs, infomercials, focused ads etc to call one's attention to all kinds of issues. This is helpful as people know there are others in the same predicament, but doesn't help when it makes it seem like there is an impending crisis.

Take for instance airline crashes. Up until the commuter plane crash around Feb 12/13; I think there had not been an airline crash fatality in over 2 years in the US; an amazing statistic given more than 25000 flights a day. Yet it seems that I recall one of the top fears in the US (behind #1 spiders) is flying. And likely only because it is covered so much when an event takes place, that it makes all of us worry about the next flight.

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

mmhce · April 6, 2009

I think its no different than 200 years ago

Dr. Lindsey, thank you so much for your valued input!

However, it has been reported, that the human male body presently, is different from a few hundred years ago.

Measurements of body armour worn my combatants during medieval, dark ages, and renaissance periods, show that they (the men of those times) were smaller compared to modern day human males.

Is it possible then, that we have changed (biologically/trichologically) in a few hundred years, if not two generations?

Thanks.

Mr. GQ · April 7, 2009

Measurements of body armour worn my combatants during medieval, dark ages, and renaissance periods, show that they (the men of those times) were smaller compared to modern day human males.

i heard the discussion on the radio about why are people of our generation more obese and overweight than any other before us and the general consensus was that all that crap (growth hormones) that is being injected into live stock stays in the food ex. hamburgers even after that meat was thoroughly cooked. so in turn we are getting pumped with the animal growth hormones while not even knowing. these are very powerful companies and they can buy anyone to be silent with their money. that's what medical insurence companies did with Hillary Clinton back in the days when see was still pure at heart and tried to do some good for the people. these lobbyists are working around the clock non-stop. you might see this as some mad conspiracy theory, but know this that more and more people are waking up to this money driven world and are voicing their concerns about it. the question is are they being heard or does it all fall on deaf ears.

lost my swagger · April 7, 2009

but know this that more and more people are waking up to this money driven world and are voicing their concerns about it. the question is are they being heard or does it all fall on deaf ears.

Im sorry..did you say something??

Mr. GQ · April 7, 2009

Im sorry..did you say something??

exectly

mmhce · April 7, 2009

Gentlemen,

I think you know me well enough to know that I prefer we not stray off the topic.

Below is some information of the history of hairloss. Not comprehensive information, but a starter.

Egyptians to Persians

In the ancient Middle East, the loss of hair was a sign of a loss of virility and considered very shameful. Ancient Egyptians shaved their heads and wore wigs to promote cleanliness and coolness. Wigs were also a sign of status, something we can see throughout history. Pharaohs were buried with abundant head gear. The oldest medical treatment for hair loss dates back to 1500 BC and includes swallowing a mixture and then invoking the sun god.

Various ancient peoples had strict requirements for hair, including shaving all facial hair and growing the hair on the head, shaving the beard but not the mustache, and never shaving the face. Ancient soldiers however were often ordered to keep all their hair short, probably for cleanliness and ease of travel and armor.

Castration Prevents Hair Loss?

Hippocrates failed in his attempt to create a product to re-grow hair, and remained famously bald. He did, however, discover that eunuchs never experienced hair loss. This was affirmed in 1995 when scientists discovered that castration was an effective way to prevent hair loss. They are still searching for a practical way to prevent hair loss.

Europeans and Hair Loss

Wigs were mainly worn by women, until the 1600's when a French king introduced wigs for men by wearing one, as is the luxury of kings. This fashion remained in effect until the American and French revolutions did away with symbols of rank.

In 18th century Britain men wore long, white powdered wigs to conceal their thinning hair and baldness.

ANOTHER history retelling

he history of human hair loss is a combination of painful yet many times humorous ideas on what will maintain and grow hair. Men and women have been losing hair for as long as their have been humans have been around. Luckily the hair loss remedies today are a lot more sophisticated than the hair loss remedies of yesterday.

Ancient Egyptians were searching for a hair loss cure. One so called cure used around in Egypt called for reciting a spell to the sun god and then swallowing a mixture of onions, iron, red lead, honey and alabaster. It was also popular in Egypt to rub the fats of various animals onto the scalp, including those of the lions, hippopotamuses, crocodiles, ibex, serpents and geese. Also another recipe of that era for growing hair included toes of a dog, refuse of dates, and a hoof of a donkey.

