A reader writes:
I want to share another anecdote, echoing what a reader
removing a strip of hair from the rear of the head (where virtually no one balds), splicing the follicles, and implanting them elsewhere in the head where loss has occurred. I'm lucky in that I've only had very mild recession at my temples, and three doctors predicted that my hairline wouldn't advance backwards much. However, my vanity being what it is, I wanted a lower hairline. Virtually all men develop what's called a mature hairline that is not due to genetic hair loss. A mature hairline is about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch higher then our teenage hairline, and is just a fact of life (though not for everyone – look at Ronald Reagan for an example of an elderly man with a juvenile hairline).
My procedure not only eliminated the temple recession, but aggressively restored my juvenile hairline. The result is astonishing – I'm nearly 30, looked a bit young for my age to begin with, but the hairline change peeled off years from my appearance.
I work in a corporate environment, and it's had an impact on my interactions with clients. I wouldn't trade the results for anything, but the surgery created a certain boyishness that doesn't convey the gravitas that's ideal for my job. (Look at Paul Ryan's hairline for an example of what I'm talking about.) It's been an interesting social experiment, and it says something about the trade-off between youthfulness and the ability to command confidence.
A side note: When these procedures are performed, the implanted grafts have small hairs sticking out of them in the new location. Those hairs fall out within a couple weeks, and the grafts regrow over the course of 18 months. So the picture I've attached doesn't even represent the full result, which has pushed in from the temples even more; I'll see even more change over the next six months. At 29, I have long, thick bangs that I can sweep across my forehead Bieber-style (which I refrain from doing at the office, lest I look too ridiculous). If this topic takes a life of its own on the Dish, you might want to direct readers to this example, achieved at the New Hair Institute in L.A. (I have no affiliation with them). The change in hairline is pretty astounding.
A very different view:
While it's great to hear that men can often times enjoy the advantages that premature balding gives them (appearing more mature and wise, yukking it up with the big bosses, etc), it's complete hell for women. I just turned 26, and my hair started thinning a few years ago. My formerly thick head of flowing black locks is starting to look more like the wispy cranium of a Disney-fied evil witch. And it's horrible. There is nothing good about it whatsoever. It doesn't make me look mature; it makes me look old. It keeps me awake at night and I've spent many hours crying about it. This might all sound hysterical, but it's just another piece to add to the giant pile of things that are advantageous to men and a death knell for women.
The Dish 