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“If you’ve ever read the bestselling book “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus”, you’ll be familiar with the argument that men are far less open than women when it comes to talking about their feelings or concerns.
There are certain topics of discussion where this can be especially apparent. Topics such as self-esteem, sexual and reproductive health, the fact that they’re getting older and of course, the process of an individual losing their hair.
Of course there are many reasons why men can lose their hair. Most often it is simply the passing of time combined with a very common condition called Male Pattern Baldness, often inherited from elsewhere within the family. Other causes include certain types of alopecia, stress, side effects of medical treatments or even the prolonged use of strong styling gels or waxes.
Whatever has caused hair loss in the particular individual, those suffering from balding or thinning hair can be roughly divided into two groups; those who are genuinely not that bothered, and definitely the majority group, those who are affected psychologically or emotionally to some extent.
Coping with hair loss can be difficult for many people, as hair plays a significant role in defining the individual. Several assumptions about a person are often made based on their appearance, including their age, social status, how successful they are and how attractive they are. As hair plays a major role in formulating these assumptions, men often feel that they will be viewed in a less positive light, especially by the opposite sex, if they start losing their hair.
In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Women find men attractive for many reasons, and what is attractive to some women may not be attractive to others. A lot of women find men with no hair more attractive than those with hair and ironically, hair loss is usually caused by the hormone testosterone, which would suggest that men without hair may have a stronger sex drive!
Either way, men can find discussing highly personal issues such as hair loss quite difficult. Some may find it difficult to ‘open up’, for fear of ridicule or rejection. Often men are simply not that open about their emotions, and feel uncomfortable discussing them with other men.
This is where the internet really does come into its own. As with other embarrassing issues, hair loss can be discussed in an open, but anonymous environment. Blogs and forums allow the user to eavesdrop on discussions and debates without revealing their identity and if they feel comfortable doing so, they can join the discussion or ask questions in complete anonymity.
Hair loss forums and message boards have now sprung up all over the internet to fulfil the needs of thousands of men who wish to gain information and discuss this difficult subject, and even share experiences with other men who have taken steps to combat their hair loss. One of the best we found was the HIS forum, with many users sharing success and failure stories related to the options available for hair loss sufferers, certainly a useful resource for those considering some form of treatment.
If you’re concerned about hair loss, you may find that simply having the opportunity to talk it through will make you feel better, and have some questions answered that you were too afraid to ask.”