The Greeks used a mixture of pigeon droppings, horseradish, and a secret blend herbs and spices. West Indians tried to create hair growth with boiled sage in coconut oil. Another method called for boiled Gooseberries in coconut oil.

More modern attempts in Victorian England included vigorous brushing, massage oils, and diets of organ meats, lard, and butter. When the King Louis the VIII of England began wearing a wig to camouflage his own thinning hair, other members of the court followed, regardless of their own hair loss condition. Giant powdered wigs became the fashion in English courts, and the style was continued into the New World.

In 1939 a Japanese dermatologist named Dr. Okuda published in a Japanese medical journal his method for using hair transplant grafts to correct lost hair from the scalp, eyebrow, and moustache areas. At the time, his work didn't get much recognition. Twenty years later, the punch graft technique was created, and started an era of unnatural looking hair lines.

In the late 1970's results of minoxidil having the "side effect" of growing hair are published. This comes 5,000 years of hair loss 'cures.' The first medication scientifically proven to actually reduce the rate of thinning hair, and help grow back hairs that have been lost have been demonstrated. Ten years later minoxidil finally received FDA approval for hair loss treatment.

ANOTHER VERSION:

Hair Loss and the Bible

One of the earliest mentions of hair loss is in the bible, below are a few instances.

Kings 2: 23 From there Elisha went to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said "go on up, you baldhead!" He turned round, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.

Leviticus 13: 40-41 When a man has lost his hair and he is bald, he is clean. If he has lost his hair from the front of scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean.

Numbers 6: 1-21 The Nazarites had special rules regarding treatment of hair.

Grey hair is also mentioned in the bible.

Proverbs 16: 31 Grey hair is a crown of splendour; it is attained by a righteous life.

Proverbs 20: 29 The glory of young men is their strength, grey hair the splendour of the old.

Egyptians to Persians

In the ancient Middle East hair loss was regarded as shameful. It symbolised the public announcement of the loss of a mans virility. Samson who lost all his hair, also, well documented in the bible, showed that his head full of hair was not only a symbol, it was also considered the actual source of his power and strength, which he lost when it was cut off by the Philistines, and not by Delilah as most people claim.

In Ancient Egypt, wigs were serious business. The head was shaved for cleanliness, and presumably for coolness, and wigs were worn as protection from the sun and as a sign of regal status. All Pharaohs were buried with lavish head gear for wearing in the afterlife.

The Egyptians, Romans and Greeks spent fortunes on salves and ointments which they hoped would grow hair or at least help stop hair loss.

The following dates back to the Egyptian times:

Remedy for Hair Growth prepared for

Ses, Mother of his Majesty the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Teta, deceased

Toes-of-a-Dog

Refuse-of-Dates

Hoof-of-an-Ass

Another ancient remedy used to prevent grey hairs

Blood-from-the-neck-of-the-Gabgu-Bird

Put in real balsam and rub therewith.

"The Papyrus Embers"

1500BC

Hair fashions change rapidly and usually without any rational pattern. Hair styles that out of favour with current fashion often evoke unexpectedly strong emotions and attempts to outlaw them are common.

Ancient Persian men considered a shaved face as absurd, but their contemporaries, the Hittites, shaved their beards, moustache, eyebrows and patches of hair near the temples. The Celts often shaved their beards but not their moustaches. Ancient Greeks wore beards and wore long hair but in the 4th century BC, Alexander the Great ordered his soldiers to shave beards and keep head hair short.

The Roman's

Roman law once required prostitutes to wear blonde wigs, but the Emperor Claudius's wife, Messalina, wore a yellow wig on her nightly outings. The regulation was repealed and blonde wigs became the fashion of the day. The Romans generally shaved for about 500 years, but around the year 200 beards reappeared.

This lasted until Charlemargne in the year 800 ordered his subjects, most of Western Europe, to shave. Beards started to return but the Bishop of Rouen warned in 1096 that men with beards were in danger of damnation.

Legend has it that Caesar became so worried and embarrassed about his baldness that he used to wear his ceremonial laurel wreaths constantly to try and hide it. Caesar also had his defeated enemy's hair cut off as a sign of submission when they were conquered.

One form of hair loss Alopectia Areata ( small bald patches that can sometimes appear and disappear for no reason) is actually derived from the Greek word for "Mangy Fox".

In 400 B.C. Hippocrates the Father of Medicine prescribed a mixture of cumin, pigeon droppings, horseradish and beetroots or nettles, to help prevent hair loss. Needless to say he as well as his patients remained absolutely bald.

