Intellectual
activity or psychological problems can cause baldness
This myth probably emerged in ancient times. Because
the brain is inside the skull and very close to the the terminal
scalp hair,
it was believed that excessive use of the brain and mental disorders
could have a negative impact on hair growth. Even today baldness
is associated with mental disturbance. In the movie industry a
bald guy is often used as a visual indicator of intellectuals
or an evil character. In contrast, heroes almost always have a
full head of hair. Unfortunately this association of baldness
with badness has an impact in real life too. Several research
studies have shown that bald men are regarded in a less positive
light than their fully haired peers when being selected for a
job or when asking for a pay raise. In reality there is no connection
between the extent of hair loss and brain activity.
Tight
hats cause baldness
This one probably started in the military where young men entering
the service were required to wear hats and soon showed signs of
going bald, or at least of hair thinning. This is due to coincidental
timing. The age that young men enter the military is also the
same age that male pattern hair loss begins. This is due to dihydrotestosterone,
not hats. Having said this, tight hat bands can cause a localized
traction alopecia. The hat bands tug on the hair underneath the
bands and this pulls the hair out. It’s not pattern baldness,
but a result of a tight hat band. This type of hair loss is different
from that seen in pattern baldness. Traction alopecia form a hat
band can be clearly seen as a ring of thinner hair around the
sides of the scalp. The answer is to get a hat with a looser hat
band or avoid hats altogether.
Bald
men are more virile or sexually active than others
This belief has probably come about because of the association
between androgen steroidal hormones and hair loss. Pattern baldness
is caused by androgen activity. Removing androgen activity using
drugs (or by castration) prevents baldness or stops its progression.
However, there is only a limited association between the levels
of androgens and the degree of hair loss. Most men with pattern
baldness have normal androgen hormone levels. Pattern baldness
involves enzyme activity in the hair follicles and may be linked
to other factors like the density of androgen receptors on the
cells in hair follicles. So, the degree of hair loss in a man
is not an indicator of his androgen levels or virility.
Eating
bread crusts makes your hair grow curly
Does anyone remember their mother telling them to eat the crust
of bread because it will make your hair curly? I do! This belief
still seems to be a popular one in many parts of Europe, but there
is no scientific evidence to support it. Curly hair comes form
curly hair follicles in the skin. Straight hair comes from straight
hair follicles. The curl of hair follicles is determined by genetics
and the hair follicle shape is set as the hair follicles develop
during embryogenesis. Now there is some anecdotal evidence that
curly hair follicles can be made straight and vice versa with
the use of certain drugs. People on chemotherapy for cancer loose
their hair, but at the end of treatment sometimes the hair grows
back a different way with more or less curl than before. The shape
of their hair follicles has been changed by the drugs – though
we don’t know how and it only happens to a few people.
However, the crust of bread has no bearing upon a persons’ genetic
make-up nor can it alter the shape of hair follicles. The myth
probably emerged about 300 years ago in Europe when food was limited
and starvation was a real possibility. People can and do lose
their hair when they are very sick and/or starving. Healthy people
were more likely to have enough to eat, and bread was the dietary
staple before potatoes became widely available. At the time it
was also believed that curly hair was a sign of health. People
developed the belief that bread crusts promoted health and so
promoted curly hair. In addition, it was a common practice well
into the 19th century for poor people to sell their hair to wig
makers. The expression, "to sell one's hair for a crust",
may have contributed to the myth that eating the crust had an
affect on hair growth.
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