Even though hair loss is known to lead to depression and a loss of confidence, many people will not take steps in finding proactive solutions to hair loss. In one way this is highly unusual. If you found that a stiff neck was making it difficult for you to sleep, thereby making you feel either lethargic or to cause you stress, you would see a specialist, have the neck treated, and get on with your life. Similarly, while many people dislike going to visit the dentist, should they feel pain in one of those back molars, they would sit right down, call their dentist and set up an appointment to have it looked at.
If you felt that your chosen hair style was no longer suitable, or if you wanted to try a new look, you would make an appointment to go see a hairdresser. Even though this would involve a little soul searching (“What kind of a look do I really want?”, “What’s wrong with the way I look now?”, “Will a new style make me appear younger?”), most people would agree that once the decision to change your look has been made, making the call and going in for the hair appointment is just as natural as can be.
But, there is something a little “odd” about wanting to do something about hair loss, at least that’s what many people feel.
Some people might feel that hair loss is simply part of the aging process and that there really isn’t anything that can be done about. This is sometimes referred to as the “punching bag syndrome”. The clinical label for it is conditioned helplessness. This name comes from the classic psychological experiment where a laboratory animal is treated to short, mild, random electrical shocks. At first the animal jumps away from the shock, hoping to avoid the unpleasant sensation. However, after repeated exposure, the subject no longer reacts at all, realizing that the shock is of limited duration and will subside. The animal ceases to care about the shock and merely endures it.
Many men who reach a point in their lives where it appears as though their hair loss has begun to slow after a period of rapid deterioration feel this kind of conditioned helplessness. Some might even feel a twinge grateful that the worst is over and at least they have some hair left. Like the lab animal, they’ve learned to live with what bothers them.
Another objection to dealing with hair loss is: Whatever options there are out there, all of them are just too expensive to be considered seriously. For this person, the value of having his hair back just isn’t high enough for him to bother to do anything about it.
If you have ever felt this way, an interesting question you might ask yourself would be:
If you could get all of your hair back, and it didn’t cost anything, would you look into getting it done?
Well, of course there isn’t any magic, free pill or treatment that gets your hair back for you, but the idea should help you decide whether doing something about hair loss is really in your best interest. Some people can honestly say that they still wouldn’t look into doing anything about their hair.
One other point made by people who aren’t sure whether they should do anything about their hair loss is that they’re afraid of what other people might think. That’s a pretty legitimate concern too. After all, one of the reasons why people look into hair loss solutions is that they feel they look too old in the eyes of other people. On the other hand, they also might think: “If I change my appearance, those same people might think I’m vain, they might respect me less”.
It’s a difficult decision to make. But learning to deal with hair loss is a very tricky, extremely emotional process. The bottom line is, you have four basic choices when it comes down to how you want to cope with your own hair loss.
1. Do nothing.
2. Begin to take better care of your scalp and use Rogaine
3. Have the hair replaced non-surgically.
4. Get a hair transplant and/or a scalp reduction.