The Middle Ages

In the middle ages eunuchs always had full heads of hair. Eunuchs are males who have been castrated (had their testicles removed), and if this was done before puberty they do not go bald. Some eunuchs who when given male hormone did not have increased hair loss.

This means that an adequate level of male hormone need only be present for male pattern baldness to occur in susceptible men, thus destroying the popular myth (with bald men at least) that bald men are more virile, because it was assumed that they had more male hormone.

Aristotle also noted that neither Eunuchs nor women grew hairs on theirs chests, he proposed that this was due to the lack of testes.

Hair has been adorned since man first appeared, from bones in the hair of cavemen to feathers in the heads of North American Indians. Colouring of the hair has also been around since the ancient Egyptians and the Assyrian's. It is certainly not a modern day fashion as most people like to think.

In the 1500's men's head hair was cut short but beards flourished. Women generally braided their hair many married women revived the Orthodox Jewish custom of only showing their hair to their husbands.

In later cultures wigs were worn mainly by women, then in 1624 Louis XIII of France launched the era of the big wig - by wearing one. The fashion held sway in Europe and its colonies until the American and French revolutions swept away such symbols of rank.

Shakespeare in nearly all his tragedies used hair loss to portray an ageing king, fool or villain - Never a virile young man.

A bit ironic, considering that Shakespeare himself was bald.

In Britain by the 1700's men who were losing their hair also seemed to be losing their minds! They began to over compensate for their thinning and balding by taking the drastic step of wearing long, curly, powdered wigs.

Up to the beginning of this century men wearing wigs was certainly not thought of as odd but nowadays this is rarely acceptable except on barristers and judges, where it is still part of an age old tradition.

The Cowboy Years

Even in America in the 1800's tough and hardened cowboys lined up to spend their hard earned money on worthless "Snake Oil", hair growing tonics peddled by charlatan "Doctors" from the side shows and stages of the great wild west medicine shows.

Cowboys also used the trick of rubbing grease into their hair, causing it to look thicker, whilst slightly effective it was a very messy process.

Another ancient belief as illustrated by the story of Samson, was that when you took the hair of an enemy you also took possession of his strength and courage - An Indian warrior with the greatest number of scalps hanging from his wigwam was a very powerful man indeed.

The following is an old remedy for hair loss, dating back to cowboy times

Peach Tree

If the kernels be bruised

and boiled in vinegar until

they become thick and

applied to the head,

marvellously, make the hair grow

again upon bald places or

where it is too thin.

Culpepper 1653

Of course there is not any statistical data here.

mmhce · April 7, 2009

Gentlemen,

I think you know where I stand. Let's keep the thread on track.

mmhce · April 7, 2009

This is some history (without statistical data)

Egyptians to Persians

In the ancient Middle East, the loss of hair was a sign of a loss of virility and considered very shameful. Ancient Egyptians shaved their heads and wore wigs to promote cleanliness and coolness. Wigs were also a sign of status, something we can see throughout history. Pharaohs were buried with abundant head gear. The oldest medical treatment for hair loss dates back to 1500 BC and includes swallowing a mixture and then invoking the sun god.

Various ancient peoples had strict requirements for hair, including shaving all facial hair and growing the hair on the head, shaving the beard but not the mustache, and never shaving the face. Ancient soldiers however were often ordered to keep all their hair short, probably for cleanliness and ease of travel and armor.

Castration Prevents Hair Loss?

Hippocrates failed in his attempt to create a product to re-grow hair, and remained famously bald. He did, however, discover that eunuchs never experienced hair loss. This was affirmed in 1995 when scientists discovered that castration was an effective way to prevent hair loss. They are still searching for a practical way to prevent hair loss.

Europeans and Hair Loss

Wigs were mainly worn by women, until the 1600's when a French king introduced wigs for men by wearing one, as is the luxury of kings. This fashion remained in effect until the American and French revolutions did away with symbols of rank.

In 18th century Britain men wore long, white powdered wigs to conceal their thinning hair and baldness.

mmhce · April 7, 2009

Another version:

Hair loss. it's problems and the search for a cure is not anything new. For thousands of years, men and women of all countries and races have shared the tragedy of premature hair loss and the hope of discovering a cure. There is indeed a vast fortune just waiting to be collected for anyone finding the elusive cure.