At 21, I was crushed by a stranger's joke about going bald. Then the way I looked at myself changed
8 hours ago Share Save Ian Casey Share Save
BBC
I'm bald, and that bothered me for a long time. It bothered me that I was bothered. But just one swipe down my Instagram feed reveals I'm not the only man who is self-conscious about his hair. I'm greeted with videos and posts offering me hair transplants, regrowth tablets, thickening sprays, powders that fill gaps, and hair systems (once known as wigs or toupees). These products promise to restore my "lost confidence" and stop my lack of hair from "holding back" my life. But does the wealth of treatment options on offer mean attitudes towards hair loss have shifted? Is what was once viewed as something to be resigned to now seen as reversible, albeit at a cost? According to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), hair transplants are becoming more common around the world - and the people having them are getting younger. This global collective of surgeons, doctors and experts found 95% of its members' patients sought hair restoration surgery between the ages of 20 and 35 - and that's something hair-loss surgeon Dr Nilofer Farjo confirms is mirrored in the UK.
When my hair first began to recede in my early 20s, I tried my best to
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