Active Hair Loss

The use of wigs or hair pieces grew in the US in the 1800s. A shift in values had occurred regarding the notion that aging occurred with time. Men wished to look young and started wearing hair pieces. The wish to grow young was so great that men preferred to tell their age to be 39 instead of 40! There was a mass hysteria about growing young. The census is a proof of this statement. In the modern times, hair pieces were used widely and in the 1950s it had a clientele of 15 million people! These hair pieces were usually promoted by a company calles Max Factor. The hair pieces were so magnificently made that it made all the bald patches invisible. The pieces also looked very real and lifelike. Such was the amount of effort put into its manufacturing.

The reason why men want to wear hair pieces is because of the bias against baldness. Some men do take things as they come. But some succumb to societal pressures and give in. It is indeed very difficult to remain untouched from this strong bias and opposition. Hair pieces do help a lot in such cases. However, we do have renowned people like Ben Kingsley and Mahatma Gandhi, who have worn a clean shaven head with utmost dignity and pride. However, for most, it is a colossal task and is nearly impossible to pull off. Thus the use of hair piece becomes imperative. The roman poet Ovid also wrote ballads criticizing a bald person and referred to the sight of a bald man as ugly. Thus we see that there has been a long standing bias against baldness and thus it is no wonder why men flock to wig shops every now and then.

Most hair pieces are supposed to cover small bald patches. However, large ones are also in use. Television, film and theatre actors also use these wigs for dramatic effect. Hair pieces are extremely popular among beauty conscious people and they definitely do not wish to show their bald scalps to the world. Many women wear hair pieces as extensions to cover up their patches or to add length to their short hair. Some people think it is useless to wear hair pieces. But in certain cultures, the bias against baldness is very strong. This is especially true for the western countries where there is a very strong bias against baldness. Thus people are far more conscious in the west. So obviously the use of hair pieces is more in the west than in the east.