Hair loss, a natural occurrence affecting both men and women, often accompanies the passage of time. Conditions like androgenetic alopecia, commonly known as pattern baldness, afflict around 80% of men and 40% of women, typically posing minimal physical impact.
Nevertheless, contemporary society harbors a disdain for hair loss, evident in the media’s speculative fixation on whether ten-year-old Prince George and his younger brother Louis will inherit their father’s “baldness genes.”
The burgeoning market for hair
restoration procedures is anticipated to reach £10 billion by 2026, with products such as wigs for infants claiming to enhance attractiveness becoming increasingly prevalent.
However, historical perspectives reveal a contrasting reverence for baldness across various cultures and epochs. From ancient Egypt to the 18th-century Issini people of modern-day Ghana, shaved or bald heads symbolized purity and a rejection of superficiality, often ritualized through daily shaving. Moreover, baldness was associated with divinity, evident in medieval Christian depictions of Jesus and Madonna, as well as in contemporary practices among Buddhist monks and nuns.
In the Western world of the 19th century, baldness was even celebrated, albeit for reasons rooted in pseudoscientific theories rather than religious beliefs. This shift towards admiration for baldness coincided with erroneous notions linking hair loss to intelligence and racial superiority, perpetuating a Eurocentric bias in hair-loss research that endures to this day.
Following the publication of Charles Darwin’s “On The Origin of Species” in 1859, his cousin Francis Galton extended evolutionary theory to propose the notion of varying human evolutionary levels among different racial groups. Pseudo-scientists of the Victorian era, including Galton, used physical differences such as skin color and hair texture as supposed evidence of distinct human races, with some deemed superior to others.
Black individuals, in particular, were subjected to pseudoscientific categorization, portraying their hair as animal fur and suggesting evolutionary inferiority compared to white counterparts. These flawed beliefs were intertwined with the discredited science of phrenology, which sought to predict personality traits based on physical features, including hair amount and head shape.
Henry Frith, a Victorian writer, epitomized these erroneous ideas in his 1891 work, “How to Read Character in Features, Forms and Faces,” associating hairlessness with intellectual prowess and perpetuating the fallacy of white superiority over “hairier” races.
The legacy of such eugenicist thinking endured well into the 20th century, with medical education propagating unfounded assertions such as the supposed immunity to baldness among slaves, Indigenous peoples, women, and even animals like donkeys.
Despite the gradual abandonment of these false beliefs, contemporary research into hair loss remains predominantly focused on white populations, neglecting the experiences and needs of other racial groups. Studies and clinical trials often exclude participants from diverse backgrounds, perpetuating disparities in healthcare access and outcomes.
Recent scholarship has highlighted the importance of acknowledging racial diversity in understanding hair loss. While studies indicate a similar prevalence of hair loss across racial groups, certain types of hair loss, such as alopecia areata among Asian women and traction alopecia among Black individuals, disproportionately affect specific ethnicities.
Moreover, societal pressures and stereotypes compel individuals of color to adopt practices like weaving, braiding, and chemical treatments to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards, often resulting in physical damage to hair follicles.
Recognizing the racial implications of hair loss research is crucial in fostering inclusive healthcare practices. By contextualizing hair-related concerns within societal and cultural frameworks, dermatologists and other healthcare professionals can provide more tailored and empathetic care to diverse patient populations.
Ultimately, understanding the racist underpinnings of historical perceptions of hair loss serves as a poignant reminder that a person’s hair characteristics hold no inherent significance in determining their worth or intelligence. Such awareness is vital in dismantling entrenched biases and fostering a more equitable society.
