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Spanish scientist says short hair leads to baldness
Spanish scientist supports LONG HAIR
Thanks for sharing. I read all the referenced articles. At 64 my hair seems to be terminal about 14", but maybe it will last as long as it can never being cut!
Maybe it does, but many men go bald despite having long hair.
This happened to an old friend of mine, and he only then cut his hair short under pressure from family and others who told him they didn't like the look of long hair combined with being bald on top. Of course, I'm sure most of them didn't like long hair to start with.
Likewise, my grandfather had a full head of hair all his life, and lived to be 79, but he never had long hair. I tend to suspect that a mere couple of inches of hair is sufficient to prevent the phenomenon described in the article, much as wishful thinking might suggest more than that.
It should be noted that this 2003 paper is just this one guy (a graduate student) espousing his own theory, and not providing scientific research results to support any defiinite conclusion one way or the other. His paper wraps up with this:
"It must be admitted that hard data trying to find the joint link between common baldness and hairstyle are practically nonexistent, despite the great number of facts that can be observed in daily life."
Thanks for the info RD
I was not sure if I was going to purchase that or not, but I think you just helped me in the decision making process.
again, thinks for the clarification.
respectfully,
Nigel
Thanks so much for your comments and clarifications, RD! I also just finished reading most of the articles provided by clicking on the links, enjoying learning about the theories from these scientists -- yet realizing that theories are still theories, even if I wish to believe them 100%, that they are not yet scientifically proven facts...
MPB, or common alopecia due to the combination of heredity and the effects of aging (especially in males), is something we all can observe just by looking around at our own friends and relatives. For example, in my own family, my father liked his hair very short for the vast majority of his life -- in fact, the only memory I have of him is that of having a flat-top haircut (although I've seen photos of him when he was in his teens, having his hair a tiny bit longer on top). And yet my dad had a full head of hair until the day he died (in his late 60s) -- other than a modestly receding hairline at the temples. My uncle on my mother's side of the family had a similar short hairstyle, and also had a similar-looking receding hairline; but just as in my dad's case, had an otherwise full head of hair for his entire life, even until his old age.
As luck and genetics would have it, I have experienced the same thing as I've witnessed in my father's as well as uncle's minimal hair loss: I have a modestly receding hairline at the temples; but otherwise have a very full head of hair (even now at age 59)... I first grew my hair "long-ISH" when I left home at age 18 (my father not allowing long hair in his house when I was younger), eventually growing my first ponytail length by my 40th birthday. In other words: the amount of hair loss outcome was the same, whether we're talking about my father, my uncle, or myself -- the only difference being that I was the only one out of the 3 of us who ever grew long hair.
I also have friends in my age group who had very long hair as teenagers and young adults (lucky guys!!!), but who lost a lot of their hair through much thinning and MPB that it became so sparse that by their 30s, they cut their hair short or even shaved their head altogether, after they could no longer stand looking at their baldness in the mirror.
I really REALLY wish I could believe in this Spanish scientist's theory, as well as Roger's claims; but common observation after 59 years of living on planet Earth has unfortunately taught me that MPB seems to be mostly a genetic affliction.
- Ken in San Francisco