From the shaved heads of medieval monks, to the long-haired hippies of the '60s, to the spiked hairdos of today's punk rockers, hair has always made a personal statement.
"It's one of the leading ways people can establish their individuality and express their style," says Jerome Shupack, M.D., professor of clinical dermatology at New York University Medical Center in New York City. "Hair has had sociological importance throughout the ages."
Because of its importance, anything that happens to our hair that we can't control--falling out or turning gray, for instance--can be the source of much anxiety.
In the United States, some 35 million men are losing or have lost their hair from male-pattern baldness, according to the American Hair Loss Council. Approximately 20 million women have experienced a similar loss of hair (from female-pattern hair loss), and an estimated 2.5 million Americans have lost their hair due to other causes.
hair basics
BALDNESS: MANIFEST DESTINY?
FOR BEAUTY'S SAKE
TWO APPROVED DRUGS
PRODUCTS THAT DON'T WORK
YOU HAIR WHAT YOU EAT?
HAIR TRANSPLANTS
EVERYDAY HAZARDS
THE MEDICAL SIDE